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CNN Live Today
Interview With Jean-Michel Cousteau
Aired August 14, 2003 - 11:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is a tiny, yet beautiful speck of land in the middle of nowhere. Kure Atoll, three tiny islands owned by the U.S. Navy in the Central Pacific.
Now this pristine coral reef is highlighted in a new documentary by Jean-Michel Cousteau, who happens to be the son of the famous explorer, Jacques Cousteau. And the program's going to air on American and French television in 2004.
And we're going to get a bit of a sneak preview here because Jean-Michel Cousteau is here to talk about this project. And this is an incredible idea, but just to give folks bit of a geography lesson, we want to look at where you actually went to. You said going into this whole thing you wanted to be on the most remote islands in the world, islands that had been untouched by man, correct? These are the islands that you went to. Was it the "cure" (ph) or "cooray" Atoll?
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU, OCEAN EXPLORER: Well, it's called "cure-a" and it's 12,00 miles away from the Hawaiian islands which everybody knows about. So we visited all the reefs, sea mounts and atoll and islands all the way out. to Kure, 1,200 miles.
HARRIS: You're 1,200 miles away from Hawaii out in the middle of nowhere, literally.
COUSTEAU: That's right.
HARRIS: And yet you still found evidence of man.
COUSTEAU: Yes. Although these islands are protected, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is doing a formidable job, there are very few people there, there are millions and millions of birds, and we find trash everywhere...
HARRIS: I'm looking at these pictures right here...
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... coming with the currents of the Pacific and every country is represented there. It's not just the U.S. It's the world over. And we can identify fishing nets, which kills animals, endangered species. We can find this kind of trash you see now.
And what really got to me is what has been picked up by the birds, mostly at the albatross at sea, hundreds of miles away...
(CROSSTALK) COUSTEAU: That's right. Flying fish leave their eggs on every piece of material you see here. And whether it's a piece of plastic, a toothbrush, a lure, a float...
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... all these things -- a pen -- all these things are covered with fish eggs. The albatross takes it in it's system, brings it back to the island and feed it to their little babies.
HARRIS: Pipes with tobacco.
COUSTEAU: This was not tobacco. These are beaks of squids, which is what they don't digest.
But all this -- you know, can find bottle caps of Japanese beer, French water. I mean, it's all there.
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... toys and lighters. There are millions and millions of cigarette lighters which are floating on the ocean, picked up by the albatross, brought back, put in the mouth of their babies and often the babies die. You know, you have that in your throat, you die.
HARRIS: But the main point is that it appears as though man's touch around the world is something that's almost impossible to escape.
COUSTEAU: Everything is connected.
HARRIS: That's amazing.
Let's go underwater now. These are some pictures that you brought back with you from...
COUSTEAU: Well, fortunately, it's a fabulous place with a lot of very, very pristine environment where you have lots of Galapagos sharks and other species. The giant jacks, which you cannot find anywhere else other than very -- in a scarcity way. And very rare species of tropical fish. All of that is extremely well maintained. And also endemic species together with coral reefs, which are very fragile because they are the distressed in the very north. The northernmost atoll, popular atoll in the world is Kure.
HARRIS: Now did the scene you found under the water encourage you more than the one you found on the shore?
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: Absolutely. It made me believe that the previous administration and this administration are doing the right thing in wanting to make this a marine sanctuary and protect it for future generations to enjoy. We need more enforcement, we need more resources to study these islands. It's not a monumental undertaking, financially. But it's well worth it. and the people of the world will be grateful if we continue that process.
HARRIS: This is fascinating stuff. And when will this all be aired on the program?
COUSTEAU: Either late spring or in the fall of 2004, next year.
HARRIS: Going to be very interesting to see what you uncovered there. Jean-Michel Cousteau...
COUSTEAU: Thank you.
HARRIS: ... it's and honor and pleasure to meet you.
COUSTEAU: You're very kind. Thank you very much.
HARRIS: And incredible stuff. In fact, once we get closer to the air date for this, we'll have to have you come back. This is fascinating.
COUSTEAU: We'll be back with more toys.
HARRIS: Great, fantastic. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 14, 2003 - 11:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is a tiny, yet beautiful speck of land in the middle of nowhere. Kure Atoll, three tiny islands owned by the U.S. Navy in the Central Pacific.
Now this pristine coral reef is highlighted in a new documentary by Jean-Michel Cousteau, who happens to be the son of the famous explorer, Jacques Cousteau. And the program's going to air on American and French television in 2004.
And we're going to get a bit of a sneak preview here because Jean-Michel Cousteau is here to talk about this project. And this is an incredible idea, but just to give folks bit of a geography lesson, we want to look at where you actually went to. You said going into this whole thing you wanted to be on the most remote islands in the world, islands that had been untouched by man, correct? These are the islands that you went to. Was it the "cure" (ph) or "cooray" Atoll?
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU, OCEAN EXPLORER: Well, it's called "cure-a" and it's 12,00 miles away from the Hawaiian islands which everybody knows about. So we visited all the reefs, sea mounts and atoll and islands all the way out. to Kure, 1,200 miles.
HARRIS: You're 1,200 miles away from Hawaii out in the middle of nowhere, literally.
COUSTEAU: That's right.
HARRIS: And yet you still found evidence of man.
COUSTEAU: Yes. Although these islands are protected, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is doing a formidable job, there are very few people there, there are millions and millions of birds, and we find trash everywhere...
HARRIS: I'm looking at these pictures right here...
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... coming with the currents of the Pacific and every country is represented there. It's not just the U.S. It's the world over. And we can identify fishing nets, which kills animals, endangered species. We can find this kind of trash you see now.
And what really got to me is what has been picked up by the birds, mostly at the albatross at sea, hundreds of miles away...
(CROSSTALK) COUSTEAU: That's right. Flying fish leave their eggs on every piece of material you see here. And whether it's a piece of plastic, a toothbrush, a lure, a float...
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... all these things -- a pen -- all these things are covered with fish eggs. The albatross takes it in it's system, brings it back to the island and feed it to their little babies.
HARRIS: Pipes with tobacco.
COUSTEAU: This was not tobacco. These are beaks of squids, which is what they don't digest.
But all this -- you know, can find bottle caps of Japanese beer, French water. I mean, it's all there.
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: ... toys and lighters. There are millions and millions of cigarette lighters which are floating on the ocean, picked up by the albatross, brought back, put in the mouth of their babies and often the babies die. You know, you have that in your throat, you die.
HARRIS: But the main point is that it appears as though man's touch around the world is something that's almost impossible to escape.
COUSTEAU: Everything is connected.
HARRIS: That's amazing.
Let's go underwater now. These are some pictures that you brought back with you from...
COUSTEAU: Well, fortunately, it's a fabulous place with a lot of very, very pristine environment where you have lots of Galapagos sharks and other species. The giant jacks, which you cannot find anywhere else other than very -- in a scarcity way. And very rare species of tropical fish. All of that is extremely well maintained. And also endemic species together with coral reefs, which are very fragile because they are the distressed in the very north. The northernmost atoll, popular atoll in the world is Kure.
HARRIS: Now did the scene you found under the water encourage you more than the one you found on the shore?
(CROSSTALK)
COUSTEAU: Absolutely. It made me believe that the previous administration and this administration are doing the right thing in wanting to make this a marine sanctuary and protect it for future generations to enjoy. We need more enforcement, we need more resources to study these islands. It's not a monumental undertaking, financially. But it's well worth it. and the people of the world will be grateful if we continue that process.
HARRIS: This is fascinating stuff. And when will this all be aired on the program?
COUSTEAU: Either late spring or in the fall of 2004, next year.
HARRIS: Going to be very interesting to see what you uncovered there. Jean-Michel Cousteau...
COUSTEAU: Thank you.
HARRIS: ... it's and honor and pleasure to meet you.
COUSTEAU: You're very kind. Thank you very much.
HARRIS: And incredible stuff. In fact, once we get closer to the air date for this, we'll have to have you come back. This is fascinating.
COUSTEAU: We'll be back with more toys.
HARRIS: Great, fantastic. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
