By DIVE Staff
Leading pet-food brand Sheba has launched its first, narrated, dive-along video to bring the coral beds of Sulawesi Indonesia – the home of Sheba’s Hope Reef – to the public’s attention for World Oceans Day 2021.
The 10-minute immersive experience, narrated by Chief Marine Scientist at Mars Incorporated, Professor David Smith, takes viewers on an underwater journey through a reef thriving with life, giving viewers the opportunity to get up close and learn about some of the Indo-Pacific region’s most popular reef life and highlight Sheba’s coral reef restoration efforts.
The dive-along video is featured on Sheba’s YouTube channel – The Channel that Grows Coral – where the advertising money generated from viewing figures is invested into coral reef restoration through its partner, The Nature Conservancy.
Sheba’s Hope Reef, which is visible on Google Earth, was unveiled earlier in May in Indonesia’s Spermonde Archipelago, off the coast of Sulawesi. The artificial reef spells the word H-O-P-E and is part of a wider Sheba programme to restore more than 185,000 square metres of coral reef at sites around the world by 2029.
Since 2008, Sheba’s parent company, Mars Incorporated, has invested more than $10m in research, restoration and community engagement as part of its coral reef programme, part of a larger $1 billion plan to drive action for the protection and restoration of the planet and its inhabitants through its ‘Sustainable In A Generation Plan.’
‘I’m excited to introduce the coral reefs, both restored and native on the Spermonde Archipelago, to ocean lovers, to help generate awareness of the urgent need for us all to act to save and regenerate the world’s coral reefs, especially at a time when travel is limited,’ said Professor Smith. ‘I hope this video spotlights the spectacular beauty and biological richness of corals reefs whilst directly raising money for the cause. Sheba Hope Reef and the other reefs featured in the video are a living example of what can be achieved, and we hope it will inspire people around the world to come together to help preserve and restore these incredible ecosystems.’
