Original subtitles

- West Papua.

Nowhere else does the sea pulse with so much life.

- In West Papua,

a unique boat visits many islands,

bringing something wonderful to each.

The Kalabia is a floating school,

where children of the islands learn about the reefs

they all depend on.

A 13-year-old boy, Jawi, has been chosen

to spend the summer on this boat.

- Tomorrow we'll start classes on the Kalabia.

But today we sing.

- Jawi, welcome back.

- My uncle Menas is a teacher on the Kalabia.

- Everywhere we go, the children get so excited.

We use songs and games to teach students about the oceans.

- My dad brings the old days back to life.

He makes it fun.

When he runs out of paint he uses toothpaste.

- Jawi's father died when he was two,

so we took him in.

He's a foster child, but I love him like my own.

I teach him about our heritage.

The past seems strange to kids like me.

But my dad says there's wisdom in the old ways.

- In our village we all depend on each other.

We belong together.

Just like these villagers.

- Jawi's uncle Menas takes the Kalabia students

on field trips.

He tries to teach these children of the reef

something new about their own back yard.

There's a great diversity of healthy corals here.

But Menas shows the class that the big fish

they depend on for food are almost gone.

- Corals eat tiny plants and animals

called plankton.

They're like an upside-down octopus,

grabbing food as it passes by.

- I love this game.

It shows my friends how corals eat.

They reach out like coral polyps and get peanuts.

Plankton peanuts.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving on a long journey.

But I want one last day with my two best friends.

We plan our day around the tides and currents

because we can only get through here at low tide,

like right now.

Sometimes this cave fills up with water.

I don't say this to anyone,

but maybe I'm just a little bit afraid to leave home.

I'm the oldest, and kind of the leader.

The youngest is Jacob.

He's not afraid of anything.

And Gibson?

Everything we do makes him laugh.

Clams and snails live here in the mangroves.

That's what we're after.

We roast the clams and snails inside a bamboo stick.

It's good.

- Fishing keeps us alive,

but the big fish are disappearing fast.

Outsiders are sneaking in and poaching our reefs.

And development is coming.

So Jawi needs to find new ways to protect our reefs.

- I've never been away from home before.

Two months is a long time.

- The Kalabia will take Jawi

to nine islands in West Papua.

This island chain forms a narrow funnel

between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Tidal currents sweep back and forth,

bearing a rich source of food.

- In the old days, a boy went on a long voyage

to become a man.

I hope this trip will teach Jawi to think for himself.

Poachers once used the Kalabia to fish illegally.

It was impounded and repainted,

and now helps young islanders

understand how to care for their reefs.

- My dad says, dive every reef,

because each one is different.

A seahorse.

My first.

- The last time I dove this reef

there were more fish.

In all the oceans the number of big fish has dropped 90%.

And it's almost as bad for sea turtles.

So we were lucky to see one.

- Like any village,

a coral reef has its fair share of characters.

This hawksbill turtle is just passing through

on her way to the island of Kalimantan,

a thousand miles away.

All her life she remains a nomad.

A hungry nomad, who avoids crowds.

Certain other characters, like the lined sweetlips,

prefer company.

Hawksbill turtles have no teeth,

just a horny beak.

But they will eat almost anything.

They never stop.

- Sea turtles are disappearing,

but I told Jawi there are things we can do to save them.

- The scientist on board,

Ferdiel Ballamu, is an expert on sea turtles.

Even though turtles bury their eggs in sand,

wild animals dig them up and eat them.

- Sometimes, the only way

to protect the turtle eggs

is to move them to a safe place.

- The next island, Arborek,

is vulnerable to storms and high tides.

Its highest point is only six feet above sea level.

The people here love their island,

and don't want to live anywhere else.

Mangroves protect beaches from storms.

That's why the Islanders plant saplings.

But even mangroves cannot protect Arborek

against rising sea levels.

- The mangrove roots clean the waters.

Young fish hide here so they can grow.

The more mangroves, the more fish.

- The currents that nourish the mangroves

also attract extraordinary creatures

from many miles around.

Manta rays hang in the currents like gliders

so the cleaner fish can groom them.

The rays get rid of parasites on their skin

and the fish get a tasty snack.

This ray has a big chunk missing, from a shark bite.

She lets her groomers clean the wound.

One helper even nibbles on the manta's eyeball.

In West Papua the rhythm of life

is driven by the currents.

In tight spots between the islands

the sea flows fast, like a river.

And at full moon,

that's when the currents run strongest.

These strong currents turn the seawater into plankton soup.

A real feast for the mantas.

Here, at the convergence of two great oceans,

schools of anchovies grow in size when it's time to spawn.

Attracting hungry predators.

Scientists are mapping the many deep canyons of West Papua,

where upwelling currents carry vast quantities of plankton.

All these nutrients

sustain an amazing diversity of sea life.

Over 500 different kinds of corals

and nearly 2,000 species of fish.

More than anywhere else on earth.

- I'm seeing some animals I've never seen before.

Like an orangutan crab.

It makes me laugh.

The seahorse is tiny.

There's a second seahorse,

which I almost didn't spot.

Not all sharks are dangerous.

The wobbegong shark just wants to hide.

This one's pregnant, and she is as gentle as a puppy.

- The Kalabia sets course for Wermon,

a nesting ground for sea turtles.

- I showed Jawi one turtle,

but now he'll see some big ones.

20 times bigger.

- Because of his success saving sea turtles,

Ferdiel has been invited to Wermon to share his know-how.

- The turtles that nest here are huge.

So it takes a large scale to weigh them.

And it takes a large man to test the scale.

- Scientists call this beach

the last stand of the Pacific leatherback turtle.

This mother swam all the way from North America,

6,000 miles, to the beach where she was born.

She will not nest anywhere else.

- Red lights don't disturb her.

She can't see red.

In the past four years she has really grown,

and now weighs 500 pounds.

The mother digs a hole two feet deep,

and lays about a hundred eggs.

The newborns can walk as soon as they hatch.

They somehow imprint on this exact beach,

like setting their internal GPS.

Then they begin a dangerous journey.

Only one in 10 makes it to the sea.

- Birds and lizards eat almost every baby turtle.

But sometimes you get lucky.

- Despite their struggles,

sea turtles still have a chance.

New fishing equipment, like the circle hook,

is saving them by the thousands.

- The Kalabia moves to the island of Misool.

Years ago, when Andy and Merit Miners

came here for the first time,

they saw big reefs all around.

But where were the fish?

The villagers were overfishing,

and the outsiders were getting their catch the easy way.

With dynamite.

To bring the big fish back,

Andy and Merit made the fisherman an offer of help.

Get the outsiders to stop dynamiting.

Limit your fishing.

And establish a permanent marine protected area.

If you work with us, your reefs will thrive.

And so will your families.

The villagers agreed, and steadily,

over the next five years, the big fish came back.

- Here there are plenty of big fish.

I saw that this no-take zone was working so well

because they patrol it.

- Here, the fishermen who once broke the rules

now enforce them in patrol boats.

They put a stop to illegal fishing.

And on the very spot that the poachers

once pitched their camp,

Andy and Merit build their dream.

A resort to sustain both the reefs and the islanders.

The villagers now make a better living

working with tourists who come here

to dive these revitalized reefs.

- I saw how a marine protected area works,

and how to guard it.

I understood why the big fish were disappearing

from our reef at home.

And I finally knew what we could do about it.

My dad says there's wisdom in the old ways.

And a wise fisherman

always leaves some fish for another day.

That's the old way.

The stone fish.

You don't want to touch one of those.

His venom can kill you.

I learned this: protect the reef and it'll sing to you.

- This colorful chorus has shown Jawi

how a well-managed reef can thrive.

- Just before we left Misool,

I got a letter from home.

- Learn all you can, never hold back.

We all miss you.

Love, your father.

- The final stop will be Cenderawasih Bay,

where the whale sharks gather.

In all the oceans, these are the biggest sharks.

Well over 40 feet long.

There are even reports of 60-footers.

- Here I'll have the chance

to dive with whale sharks.

I've never seen one.

I think they must be scary.

The harder I try not to think about whale sharks,

the more I think about whale sharks.

Uncle Menas says whale sharks won't hurt me.

I don't know.

- The commercial fishermen feed the whale sharks

some of their catch to keep them hanging around.

They're considered good luck.

- I wonder if they could swallow me by mistake.

Now I wonder why I was ever afraid of whale sharks.

- Jawi's journey is nearly over.

But the Kalabia's work continues.

Inspiring a generation of children

to care for the ocean.

In just two months Jawi has seen

how a revitalized reef sustains itself.

And he has learned that the more you understand a reef

the better you can protect it.

- We have concerns, but scientists tell us

there's no other place like this anywhere on earth.

I'm thankful that the future of our islands

belongs to the children of the reef.

- pretty soon it will be up to me,

and Gibson, and Jacob.

And that's why my dad sent me on this journey.