A-lister, Aquaman, brings stark warning on deep-sea mining

PARK CITY : He is best known as the hunky, sea-dwelling superhero Aquaman, but actor Jason Momoa brought a stark and sober warning about the dangers of deep-sea mining to the Sundance film festival on Friday January 20. Hawaiian-born A-lister narrates Deep Rising a new documentary about the frenzied efforts of resource-hungry corporations to scrape valuable metals from vast swathes of the Pacific floor.

Supporters of deep-sea mining claim that pellets of nickel and cobalt can be easily scooped off the seabed, helping reduce fossil fuel reliance.

Conservation groups and scientists fear this could devastate poorly understood marine systems that play a crucial role in regulating the climate, and some nations have called for bans.

Momoa told AFP there were moments where I cried and got emotional narrating the film before its world premiere at the festival in Utah.

It's important to use power for good. The actor, who took marine biology courses as a student, is a UN Environment Program advocate for the oceans and is passionate about all of the things I'm passionate about.

The documentary follows key players in the fledgling industry, including The Metals Company, a Canadian group that is trying to mine the Clarion Clipperton Zone - a vast expanse of the seafloor near Hawaii.

The film goes behind the scenes as its chief executive Gerard Barron courted wealthy investors with promises that little harm will be done to the most barren, desolate part of the planet in contrast to the devastation that continues to cause rainforests.

Deep Rising director Matthieu Rytz told the AFP that we don't know much about the real risk to the deep ocean.

Extraction of the seafloor is just a rush because we don't have enough science to understand what's happening there, he said.