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Marco Spinelli. The power of storytelling to protect seas

For Marco Spinelli, the sea has always been home. A photographer, documentary filmmaker and explorer of the underwater world, he grew up in Sicily, where he spent his childhood exploring the Mediterranean alongside his brother Andrea—now a marine biologist and researcher—guided by their father. It was there that his deep connection with the sea was born, a bond that continues to shape all of his work today.

Through photography and documentaries, Spinelli tells the story of marine ecosystems with a clear purpose: to reveal what lies beneath the surface and expose the impact of human activities on an environment that is too often perceived as vast, endless, and untouchable.

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"The sea is often seen as something far too vast to be truly affected by human activity, but the reality is very different. Beneath the surface lie incredibly fragile ecosystems that are being put at risk every single day."

Photography and Storytelling

More than photography itself, it is storytelling that Spinelli believes in most deeply.

Like cinema, music, and other art forms, photography has the power to evoke emotions that can become awareness.

"I deeply believe in the power of information, curiosity, and above all, stories."

His goal is to build an emotional connection between people and the ocean.

"If someone falls in love with something, they will naturally be more inclined to protect it. That is why my goal is to make people fall in love with the sea and with the creatures that inhabit it."

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Alongside his work as a documentary filmmaker, he collaborates with his brother on several marine conservation projects, convinced that raising awareness and taking concrete action must go hand in hand.

A Changing Mediterranean

After a lifetime spent at sea, particularly along the Sicilian coast, Spinelli has witnessed increasingly evident transformations.

"Many places that I remember as full of life now appear much poorer."
Seabeds that were once thriving with biodiversity now seem depleted. Among the main causes, he points to intensive fishing and illegal fishing, both of which continue to place enormous pressure on Mediterranean ecosystems.
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Another increasingly visible sign is the rise in sea temperatures, which is altering species distribution and disrupting natural balances.

For Spinelli, these changes are no longer isolated events but part of a new reality that demands concrete action.

"We need to realize how dramatically intensive fishing is impoverishing the Mediterranean and how urgently we need stronger regulations and more effective enforcement to protect these ecosystems."
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The Image of an Invisible Crisis

Among the most significant photographs of his career, one perfectly captures the relationship between human activity and marine biodiversity.

It is the image of a young porbeagle shark accidentally caught by fishermen and later thrown back into the sea. The episode, documented thanks to a trusted contact who alerted him immediately, became one of the central stories in his documentary Shark Preyed, which investigates the shark meat trade in Europe.

"Looking into the eyes of that animal, still alive but already doomed, was devastating."

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The porbeagle shark is a protected species, and fishing for it is prohibited in Italy. Yet accidental captures like this continue to occur.
For Spinelli, that photograph raises a broader question: how many similar stories remain invisible simply because no one is there to document them?

Protecting the Sea Means Taking Action

When thinking about the global 30×30 target, Spinelli immediately recalls a scene from Shark Preyed.
It shows the eggs of small-spotted catsharks accidentally caught in fishing nets being recovered by the Oceanogràfic Foundation in Valencia, where they are cared for until they hatch. The young sharks are then released into a Marine Protected Area.

For him, that release represents the future we should strive to build: more Marine Protected Areas, stronger conservation measures, and greater collective responsibility towards the ocean.
"We absolutely need to protect more of the sea, and we need to do it now."
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Photos and interview by Marco Spinelli for MEDSEA Foundation.

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