From Portugal to Peru, from Bangladesh to Belize, this programme investigates the health and sustainability of the world's oceans, with a special emphasis on issues affecting marine preserves, fisheries, and coastal ecosystems.

Today the oceans are home to nearly 80 percent of the planet’s plants and animals, providing sustenance to billions of people. What was once considered an inexhaustible source of food is now known to be a resource in danger of being completely depleted. And as the ocean’s health declines, so do the seafaring communities that have depended on it for their livelihood for centuries. While presenting evidence of the threats to the oceans, The State of the Planet’s Oceans also reveals stories of hope, courage and redemption.

Some of the stories and issues that are featured include the significance of rapidly increasing glacier melt in Greenland, the loss of sea ice in the Arctic and its effect on fisheries and wildlife, the effects of climate change and unsustainable fishing on coral reefs, the success of marine preserves in the Florida Keys and off the coast of Belize, and a first person essay by world-renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle.

Hosted and narrated by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, The State of the Planet’s Oceans is the most recent installment of the award-winning Journey to Planet Earth series which reports on the most important environmental and sustainable development issues of the 21st century.