Christine Regent West

What’s the work that you do?

I work as an Undersea Specialist and Expedition Diver. A large responsibility of my job is to document rarely visited areas underwater through video and photography using a variety of cameras and an ROV, edit the footage and create a short documentary to present and interpret as an educator and lecturer onboard small expedition ships. In order to reveal these hidden ecosystems, I scuba dive and snorkel in polar and temperate water in areas around the world including Antarctica, Alaska and Canada.

What keeps you going?

Exploring underwater in polar regions is the greatest privilege. I visit these places on earth that are nearly inaccessible, have often never been seen, are not fully understood and yet are rapidly changing due to the warming of the earth. Having the chance to document these places that influence our lives and actions worldwide before they are irreversibly altered, to be a voice for ecosystems that need immediate protection, keeps me inspired to work every day.

What’s your message to the world?

The world’s oceans are complex and deeply connected, circulating water around our planet that protects our every day, individual lives. We have a responsibility to listen closely to the ocean when it is showing signs of degradation, take serious action, change our damaging behaviors, and protect the ocean as the ocean protects us.