‘I’m passionate about the ocean’: Céline Cousteau on diving off the Americas

The film-maker and conservationist is as determined to protect the marine world and indigenous peoples, in places like Mexico and the Amazon, as her famous forebears

People always think that my grandfather Jacques or father [oceanographic explorer] Jean-Michel were my main influences. But my mother was a great influence too. She was an expedition photographer and from when I was about nine and living in France she travelled for around three months of the year - I used to swing by her office and see her leaning over the light table looking at slides from her latest expedition. It was natural to see all these far-flung places brought back home.

I'm passionate about the ocean and its conservation. I spent time recently in Cancun, Mexico with the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program. It's the second largest reef system on the planet and there are scientists working on amazing projects, replanting coral and trying to understand its resilience to shifts in ocean activity. It's crucial work - coral is such an important ecosystem in terms of sustaining life.