Blue Planet III starts tonight: Time, Channel and filming locations

Blue Planet III launches tonight on BBC One (Sunday, 1 November), at 8pm, taking viewers on a spectacular journey into the warm, sunlit waters of the tropics, where extraordinary marine creatures have developed remarkable ways to survive.

The breathtaking natural history series returns with another fascinating instalment, exploring some of the richest and most diverse marine environments on Earth.

For millions of years, the tropical oceans have been bathed in year-round sunlight, creating the perfect conditions for an extraordinary variety of marine life. But beneath the seemingly familiar turquoise waters lies a world of fierce competition, ingenious hunting techniques and surprising animal behaviour.

From sharks working together to catch their prey to dolphins using tools to trap fish, this episode reveals how ocean creatures continue to surprise scientists with their remarkable adaptations.

And as climate change places increasing pressure on these delicate ecosystems, the programme also explores the challenges facing the tropical seas and the extraordinary efforts being made to protect them.

What happens in Blue Planet III?

At the northern tip of Australia, viewers encounter a tawny nurse shark with an unusual approach to hunting.

Unlike many other sharks, which rely on speed to catch their prey in open water, these animals have developed a surprising strategy in the shallow coastal waters.

Gathering in groups, the sharks appear to coordinate their movements, patiently waiting before driving enormous shoals of fish out of the water and onto the beach. They then take advantage of the chaos, vacuuming up their stranded prey.

It is a remarkable example of how animals can adapt their hunting techniques to make the most of their surroundings.

Further west, in Shark Bay, another extraordinary discovery awaits.

The area is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of dolphins, including bottlenose dolphins that have developed a previously unknown hunting technique.

Carrying sea sponges to isolated coral bommies, the dolphins use them to block the hiding places of fish. By effectively setting traps, they create one of the most sophisticated examples of tool-assisted hunting ever documented in the animal kingdom.

Extraordinary partnerships beneath the waves

Across the tropical oceans, coral reefs are bustling underwater cities, where predators and prey are constantly competing for survival.

In the Red Sea, coral groupers have developed an extraordinary relationship with two very different hunting partners: giant Maori wrasse and sleek moray eels.

Working together, the three species flush fish out of the complicated network of reef crevices, allowing the grouper to catch prey that would otherwise remain hidden.

The programme also travels to Bali, where the reefs take on a much darker character after sunset.

Here, tiny harlequin shrimp, measuring barely five centimetres in length, become formidable hunters. They stalk starfish and use a surprisingly effective technique to overcome prey many times their own size.

It is another reminder that in the underwater world, size is not always an advantage.

A whale’s final journey brings life to the ocean

Beyond the colourful coral reefs are vast expanses of sand and mud, where some of the ocean’s most dramatic encounters take place.

The episode follows humpback whales arriving in tropical waters after completing epic migrations from Antarctica.

For one female, however, the journey will be her last.

As she takes her final breath, hundreds of sharks gather nearby. Although her death marks the end of her life, her enormous body becomes an important source of nutrients for the surrounding ecosystem.

The gathering of scavengers transforms an otherwise barren underwater landscape, demonstrating how even death plays a vital role in sustaining life beneath the waves.

Where was Blue Planet III filmed?

This episode showcases several spectacular marine locations across the tropical oceans, travelling from Australia to the Red Sea, Indonesia and the equatorial Atlantic.

Among the locations featured are:

• Northern Australia: Where tawny nurse sharks demonstrate their remarkable group-hunting behaviour.
• Shark Bay, Western Australia: Home to bottlenose dolphins using sea sponges to trap fish around coral bommies.
• The Red Sea: Where coral groupers, Maori wrasse and moray eels work together to hunt.
• Bali, Indonesia: Where tiny harlequin shrimp hunt starfish after dark.
• Fernando de Noronha, Brazil: A remote volcanic island in the equatorial Atlantic, where green turtles gather in enormous numbers and tiger sharks patrol the surrounding waters.
• Tropical seagrass meadows: Where dugongs spend hours grazing, attracting remoras that feed on parasites and other material.
• Tropical mangrove forests: Where male fiddler crabs risk becoming prey for hungry scarlet ibis as they compete for mates.
• The Coral Triangle, Southeast Asia: One of the world’s richest marine environments, where clownfish and sea anemones face the threat of increasingly severe marine heatwaves.

Together, these locations provide a fascinating insight into the extraordinary diversity of tropical marine habitats.

Dugongs, fiddler crabs and the battle for survival

The programme also explores the quieter corners of tropical marine ecosystems.

In lush seagrass meadows, dugongs can spend up to ten hours a day grazing. Their feeding habits attract remoras, which hitch rides on the large marine mammals and feed on parasites, dead skin and nutrient-rich waste.

Meanwhile, among the tangled roots of mangrove forests, male fiddler crabs face a very different challenge.

Mangroves are among the planet’s most effective natural carbon-storing habitats, but for the crabs living there, survival is a daily struggle.

As males compete for mates, they must also avoid the probing bills of hungry scarlet ibis, all while racing against the returning tide.

Coral Triangle faces a growing threat

One of the episode’s most moving stories comes from the Coral Triangle of Asia, where an extraordinary underwater ecosystem faces an increasingly serious threat.

Here, a family of clownfish depends on a single sea anemone for protection and survival.

But when an unprecedented marine heatwave causes both the surrounding corals and their anemone home to bleach, the fish are forced to fight to protect the place they depend on.

By cleaning away debris and helping to oxygenate their host, the clownfish do everything they can to keep the anemone alive until cooler waters return.

Their struggle highlights the fragile relationships that sustain life on coral reefs and the devastating consequences that rising ocean temperatures can have on entire communities of marine animals.

Across the tropics, increasingly frequent marine heatwaves are making it harder for damaged reefs to recover. Scientists are racing to understand these changes and find ways to protect some of the planet’s most extraordinary underwater habitats.

Despite the challenges, the tropical seas remain a world of astonishing ingenuity, where remarkable creatures continue to find new ways to survive.

When is Blue Planet III on BBC One?

The latest episode of Blue Planet III airs on:

• Date: Sunday, 1 November
• Time: 8pm
• Channel: BBC One
• Streaming: BBC iPlayer

With extraordinary wildlife encounters, spectacular underwater photography and fascinating discoveries from across the tropical oceans, this promises to be another unmissable instalment for natural history fans.

From nurse sharks hunting in coordinated groups to dolphins setting ingenious traps and clownfish fighting to save their home, the episode reveals a hidden world full of remarkable stories.

But with the future of many tropical reefs increasingly uncertain, it also serves as a timely reminder of just how precious these underwater ecosystems really are.

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