It was a perfect storm: sea strength 9, waves 10 meters high. Most surfers scrambled for their boards and called in sick, but director Roberto D'Amico saw an opportunity. “The video came out very naturally,” he told us. “I needed to find something to get attention. Once I scored amazing waves I knew I could use them as a message to show what’s really happening on our coasts.”

The Mediterranean has been classified as one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change in the world. The temperature of the ocean is 3 degrees higher than it should be and is still increasing. As this melts the glaciers in the polar regions, shores are flooded with plastics and trash that deeply affect marine life. “I just want to open people’s eyes…not everyone knows what it means to treat the planet the way we are. Even doing .0001% is already something. The video shows some heavy images…I just hope it will make us think and take the right decisions.”

To find out more ways you can take actions to help protect our oceans and the planet this World Oceans Day, here’s a list of good places to start:

Waves for Water

Kokua Hawaii Foundation

Fight for the Bight

Surfrider Foundation