Beneath the waves and along the coasts of the world’s oceans, climate change and environmental degradation have spurred the most radical transformations in human history. In At Every Depth, the oceanographer Tessa Hill and the science journalist Eric Simons bring together the varied viewpoints of scientists, coastal community members, Indigenous people, shellfish farmers, fisheries workers, and others to show how scientific research and local and Indigenous knowledge can complement each other to inform a more sustainable future.

In this Q&A, Hill discusses the inspiration behind and the process of writing the book and advises readers on how they can help advocate for the protection of our oceans. 

Q: What is the central idea behind At Every Depth, and why is this an important time to read a book about the oceans?

Tessa Hill: Eric and I noticed that in talking with people about climate and environmental change, many people can identify something specific that has changed in their lifetimes: things like drought, wildfire, dramatic storms, or surprising floods. However, explaining to people that those same types of changes are also happening in the ocean seemed more difficult. When we think of the ocean, we often think of a vast blue unchanging expanse. In this book, Eric and I set out to provide tangible and approachable stories about how the ocean is changing right before our eyes. The way that the ocean is changing fundamentally changes our human connection and relationship to it. And as the book explores, that human relationship is deep (pardon the pun) and goes back to the very roots of human evolution.

Q: How did you and Eric meet? Why did you decide to do this project together?

Hill: At the time we met, Eric was writing for a magazine (Bay Nature) and doing other freelance science journalism, and I was a scientist at UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. We met because he was interviewing me for a story. And in that interview, we just really couldn’t stop talking about what we were both witnessing—in the ocean but also in the community of people who know the ocean well. This was in 2016, and it felt like we had crossed a threshold of how quickly things were changing along the coasts. We kept in touch, and we started compiling examples of how rapidly things were changing—marine heat waves, coral bleaching, collapses in fisheries . . . and at some point, one of us said to the other: we should write this all down. This is a collection of stories that need to be told.

We did the project together because we have a shared vision of reconnecting people with the ocean and the coast and through that connection, inspiring a sense of action, responsibility, and care toward the ocean.

Q: You wrote the book primarily starting in 2018, and it took several years. How was the book changed by the time period when you were writing it, which included the pandemic?

Hill: We started really drafting the book in 2018 and got an excerpt of the first chapter published in Bay Nature that year. We were thrilled to sign a contract with Columbia University Press in early 2020—I can clearly remember standing on a street corner in Oakland, California, having stepped out of a work meeting, to call Eric and excitedly talk about what the contract would mean for finishing the book. I think we imagined it would take us a year to complete. Of course, this was just a few weeks before the world would dramatically change because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic altered the course of the book in a few ways. One is that we had originally planned a smaller number of interviews and to travel to conduct those interviews in person. In the end, only a few interviews for the book were done in person. The plus side of this is that we were able to interview dozens of people—scientists, coastal community members, conservation groups, and Indigenous leaders—because people were so willing to meet with us online. There were some really memorable moments in these online interviews. People were often at home, with their kids running around in the background (and ours, too), and at one point one of our interviewees picked up their computer and brought it outside so we could see the coast beyond their back yard. It was surprisingly personal, vulnerable, and real. In the end, I think the pandemic reshaped the book in some very lovely ways.

Q: What can people do to help protect the ocean?

Hill: The book, in many ways, is a call to action: to reconnect, to problem solve, and to develop partnerships with others to protect the ocean. As individuals, we can do quite a lot. Some common things we often remind people to do are to:

• • Engage with elected officials: We need to make sure that our elected officials, from the local city council or school board to county, state, and federal governments, are hearing our concerns about climate change, plastic pollution, and sustainable management of marine resources.
    
    
  • Talk to your neighbors, friends, and family about your own interest in the ocean and environmental change. One of the best things we can do is to tell other people about what we are concerned about and what we are learning. And as my wonderful coauthor, Eric, often points out, we need to tell people not just that we are concerned about change in a place but also that we care deeply about it in the first place! This simple act builds connections to other people, helps us feel less alone in these concerns, and provides opportunities to work together.
    
    
  • Think about our individual actions: Consider decreasing your use of single-use plastics or making your diet or transportation choices more sustainable. These aren’t always options available to us, but if they are, the more people who can make choices that help the ocean, the better.

An important point to end on is that it is not “too late” to address any of these issues facing the ocean. Whether it is climate change, other types of pollution, sustainable management of the deep sea, or a myriad of other concerns, every step that we take today toward protecting our planet improves our collective future. Today is a great day to begin to feel a connection to the ocean, and do something with that connection.