You can’t feed a family with an empty pantry

06 May 2025 – A statement from Dr Andrew Forrest AO.

Ocean with David Attenborough premieres tonight on the global stage, putting an urgent spotlight on what we already know: our oceans are in crisis – and time is running out. We’re seeing it firsthand.

The scale of distant-water fishing fleets has no precedent in history. With today’s technology, there’s nowhere left for fish to hide.

The world knows that we are destroying oceanic life at an industrial scale and speed previously not imaginable.

Every nation is racing to catch what’s left before someone else does – a global free-for-all that will collapse fish stocks permanently if we the people of our planet do not intervene.

There is a solution. One that is scientifically proven and economically smart: enforceable, no-take marine parks covering at least 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030 (30x30).

Without a 30 per cent no-take zone, an oceanic exclusive economic zone is like a Tesla without a battery. It looks good on paper, but it won’t run.

Here’s why 30x30 works:

• No-take zones increase fish biomass by 500 per cent on average and boost surrounding fisheries through spillover.
• They give industry certainty in an era of overfishing and climate disruption.
• They secure food, jobs and economic resilience for coastal communities and future generations.

This is the message Ocean with David Attenborough delivers with force. And it’s one Minderoo Foundation will keep driving – through our science, our advocacy and our storytelling.