‘Sharks are my film stars’: how the Jacques Cousteau of the North Sea finally unlocked its beauty
A new documentary, North Sea, Nature Untamed, reveals the surprisingly vivid marine life beneath the often grey and murky waters of the North Sea, an ecosystem long overlooked by film-makers due to the extreme difficulty of underwater filming there. Dutch cinematographer Peter van Rodijnen, inspired by Jacques Cousteau, spent 20 years diving and filming near his home on the Netherlands coast before teaming up with director Mark Verkerk to bring the footage together, aiming to show that this heavily exploited sea can rival a tropical reef in its hidden beauty.
The film, shot over seven years, captures seals, basking sharks, bluefin tuna, orcas and shorthorn sculpins, alongside starfish, lobsters, kelp forests and brittle stars, and highlights how annual plankton blooms underpin the entire food chain despite making the water too murky to film for much of the year. Around four out of every five planned dives had to be cancelled due to rough seas, and film-makers faced repeated setbacks trying to capture unpredictable species. Unlike traditional British nature documentaries, the film also foregrounds human impact, showing fishing communities and the effects of overfishing, including the decline of sand eels on puffin populations.
In short
- New documentary reveals rich, colourful marine life in the North Sea
- Dutch film-maker spent 20 years diving to capture the footage
- Film took seven years; most dives were cancelled by rough seas
Explained simply
The North Sea lies between Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and other northern European countries. Its waters are often cold and cloudy, and the sea is heavily used by people, including for fishing. These conditions have made it difficult for film-makers to show the wildlife beneath the surface.
Dutch cinematographer Peter van Rodijnen spent years filming there, later working with director Mark Verkerk to shape the footage into a documentary. The sea supports a wide range of life, from plankton and kelp to seals, sharks and tuna; seasonal plankton blooms help feed the wider food chain.
Fishing and other human activity affect this ecosystem and the communities around it. The decline of sand eels, for example, can reduce food available to puffins, linking changes in the sea to wildlife on the coast.
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