Beacon of hope - update from Eric Smith of Sussex Underwater
Eric Smith is a 77-year-old free diver, who’s been diving in the Sussex seas since he was 11 years old. Over the years, he was horrified to witness our once-thriving marine ecosystem destroyed by trawling (a story shown on the BBC in a film entitled Our Lives, Our Seas). He spent twenty years trying to get everyone to understand what terrible damage was happening under the water - eventually, the Government started to listen.
Eric co-founded Sussex Underwater, comprising a group of local divers and underwater film makers keen to help ‘make everyone fall in love with the local sea in Sussex'. Sussex Underwater work very closely with Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project. Eric played a vital role in alerting authorities to the fact that our underwater forests had been lost. Finally, in 2021, a landmark ruling by Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority came into being to protect over 300 sq. kilometres of our seabed.
Since then, Sussex Kelp Recovery Project has been undertaking a great deal of monitoring to record the impact of the ban on trawling in nearshore waters and understand how the seabed is recovering. Anecdotally, Eric tells us he's been seeing a fantastic increase in Black Sea Bream this year – a really encouraging sign. 2025 has been a good year for the divers, Eric tells me, who have been enjoying really clear water. Paul Boniface of Sussex Underwater has seen lots of Sting Rays, and small amounts of kelp starting to pop up in new areas of seabed. A kelp frond was recently found on Shelley Rocks, where, six years ago, Eric saw the whole kelp forest destroyed by trawlers.
More recently the journey to recover Sussex kelp, and Eric's involvement, has featured as a chapter in the book to accompany David Attenborough's powerful film Ocean, Earth's Last Wilderness by prominent campaigner, writer and producer Colin Butfield. You can buy it in the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre bookshop.
Read more about how Eric became involved with the Ocean project here.
Eric, his daughter Catrine Priestley and their friend Paul Boniface of Sussex Underwater, were all delighted to be invited to the premier of Ocean at the South Bank, attended by King Charles and Sir David Attenborough (Eric also got to meet his lifelong hero, Michael Palin!).
And in more good news, this year, Sussex Underwater has achieved charitable status, which means they can fundraise, and enables them to do even more work to educate the public, going into schools, taking groups out to the beaches, giving talks to adults etc, telling their stories about the beautiful sea creatures in Sussex, as well as creating awareness about the world beneath the waves and why we need to protect it into the future.
Watch this film about Sussex Underwater
Comments
Eric, his daughter Catrine and Paul are my local heroes for sure! I started following them when I started to do beach cleans as I took walks on my local beach. They have inspired me so much, I am now doing a Marine Ecology course in my journey to understand more about our precious oceans and marine life to hopefully volunteer for a marine conservation project.
12 Jul 2025 20:10:00
Eric, Catrina, Paul and all amazing people who are devoted to restoring a thriving undersea environment locally, it’s great to hear that ‘small amounts of kelp are starting to pop up in new areas of seabed’.
Huge gratitude to you.
14 Jul 2025 18:39:00
Brilliantly uplifting and educational for us all; and particularly as an aid to assist the teaching in schools, and other relevant public forums, how essential it is for humans to understand and greatly value and protect ecological biodiversity.
17 Jul 2025 11:31:00
It’s absolutely baffling that it should have taken 20 YEARS for local authorities to respond to Eric’s plea to stop trawling activities… let’s hope this is now going from strength to strength.
We need more of Eric, Catrina, Paul and crew to push back on all the negatively impacting stuff that’s happening in the world. I love that they are going out to the schools – hopefully recruiting future nature positive crusaders in the meantime.
Thank you Sussex Underwater for doing what you do for the sea and for all of us
17 Jul 2025 13:19:00
Thank you so much for saving the Sussex sea
17 Jul 2025 13:33:00
Inspiring and hopeful. Will share
17 Jul 2025 13:57:00
I had no idea such diverse marine life thrived in our seas. I grew up in London and have fallen in love with Sussex and the coast here. I love a dip in the sea. This video is very reassuring and inspiring, thank you for all the great work that you do!
17 Jul 2025 14:32:00
What wonderful people , so good to read and see what they have done , thank you .
17 Jul 2025 16:00:00
I live in Bognor and had heard of the kelp restoration project and also signed my name to getting trawling banned close to beaches but I had no idea it is so magical undersea off good old Bognor.
Fantastic and fascinating film.
18 Jul 2025 01:00:00
How can I get involved? I am 75 yrs old and slightly disabled but wld love to go into schools and other venues to share what is happening in our local seas (as well as World wide) to help not just the ocean survive bit also the land masses globally.
20 Jul 2025 10:48:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Hi Ann. These are the contact details for Sussex Underwater https://sussexunderwater.uk/co...
A truly inspiring and uplifting video!! Thankyou, to all the team, for all that you are doing to save our seas. It’s just outrageous that it has taken 20 years for various Governments to take notice!! I love that you are visiting schools to educate future generations. Fantastic!!
25 Jul 2025 10:10:00
What a fantastic film and so enlightening. I hadn’t realised so much damage had been done by the trawlers. We are so fortunate that people like you are doing so much to help save our beautiful world. There is so much devastation and sadness every day in the news, it’s wonderful to read such positive work being done. Well done 👍
10 Aug 2025 11:10:00
What a fantastic film and so enlightening. I hadn’t realised so much damage had been done by the trawlers. We are so fortunate that people like you are doing so much to help save our beautiful world. There is so much devastation and sadness every day in the news, it’s wonderful to read such positive work being done. Well done 👍
20 Aug 2025 11:37:00