On the weekend of UN World Ocean Day, Irish marine scientist and journalist Dr Olive Heffernan will discuss the findings of her widely praised new book on the subject.
The ocean covers 70 per cent of the planet’s surface and two-thirds of it lies beyond national borders.
Owned by all nations and no nation simultaneously, these waters are home to some of the richest and most biodiverse environments on the planet.
However, they are also home to exploitation on a scale that few of us can imagine, as Dr Heffernan explores in her new book, The High Seas.
It has been described as “a forceful and deeply researched manifesto, calling for the protection and preservation of this final frontier”.
The Sunday Times has praised her book's “powerful reportage...awash with wonderful obscurities”, while Gaia Vince says it is “a vital, fascinating, deeply researched exploration of Earth's last wilderness”.
Funded by the Pulitzer Center, the book's findings will be discussed at this weekend’s Festival of Writing and Ideas at Borris House, Co Carlow.
Dr Heffernan will be interviewed by marine journalist Lorna Siggins at the Borris festival - acknowledged as the coolest literary festival on the island - on Sunday, June 9th at 2.50 pm.
More details on the sell-out 12th annual Festival of Writing and Ideas can be found here
