Like many children growing up on the Australian coast, much of my life was spent on the beach in Sydney. Summers were spent getting dumped [surfing] at Bondi and fried [by the sun] at Bronte. Later, we moved to Victoria and spent summers swimming in freezing Bass Strait and walking wild rugged beaches. Over the years, the ocean seeped in and moulded me. Like many Australians, I am a coastal dweller. Not of the sea, but twixt land and water.

Later in adulthood, I read too much Conrad and Melville and had to explore beyond the shore. I learnt to sail and spent much time at sea, first up and down the east coast of Australia and then later far from the sight of land - from the tropical pacific to the sub-Antarctic.

Our world is ocean. As children we learn our planet is blue. It is a living thing that feeds us and sustains our planet.

In the Pacific, it is all encompassing. A healthy ocean means healthy fisheries and healthy people.

It feels fantastic to be out here, working with Pacific communities to protect our ocean and its vital fisheries.