INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By David Mercer, news reporter Human life is threatened by the "tragedy" facing coral reefs, a top UN official has warned, as Sky News
broadcast live from new depths of the Indian Ocean.On day two of Deep Ocean Live, presenter Mark Austin and Nekton mission pilot Randy Holt
descended to 250 metres below the sea's surface in a mini-submarine to explore an area dubbed the "twilight zone".It came as Sky's Anna
Botting - who delivered the world's first live TV news bulletin from under the sea on Monday - investigated the impact of plastic pollution
on Aldabra, one of the Earth's most heavily protected coral atolls.Plastic pollutes paradise islandScientists have estimated there could be
1,000 tonnes of plastic washed up on the island, known as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean" due to the sheer variety of life.About 50,000
flip-flops are thought to have washed up on the remote coral atoll, 600 miles southwest of the Seychelles, along with plastic fishing ropes,
nets, bottles and cigarette lighters.Image:Mounds of plastic pollution have swept on to AldabraImage:Thousands of discarded flip-flops have
been found on the islandIt has already had a damaging effect on the environment there, with evidence of giant tortoises eating the plastic
shoes.Young green turtles born on Aldabra can also struggle to reach the sea because of plastic debris on the beaches.Image:Young turtles
can struggle to reach the sea because of plastic debrisImage:Giant tortoises on Aldabra have been eating discarded flip-flopsPeter Thomson,
the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for the ocean, said he "firmly believed" the ocean could be cleaned up over the next decade but
warned climate change posed "a much more difficult challenge".He told Sky News: "With ocean warming, you've got the tragedy of coral
reefs.UN special envoy for oceans praises Deep Ocean Live"By the end of this century, we could be in a position where there are no longer
any more coral reefs."For me, coming from Fiji, brought up on a coral coast, this is tragic beyond belief."It's akin to saying there will be
The coral reefs are the bunkers of bio-diversity for the oceans."To take them out of the picture could well be the taking out of the ocean
eco-system, therefore taking out our global eco-system and therefore us."Image:Aldabra is part of a marine conservation zoneMr Thomson said
plastic pollution had become a "plague" on the sea and the effect of climate change was "absolutely existential for us".He told Sky News:
"If we even care a little about the well-being of our children and grandchildren, this is probably the most important thing facing humanity
at the moment - climate change and ocean change."There's no getting away from that unfortunately
The ocean is in deep trouble."We have to address our greenhouse gas emissions, what we're putting into our atmosphere, because that is what
is really damaging our oceans' health."Watch the highlights of day two of Deep Ocean Live on Sky News at 8pm
The third and final live programme in the series will be broadcast on Sky News on Wednesday at 8am.Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign encourages
people to reduce their single-use plastics
You can find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at www.skyoceanrescue.com.
