maybe back in the the 1960s,

得追溯回1960年代，

when I was seven or eight years old,

那時我才七、八歲，

watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries on the living room floor

我常坐在客廳地板上，戴著我的蛙鏡和蛙鞋，

with my mask and flippers on.

看著傑克．庫斯托(著名深海探險家)的記錄片，

Then after every episode, I had to go up to the bathtub

等節目一結束，我就會跑到浴缸，

and swim around the bathtub and look at the drain,

在裡頭游泳，盯著排水孔看，

because that's all there was to look at.

因為那是那裡唯一的東西。

And by the time I turned 16,

到我十六歲時，

I pursued a career in marine science,

我朝海洋科學方面發展，

in exploration and diving,

進行探索與潛水，

and lived in underwater habitats, like this one off the Florida Keys,

我會待在潛水艇裡，像是這艘在佛羅里達外海的潛艇，

for 30 days total.

有時會待上一個月。

Brian Skerry took this shot. Thanks, Brian.

布萊恩．史凱瑞幫我拍了這張照片，謝謝你，布萊恩。

And I've dived in deep-sea submersibles around the world.

我搭乘深海潛水艇潛入世界各地的水域，

And this one is the deepest diving submarine in the world,

這艘潛水艇則是世界上能潛入最深海域的潛艇，

operated by the Japanese government.

為日本政府所有。

And Sylvia Earle and I

我和席薇亞．厄爾(海洋保育運動者)

were on an expedition in this submarine

在20年前一同前往日本，

20 years ago in Japan.

在這艘潛水艇上考察。

And on my dive, I went down 18,000 feet,

那次我們潛入海底5,400公尺深，

to an area that I thought

到達一個我原以為

would be pristine wilderness area on the sea floor.

會是純淨自然的海底區域。

But when I got there, I found

但我到那兒之後，

lots of plastic garbage and other debris.

我發現許多塑膠垃圾和廢棄物，

And it was really a turning point in my life,

那是我人生中的一個轉折點，

where I started to realize

那時我才明白，

that I couldn't just go have fun doing science and exploration.

我不可能以玩樂的心情來研究科學和探索，

I needed to put it into a context.

我必須要更有深度，

I needed to head towards conservation goals.

我要朝保育這個目標前進。

So I began to work

所以我開始

with National Geographic Society and others

和國家地理協會及其他人一起合作，

and led expeditions to Antarctica.

帶領一支考察隊伍去南極洲。

I led three diving expeditions to Antarctica.

我總共帶領過三支潛水考察隊伍去南極洲，

Ten years ago was a seminal trip,

10年前還只是先發隊伍，

where we explored that big iceberg, B-15,

我們探索了那座大冰山B-15，

the largest iceberg in history, that broke off the Ross Ice Shelf.

那是有史以來最大的冰山，是從羅斯(Ross)冰棚脫落的。

And we developed techniques

我們還開發了幾項技術，

to dive inside and under the iceberg,

讓我們能潛入冰山裡面和下面，

such as heating pads on our kidneys

像是我們會在腎臟上綁上一組

with a battery that we dragged around,

用電池供電的加熱墊，

so that, as the blood flowed through our kidneys,

當我們人體的血液流經腎臟時，

it would get a little boost of warmth

就能補充到熱能，

before going back into our bodies.

再循環到身體其他部位。

But after three trips to Antarctica,

在結束三趟南極洲之旅後，

I decided that it might be nicer to work in warmer water.

我覺得在常溫的環境裡工作還是比較好，

And that same year, 10 years ago,

所以就在那一年，也就是10年前，

I headed north to the Phoenix Islands.

我就往北來到鳳凰群島，

And I'm going to tell you that story here in a moment.

我等一下會花些時間告訴各位那裡的一些事情，

But before I do, I just want you to ponder this graph for a moment.

但在此之前，我希望各位能好好想想這張圖，

You may have seen this in other forms,

你以前可能看過以不同形式呈現的這張圖，

but the top line is the amount of protected area

最上面的線是指全球被納入保護的

on land, globally,

陸地區域大小，

and it's about 12 percent.

這大約是12%。

And you can see that it kind of hockey sticks up

你可以看到這條線有點像曲棍球棒一樣，

around the 1960s and '70s,

在1960到1970年代附近開始往上攀升，

and it's on kind of a nice trajectory right now.

現在則很像一條完美的拋物線了。

And that's probably because

這或許是因為

that's when everybody got aware of the environment

人們開始注意到環境議題，

and Earth Day

設計了地球日，

and all the stuff that happened in the '60s with the Hippies and everything

還有60年代嬉皮們所提倡的那些事情，

really did, I think, have an affect on global awareness.

我認為這每一件事都引起了世人關注。

But the ocean-protected area

但是海洋保護區這條線，

is basically flat line

卻似乎一直維持不動，

until right about now -- it appears to be ticking up.

直到最近似乎還有上升的趨勢。

And I do believe that we are at the hockey stick point

我相信這條海洋保護區的線

of the protected area in the ocean.

會呈現如曲棍球棒的形狀，

I think we would have gotten there a lot earlier

我認為如果我們能看清海裡發生了什麼事，

if we could see what happens in the ocean

這條曲線就能早一點呈現曲棍球棒狀，

like we can see what happens on land.

就像陸地保護區那條曲線一樣。

But unfortunately, the ocean is opaque,

不幸的是，海洋並沒有那麼容易看透，

and we can't see what's going on.

我們並不清楚海裡發生了什麼事，

And therefore we're way behind on protection.

因此也就談不上劃分什麼保護區了。

But scuba diving, submersibles

但是利用潛水技術或是乘坐潛艇，

and all the work that we're setting about to do here

利用我們目前所有的技術，

will help rectify that.

其實可以幫我們釐清真相。

So where are the Phoenix Islands?

鳳凰群島在哪裡？

They were the world's largest marine-protected area

那個區域以前是世上最大的海洋保護區，

up until last week

直到上個星期，

when the Chagos Archipelago was declared.

查戈斯群島才取代鳳凰群島成為最大的保護區。

It's in the mid-Pacific. It's about five days from anywhere.

鳳凰群島在中太平洋，不管從哪裡去都要花差不多五天，

If you want to get to the Phoenix Islands,

如果你要到鳳凰群島，

it's five days from Fiji,

從斐濟去要五天，

it's five days from Hawaii, it's five days from Samoa.

從夏威夷去要五年，從薩摩亞去也要五天。

It's out in the middle of the Pacific,

它位在太平洋的中間，

right around the Equator.

就在赤道附近。

I had never heard of the islands 10 years ago,

在十年前，我從未聽過這個地方，

nor the country, Kiribati, that owns them,

更別提吉里巴斯這個擁有鳳凰群島的國家了。

till two friends of mine who run a liveaboard dive boat in Fiji

後來有二個朋友，他們在斐濟經營潛艇生意，

said, "Greg, would you lead a scientific expedition up to these islands?

他們說：「克雷格，你要不要帶一支科學考察隊來這個群島？

They've never been dived."

還沒有人來過哩。」

And I said, "Yeah.

我回說：「好啊！

But tell me where they are and the country that owns them."

告訴我那個群島在哪裡、哪個國家吧！」

So that's when I first learned of the Islands

那是我第一次知道有那個群島，

and had no idea what I was getting into.

我完全不知道那裡長什麼樣子，

But I was in for the adventure.

我就當我是去探險而已。

Let me give you a little peek here of the Phoenix Islands-protected area.

我先來大概描述一下鳳凰群島保護區的樣貌，

It's a very deep-water part of our planet.

那裡的水域很深，

The average depths are about 12,000 ft.

平均有3,600公尺深，

There's lots of seamounts in the Phoenix Islands,

在鳳凰群島有許多海底山，

which are specifically part of the protected area.

也屬於保護區的一部分。

Seamounts are important for biodiversity.

海底山對於保持生物多樣化是很重要的，

There's actually more mountains in the ocean than there are on land.

事實上，在地球上，海裡的山要比陸地上的山多得多，

It's an interesting fact.

很有趣吧！

And the Phoenix Islands is very rich in those seamounts.

鳳凰群島擁有非常多的海底山，

So it's a deep -- think about it in a big three-dimensional space,

所以水域很深--請你們試著以三度空間來想像，

very deep three-dimensional space

在一個很深的三度空間裡，

with herds of tuna, whales,

有成群的鮪魚和鯨魚，

all kinds of deep sea marine life

還有其他各種深海生物，

like we've seen here before.

各種我們熟知的生物。

That's the vessel that we took up there

那是我們較早時

for these studies, early on,

為研究所搭乘的水上飛機，

and that's what the Islands look like -- you can see in the background.

這就是群島的全貌，你可以看到水裡有些島嶼，

They're very low to the water,

都低於水平面之下，

and they're all uninhabited, except one island

全都不能住人，除了一個島以外，

has about 35 caretakers on it.

上面只有35個管理員。

And they've been uninhabited for most of time

這些島上已經很久沒有人居住，

because even in the ancient days,

因為即使在古代，

these islands were too far away

這些島還是離斐濟、夏威夷、

from the bright lights of Fiji and Hawaii and Tahiti

或大溪地這些有人居住的地方太遠，

for those ancient Polynesian mariners

就算對古代擅於橫越太平洋的

that were traversing the Pacific so widely.

波利尼西亞航海人來說也是太遠。

But we got up there,

我們到了那裡，

and I had the unique and wonderful scientific opportunity and personal opportunity

我覺得來到一個從未經世人探索的地方，對科學研究和我個人來說，

to get to a place that had never been dived

都是非常獨特和美好的經驗，

and just get to an island and go, "Okay, where are we going to dive?

所一到島上我就說：「我們該從哪裡開始潛水探索？

Let's try there,"

試試那裡吧！」

and then falling into the water.

接著我就跳進水裡，

Both my personal and my professional life changed.

從此改變了我的一生和我的職業生涯。

Suddenly, I saw a world

我突然看到一個

that I had never seen before in the ocean --

我以前從未看過的海洋世界，

schools of fish that were so dense

那裡的魚大量成群地一起游動，

they dulled the penetration of sunlight from the surface,

遮蔽了從海水表面射入的光線；

coral reefs that were continuous

珊瑚礁是一整片，

and solid and colorful,

結構完整且色彩豐富；

large fish everywhere,

到處都有大魚游動，

manta rays.

主要是魟魚。

It was an ecosystem. Parrotfish spawning --

那是一個完整的生態體系，我看到鸚哥魚在產卵，

this is about 5,000 longnose parrotfish spawning

大約有5千隻長鼻鸚哥魚

at the entrance to one of the Phoenix Islands.

在鳳凰群島的某個入口處附近產卵。

You can see the fish are balled up

他們全都亂成一片，

and then there's a little cloudy area there

只看到海水裡有一片混涿的水域，

where they're exchanging the eggs and sperm for reproduction --

他們就在那裡為延續後代而互相交換卵子與精子。

events that the ocean is supposed to do,

那些活動本來就是海裡常發生的事，

but struggles to do in many places now

但現在卻因為人類的參與，

because of human activity.

而使這些活動處處受限。

The Phoenix Islands and all the equatorial parts of our planet

鳳凰群島和其他赤道附近的地區一樣，

are very important for tuna fisheries,

都是鮪魚捕撈業者的聚集地，

especially this yellowfin tuna that you see here.

尤其是你現在所看到的黃鰭鮪魚。

Phoenix Islands is a major tuna location.

鳳凰群島是主要的鮪魚產地，

And sharks -- we had sharks on our early dives,

而鯊魚--在我們早期的探索就看過鯊魚了，

up to 150 sharks at once,

一下子就看到150隻鯊魚，

which is an indication

這表示這裡的生態環境

of a very, very healthy, very strong, system.

很健康也很完善。

So I thought the scenes

我以為這些美好的景象

of never-ending wilderness

會一直、永遠地

would go on forever,

持續下去，

but they did finally come to an end.

但終究還是消失了。

And we explored the surface of the Islands as well --

我們也探索了各個島嶼，

very important bird nesting site,

發現那裡是非常重要的鳥類棲息地，

some of the most important bird-nesting sites in the Pacific, in the world.

世上許多重要的鳥類都築巢在此。

And we finished our trip.

這趟探索就到此為止。

And that's the area again.

這是鳳凰群島，

You can see the Islands -- there are eight islands --

你可以看到總共有八個島，

that pop out of the water.

只有八個島是露在水面上的，

The peaks that don't come out of the water are the seamounts.

沒露出來的島尖，其實是海底山。

Remember, a seamount turns into an island when it hits the surface.

如果海底山的山尖露出水面，就稱為島嶼。

And what's the context of the Phoenix Islands?

那麼鳳凰群島到底是由幾個島組成的？

Where do these exist?

這個群島隸屬於什麼國家？

Well they exist in the Republic of Kiribati,

鳳凰群島隸屬於吉里巴斯共和國，

and Kiribati is located in the Central Pacific

而吉里巴斯位於太平洋中間，

in three island groups.

由三個群島組成。

In the west we have the Gilbert Islands.

西邊是吉爾勃特群島，

In the center we have the Phoenix Islands,

中間則是我們這次所談到的

which is the subject that I'm talking about.

鳳凰群島，

And then over to the east we have the Line Islands.

東邊則是直線群島。

It's the largest atoll nation in the world.

吉里巴斯是世上最大的環狀珊瑚礁島國，

And they have

他們的人口

about 110,000 people

約有11萬人，

spread out over 33 islands.

分佈在33個島嶼上。

They control 3.4 million cubic miles of ocean,

全國的海域約有340萬立方哩，

and that's between one and two percent

大約佔全世界

of all the ocean water on the planet.

海域的1%或2%。

And when I was first going up there,

我第一次到那裡時，

I barely knew the name of this country 10 years ago,

也就是十年前，我其實完全沒聽過那個國家，

and people would ask me,

人們都問我：

"Why are you going to this place called Kiribati?"

「你為什麼要去吉里巴斯？」

And it reminded me of that old joke

這讓我想起了一個老掉牙的笑話，

where the bank robber comes out of the courthouse handcuffed,

一個戴著手銙的銀行搶匪從法院走出來，

and the reporter yells, "Hey, Willy. Why do you rob banks?"

記者對他叫道：「嘿！威利！你為什麼要搶銀行？」

And he says, "cause that's where all the money is."

他回說：「因為那裡的錢最多啊！」

And I would tell people, "Why do I go to Kiribati?

所以我回覆道：「我為什麼要去吉里巴斯？

Because that's where all the ocean is."

因為那裡的海洋最多啊！」

They basically are one nation

吉里巴斯其實是

that controls most of the equatorial waters

在中太平洋地區掌控最多

of the Central Pacific Ocean.

赤道附近海域的國家，

They're also a country

他們同時也

that is in dire danger.

面臨著迫切的危機，

Sea levels are rising,

因為海平面不斷上升，

and Kiribati, along with 42 other nations in the world,

而吉里巴斯和世上其他42個國家一樣，

will be under water within 50 to 100 years

在未來的50到100年之內，

due to climate change

會因為氣候變遷而沈入海底。

and the associated sea-level rise from thermal expansion

因為溫室效應會使冰山熔化，

and the melting of freshwater into the ocean.

而使海平面上升，

The Islands rise only one to two meters

現在的島嶼也不過高於海平面

above the surface.

1到2公尺而已，

Some of the islands have already gone under water.

有些島嶼已經沈入海底。

And these nations are faced with a real problem.

這些國家所面對的是迫切的真實危機，

We as a world are faced with a problem.

我們這個世界也面對相同的問題，

What do we do with displaced fellow Earthlings

當這些國家的人民流離失所、

who no longer have a home on the planet?

無家可歸時，我們該怎麼辦？

The president of the Maldives

馬爾地夫總統

conducted a mock cabinet meeting

最近在海底召開了一次

underwater recently

具嘲諷意味的內閣會議，

to highlight the dire straits of these countries.

以彰顯這些國家所面臨的迫切危機。

So it's something we need to focus on.

這是我們應該關注的問題，

But back to the Phoenix Islands,

但讓我們先回到鳳凰群島，

which is the subject of this Talk.

這是我今天演講的主題，

After I got back, I said,

在我回到那兒之後，我說：

okay, this is amazing, what we found.

我們看到了很棒的東西，

I'd like to go back and share it with the government of Kiribati,

我想和吉里巴斯政府分享我的探索成果，

who are over in Tarawa,

但政府機構在最西邊群島

the westernmost group.

的塔拉瓦島上，

So I started contacting them --

所以我與他們聯繫，

because they had actually given me a permit to do this --

他們先前核准了我這次的探索，

and I said, "I want to come up and tell you what we found."

我說：「我想過來告訴你們我的探索成果。」

And for some reason they didn't want me to come,

但不知為何，他們似乎不想看到我，

or it was hard to find a time and a place, and it took a while,

或是他們安排不出適當的時間地點，反正就是拖了一陣子，

but finally they said, "Okay, you can come.

最後他們才說：「好，你可以過來，

But if you come, you have to buy lunch

但你來的時候，要幫我們每個

for everybody who comes to the seminar."

參與會議的人準備午餐。」

So I said, "Okay, I'm happy to buy lunch.

我回說：「好啊！我很樂意請客，

Just get whatever anybody wants."

看看大家想吃什麼。」

So David Obura, a coral reef biologist, and I went to Tarawa,

我和一位珊瑚礁生物學家大衛．歐布拉一起去塔拉瓦島，

and we presented for two hours

我們講解了二個小時，

on the amazing findings of the Phoenix Islands.

說明我們在鳳凰群島的驚人發現，

And the country never knew this. They never had any data from this area.

但他們似乎從來不知道，他們對這片海域一無所知，

They'd never had any information from the Phoenix Islands.

從來沒有針對鳳凰群島的海域做過任何調查。

After the talk, the Minister of Fisheries walked up to me

在我的解說之後，他們的漁業部長走過來找我，