The ocean covers about 70% of our planet and provides nearly 50% of the available oxygen on the planet through photosynthesis performed by plant organisms living there (especially phytoplankton). Thanks to them, the ocean is also able to absorb about 30% of the planet’s CO2 [1]. A healthy ocean thus allows the planet to regulate itself; conversely, if the ocean degrades, the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere suffers, leading to an increase in global warming. Human activities and our ever-increasing production of CO2 are causing ocean acidification, which has direct consequences on the species living there. Protecting the ocean and its living beings is therefore a necessity to protect the planet. Knowing the ocean, its mechanisms, its fauna and flora is thus essential. However, to date, we have only explored 20% of it [2].
For many centuries, ocean exploration was a man’s affair. Indeed, many superstitions associated the presence of women on a boat with danger. There was even a law that prevented women from boarding fishing, commercial, or warships. [3] This law, the Colbert law, was only repealed in 1963! However, women did not wait until 1963 to perform maritime feats. Between disguise and audacity, this article will tell you the amazing story of some women who dared and are currently daring to take on the challenges of the ocean.
In 2021, UNESCO launched the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development [4], with the desire to mobilize scientists, politicians, and civilians to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Concretely, the goal is to acquire the missing knowledge about the ocean and how to sustainably manage its resources. To address this issue, it is necessary to democratize and raise awareness of ocean-related professions, and especially to open their doors to women! Indeed, while the Colbert law was repealed 60 years ago now, women are still underrepresented in the maritime sector. According to WISTA France (a network of women who hold positions of responsibility in the maritime sector), only 21% of positions in the maritime sector are held by women [5]. Regarding research professions, this percentage is 30%.
To address this lack of representation of women in marine professions, the association Elles bougent [6] and the French Maritime Cluster [7] launched the operation “Les Elles de l’océan” [8]. On this occasion, middle school, high school, and university students are invited to meet women engineers, technicians, oceanographers, … and to discover all the scientific and technical professions in the maritime sector. More and more associations and “events of this type are being created in France, such as WISTA [9] or WomenForSea [10]. The first is an international association created to engage and support women in the maritime,” exchange and logistics sectors. The second is an initiative created by Nathalie Ille, passionate about the sea and its biodiversity, who brings together a whole community of women committed to protecting the sea and living beings.
Honoring, discovering, inspiring, engaging. These are the key words for developing knowledge about the ocean and its protection, as well as increasing the proportion of women in this sector. Follow us in the discovery of several of these women who have acted in the past or are currently acting for the protection, discovery, and knowledge of the ocean.
Anita Conti (1899-1997)
“On immensely similar and endlessly dissimilar waves, towards receding horizons, towards stars about to be born, towards the infinity of blue that will turn black, a ship carried to the edge of the sky, with its iron walls it tears through the waters and I, in it, a prisoner.” Poem by Anita Conti.
Having grown up between Brittany and Paris, Anita Conti was always close to the sea. During World War I, her family moved to the island of Oléron where she continued her ocean education: she learned to sail, became interested in marine species through the fishermen she met, and discovered photography. In the 1930s, she embarked on herring boats with her camera to observe, count, photograph, and map marine resources. Her work was noticed by the Scientific and Technical Office of Maritime Fisheries, the predecessor of Ifremer, which hired her. She then boarded the first French oceanographic ship to observe fishing techniques, create maps, study the seabed and water quality to optimize fishing activity at sea. During World War II, she joined the French Navy to continue her mission and thus became the first woman in history to join the ranks of the navy.
These years at sea studying fishing and its impacts made her question practices and the problem of overfishing. She was one of the first to question the human consequences on marine environments and to advocate for more rational exploitation. After the war, she resumed her voyages on fishing boats, which led her to the African coasts to develop sustainable fishing techniques. She thus became one of the pioneers of aquaculture and established aquaculture farms in the North Sea and on the Adriatic coast.
Sylvia Earle (1935-)
At 12 years old, she moved to the Gulf of Mexico where she became passionate about its fauna and flora. She even wrote a thesis on local algae at the end of her studies. This marked the beginning of her career, which she pursued up to a doctorate in botany and a research position at Harvard. In 1964, she embarked on a ship exploring the Indian Ocean, the only woman aboard a vessel with 70 men. Then, a few years later, she tested the effects of prolonged immersion by staying two weeks with four other women in a habitat 15 meters deep. In total, she spent more than 7000 hours underwater and even holds the record for deepest dive with a bottle, having dived to 381 meters in the Pacific Ocean. These feats earned her the nickname “Her Deepness”.
It was through her dives that she was able to observe the deterioration of the marine ecosystem. She then decided to found her association Mission Blue, which aims to protect areas recognized as essential to the ocean. Her commitment earned her a documentary, released in 2014 on Netflix and named after her association “Mission Blue”. In this documentary, Sylvia Earle warns, “The ocean is our life, if we don’t change our habits, we will have big problems”. Today, she continues her ocean exploration missions and has been, since 1998, an explorer-in-residence for National Geographic.
Maud Fontenoy (1977-)
Since she was very young, Maud Fontenoy and the sea have been one: she boarded her first boat, the family schooner, at the age of seven days and learned all the basics of navigation, ocean knowledge, and nature during her adolescence. This youth on the water led her, in 2003, to set off for the North Atlantic crossing by rowing, alone and without assistance. Four months after her departure, she became the first woman to complete this crossing by arriving safely. In 2005, she set off again, this time crossing the Pacific, between Peru and the Marquesas Islands. This feat earned her being named Person of the Year by Time Magazine. She didn’t stop there and accomplished in 2007, in 150 days of travel, a round-the-world trip against the current, by sail and without assistance. A great ocean enthusiast who has spent most of her life on the water, she can only witness the visible effects of pollution and global warming on these environments. She thus committed herself, alongside scientists, to the protection of the oceans and created, in 2008, the Maud Fontenoy Foundation, which is engaged in France and internationally to preserve the oceans. Her foundation conducts environmental education and awareness actions with the support of scientific partners and the Ministry of National Education.
Between travel stories, environmental awareness, and highlighting women in the maritime sector, Maud Fontenoy has published numerous books and released several documentaries. Recently, she released ‘Femmes océanes’ (Ocean Women) with Cherche-Midi editions, paying tribute to female explorers, oceanographers, sailors, fishers, adventurers…, who are underrepresented and who are her heroines. [14]
Written by Loane Danès and edited by Alizée Morat
