Climate justice leader Noelle Young introduces From The Sea We Came, a Greenpeace documentary that explores the Bermudian people’s deep connection to the ocean.
From the Sea We Came is more than a film, it is a love letter to the sea, a historical record, and a warning to humankind. The film gathers voices from across our island of Bermuda, threading together the experiences, laughter, and grief of a community bound to the sea. It is the salt air filling our lungs, and the water running through our veins, binding us to the Sargasso Sea.
Bermuda nests within the eye of the Sargasso. It is the only sea in the world without land borders. This oceanic system of currents cradles us, sustains us, defines us, and protects us as the only nation within its borders. It often shields us from the full force of hurricanes and delivers the rains that replenish our fresh water supplies. It has fed our families, carried our history, and shaped our very identity as a nation for centuries. Bermudians are stewards of the Sargasso Sea – not by choice, but by birthright, entrusted with a responsibility as ancient as the tides.
Crown Jewel of the Atlantic
Bermuda has long been lovingly referred to as the Crown Jewel of the Atlantic. To live up to that name, we must keep our environment, our people, and our economy healthy. Bermuda stands as guardian to the deepest, most northern tropical coral reef system in the world. An area that contains some of the highest biodiversity on our planet.
Yet even here, where Bermuda’s coral reef system remains one of the healthiest in the Atlantic, the signs of change cannot be ignored. Industrial fishing fleets roam within its borders. Plastic waste and climate chaos drift into its heart. The currents that once gave comfort now carry messages of concern. And Bermuda, standing small yet steadfast in the Atlantic, feels every pulse of this global crisis.
And still, Bermuda is a paradox in the eyes of the world: a 21-square-mile island resting on a dormant volcano, without sovereignty, yet carrying the vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States. We are often voiceless in the very rooms of the United Nations where our survival is debated.
Beacon of hope
This is why From the Sea We Came was brought to the United Nations, during negotiations on how to bring the High Seas Treaty into force. The Treaty represents a rare triumph of multilateralism in a fractured world, a beacon of hope for protecting vast areas of the high seas. For Bermuda, it offers a pathway to protect the entire Sargasso Sea around our tiny nation, to finally honour its value and our rights in the language of law.
The Sargasso is one of the most studied and data-rich oceanic regions on Earth. Its protection should not be optional – it is long overdue. This Treaty was created specifically to ensure that unique ecosystems like ours can continue to endure for centuries more.
At the UN, I stood before decision makers and urged them to protect the Sargasso under this Treaty. I did not stand alone. Bermudian civil society rose with me, and for that I am thankful. Their stories are stitched into this film, their hopes carried across the Atlantic like the migratory whales that begin and end their journeys in the embrace of Bermuda’s waters.
Bermuda’s voice carries far beyond our shores. It is a voice of survival, of stewardship, of love for a sea that gave us everything. And now, decision makers in the United Kingdom and across the world must listen. They must act. For from the sea we came – and without it, we cannot remain.