鲍鱼tv

One of the first stories I looked into when I started on 'Atlantic' was a tip off from a colleague that orcas could be seen in huge numbers off the coast of the very north of Norway.

I had never seen an orca before and am fascinated by them; they are beautiful animals and incredible hunters showing undeniable teamwork and intelligence. For 5 months I dug deeper and found out more and more about this phenomenon. Not only did orcas gather in their hundreds and hunt in an unique way, but humpbacks and fin whales also make an appearance, all to enjoy a glut of herring which appear in the waters around a town called Andenes at the beginning of the year. I knew this was a gem of a story and we had to film it. However I was nervous.

First of all was the practicalities of filming. Andenes is within the Arctic Circle, and for the majority of time when the herring are there, the sun doesn't even come over the horizon. We only had a 2 week window when the sun first appears in January, before the herring would leave. Filming underwater added an extra complication - there would only be a small period of time in each day when the sun would penetrate the water enough to film.

There was also a worry whether the herring, and therefore also the orcas, would show up. The herring have historically not always appeared in Andenes; for an unknown reason, every handful of years they move to different spots. Would this be the year that they change location?

In addition, the deep winter in the Arctic Circle is not famed for wonderful conditions. The previous year for instance, the entire time the orcas were in Andenes was a complete wash out. If that happened again, we wouldn't get any footage.

Secondly, and perhaps my biggest concern, was safety. I was the Dive Supervisor which meant I was ensuring the safety of all divers in the water. We had a team of up to 4 people in the water at any one time - 2 cameramen and 2 support divers. The obvious risk was that the water was extremely cold, the divers were going to be getting in and out multiple times a day which meant hyperthermia was a real risk.

Not just that, but I was placing the divers into a situation where they could be surrounded by fifty 10 tonne orcas (not to mention any humpbacks or fin whales which may join the party) - all focused on feeding. Although there have never been any recorded instances of orcas attacking humans in the wild, there was a very real threat of one of the divers being knocked by a fin or tail.

Diving in itself is also of course dangerous, and my team were pushing it to the limit by doing a number of 'bounce dives' (dives which have a very short period of time underwater) in a day. This is something which can lead to decompression sickness and can be deadly.

And so we went, and within hours of arrival, we found our boat surrounded by a pod of orcas - truly one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen. They are breathtakingly beautiful, and huge. They came so close to the boat I could hear them breathe - at this point I think I stopped. My job means I am extremely lucky and get to see incredible wildlife, but this has to be one of the highlights. At no point I got used to seeing them.

During the two weeks we were there to film, I never relaxed. Forever conscious of the lack of time and constantly terrified for my divers, I spent each day with my heart in my mouth and chewing my nails to the quick.

In hindsight, it was a slightly batty decision to go and film. However, up against almost everything, the shoot was an incredible success. The orcas showed up in their hundreds, the sun shone almost constantly, we got the footage we needed and most importantly, all of my divers stayed safe.