The Prince of Wales will lead a push to protect the oceans with a new video warning that delicate marine ecosystems have been pushed “to the brink”.

William said that he was “inspired” to create Guardians, a six-part docuseries, by the work of Sir David Attenborough, who has recently released a film about the dire state of the planet’s oceans.

In his own eight-minute video, released on Friday, William highlights conservation efforts in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, which he describes as “a place once known as ‘the world’s aquarium”.

The Sea of Cortez is one of the earth’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems and home to 900 species of fish, including more than 70 that are only found in that region. However, overfishing and poaching have devastated marine life and severely damaged the seabed over the past two decades.

Acting as a presenter in the film, on the BBC Earth channel, the prince said: “Warming waters, vanishing species, and the sheer scale of illegal fishing have pushed this ecosystem to the brink.”

He goes on to introduce José Luis Cesena Calderon, who was once an illegal fisherman and is now “one of the region’s most committed guardians of nature”.

The boat captain, who spent more than 35 years diving at night as an illegal speargun fisherman, switched sides to join the monitoring crew of the non-profit Citizen Observers Network, under which residents help the authorities patrol local waters.

Sea lion swimming near rocky island.

The Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Mexico, is home to 900 species of fish

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Since 2009 he has taken part in dangerous night missions to protect the marine environment in the Bay of La Paz.

The number of illegal boats in the area has dropped from 58 to around six, the film reveals.

The prince said that Attenborough’s work had inspired him to create the programmes, adding that he had been “dying to something around this sort of space for a while”. The 99-year-old broadcaster’s latest documentary, Ocean with David Attenborough, was released in cinemas last month.

William said that illegal fishing was spreading more widely as a result of community conflict or civil war and was “becoming more real” He added that “at some point, we have to say enough is enough and kind of highlight all the bravery that these men and women do on a daily basis to protect our natural world”.

The prince said that what “really struck” him while researching the series on nature’s guardians was “that this is now one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet”.

Prince William and David Attenborough at the World Economic Forum.

The prince and Sir David Attenborough shared a stage in Davos in 2019

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In the film, Cesena Calderon says: “For me, being a guardian of the bay now, honestly, it makes me proud.

“Before, I was one of the people damaging the ecosystem. Now I really see the damage we were doing with the fishing methods we used.”

The docuseries begins as William is preparing to give a speech in Monaco for a conference focused on preserving the planet’s oceans.

On World Oceans Day on Sunday, William will address the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, which will be attended by President Macron and Prince Albert of Monaco.