Hugo Tagholm: The Oceana Activist

Sir David Attenborough once said, “An understanding of the natural world is a source of not only great curiosity but great fulfilment.”

And so, surely it is our responsibility to do everything within our power to create, nurture and maintain a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth?

So why, here in the UK, is a deluge of untreated sewage being dumped by water companies into our rivers and along our coastlines?

Last year alone, there were a whopping 372,533 sewage spills, over a period of 2.7 million hours.

This is one of the BIGGEST environmental scandals of our time. Yet, as is always the case, it doesn't have to be this way.

This is why today we are joining forces with Hugo Tagholm to bring to you a deep dive into the world of marine conservation and critique the scandals we're witnessing on our shorelines.

Hugo served as Chief Exec of Surfers Against Sewage, one of the UK’s leading marine conservation and campaigning charities that have been instrumental in campaigning for the introduction and enforcement of legislation that protects our seas from pollution.

He also led partnerships at The Climate Coalition, and joined forces with Richard Haward’s Oysters and the Good Law Project, with the aim of compelling the Government to rewrite its Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan to impose much tighter deadlines on water companies to clean up their act.

Tagholm has also served as Programme Director at Theirworld and is an esteemed TEDx speaker, columnist for Oceanographic Magazine, and avid surfer.

Earlier this year, he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science for his services to marine conservation by the University of Exeter and has recently become the Exec Director and Vice President at Oceana, the largest international advocacy organisation dedicated solely to ocean conservation.

The crux of this wonderful conversation focuses on the majesty of our oceans, the tragedy of their decline and the urgency of change.

Chatting with Hugo was an absolute pleasure and my hope is that this one inspires you into your own form of action and activism —because we can't change the world without changing ourselves.

As always, the podcast is available on Apple, Acast, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

So here it is - me and the Oceana Activist, Hugo Tagholm.

Enjoy ✌️🌿🌎

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