Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative Brings Together Experts for Bold Expedition
There are few people in the world able to dive to the shadowy depths of the ocean’s mesophotic zone, between 30 and 200 metres below the surface. Among them are Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative Partner Under The Pole, and Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate Luiz Rocha, a world renowned ichthyologist who has discovered countless new fish species in the mesophotic zone of the oceans. Having been introduced by Rolex, they combined their expertise for the third leg of expert divers Under The Pole’s DEEPLIFE programme to study the deep-sea marine animal forests off the coasts of Guadeloupe. They found that, despite the severe depletion of the Caribbean’s shallow coral reefs, much of the mesophotic zone was still teeming with life, a discovery that brings new hope for these tropical waters and the astonishing range of wildlife that call them home.

“LUIZ AND I HAVE DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, BUT WE HAVE
SOMETHING VERY STRONG IN COMMON: OUR PASSION FOR THE
UNDERWATER WORLD AND ITS EXPLORATION. WE ALWAYS WONDER
WHAT WE WILL FIND IN THE DEPTHS, WHAT WE WILL FIND BEYOND
WHAT WE SAW TODAY, WHAT WE WILL SEE A LITTLE DEEPER.”
Ghislain Bardout, Co-Founder of Under The Pole

Coral reefs in Guadeloupe are rapidly being lost, as climate change and human activity erode the precious habitats in irreversible ways. But not all is lost; these areas are resilient and new life is creeping in. It is thought that the hard reefs are being replaced by the soft corals that form the marine animal forests of the mesophotic zone, 30 to 200 metres below the surface, where the last of the sun’s light can reach.

These ecosystems bring new hope for the damaged regions, providing havens for a host of species. But so far, they are almost completely unknown. Rocha and Under The Pole have been delving into this changing underwater world and carrying out crucial research. With a stronger understanding of marine animal forests, scientists can bring fresh eyes and novel perspectives to their conservation work and encourage governments and countries to protect the oceans and its depths.

As human activity continues to leave heavy footprints across the globe, many ecosystems are facing new threats, but the natural world continuously demonstrates its resilience. By working with scientists like Rocha, Under The Pole are developing a deeper understanding of these complex marine habitats, which will contribute to campaigns for their protection before they suffer a similar fate to their shallower counterparts.

The risks the team faces diving to such extreme depths are nothing compared to the reward of exploring and understanding such incredible habitats. According to Rocha, “Often, before we get in the water, we ask ourselves, ‘Why do we do this?’ Then we dive to 120 metres and look at a reef that nobody has ever seen before. When we come back from that dive, we look at each other and say, ‘That’s why we do it’.”

LUIZ ROCHA
Now the curator of ichthyology and co-director of the Hope for Reefs initiative at the California Academy of Sciences, Rocha has spent over 6,000 hours underwater on more than 70 scientific expeditions worldwide. As a highly skilled diver, he explores reefs at depths considered too dangerous for most.

In the mesophotic zone, Rocha finds himself in a twilight realm, where species are poorly studied and often unprotected. During his expeditions, Rocha has discovered many previously unknown fish species and collected data vital to understanding and protecting these unique ecosystems. In 2021, he was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise to carry out several expeditions to the Maldives, where he studied the unexplored deep reefs that form part of the largest coral refuge on Earth.

UNDER THE POLE
Founded by husband-and-wife duo Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout and Ghislain Bardout, Under The Pole is an underwater exploration team comprising expert, technical divers who use groundbreaking rebreather technology, which recycles air throughout dives, allowing the team to dive deeper and for longer than any traditional diving equipment. By recycling air, these suits also avoid producing bubbles so divers can move silently, getting closer than ever to the fauna they are studying.

Under The Pole’s DEEPLIFE 2021-2030 programme, supported by Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, aims to deepen our scientific understanding of the marine animal forests of the mesophotic zone. Marine animal forests are biodiversity hotspots, and are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite harbouring a prolific array of life, these ecosystems remain overlooked.

According to Rocha, Under The Pole are among the few people capable of capturing high-quality images and videos in the extreme and technical diving conditions of the mesophotic zone. Working with them, and with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, offered a valuable opportunity for Rocha to share his work and findings with a wider audience, which is crucial to him: “There’s an old saying that goes along the lines of ‘you only protect what you love,’ and if you don’t know something, you can’t protect it because you can’t love it.”

ABOUT THE PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing back the boundaries of human endeavour. The company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to support individuals and organizations using science to understand and devise solutions to today’s environmental challenges.

This engagement was reinforced with the launch of the Perpetual Planet Initiative in 2019, which initially focused on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, as well as longstanding partnerships with Mission Blue and National Geographic Society.

The initiative now has more than 30 other partnerships in an expanding portfolio. They include, for example, Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, offspring organizations of Tompkins Conservation, the Under The Pole expeditions, the Monaco Blue Initiative, and Coral Gardeners.

Rolex also supports organizations and initiatives fostering the next generations of explorers, scientists and conservationists through scholarships and grants, such as Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and The Rolex Explorers Club Grants.