“The marine beauties are dizzying”

You publish The geniuses of the seas. Make our mouths water…

I invite the reader to discover the scientific prowess of marine fauna, outside of usual representations. Since Cousteau’s generation, the presentation of the oceans has changed little while discoveries have made great progress.

What does this book reveal about you?

My passion for transmitting scientific knowledge. Having been a guide in aquariums, I designed this book in the same spirit as a tour: it is aimed at ocean enthusiasts as well as one-day enthusiasts.

A sea hero that fascinates you?

The tuna ! He is the greatest sportsman in the oceans. He never stops swimming, even when he sleeps, and crosses the Atlantic in a month. You don’t suspect this when you open a can of tuna…

The book you could reread a hundred times?

All the literary work of Maurice Genevoix which gives immense place to nature. He is one of the first ecologists, before the word was invented.

The Proust madeleine from your childhood?

My vacation by the sea, in Issambres (Var). I see myself there again, exploring the puddles inhabited by small creatures…

A gesture of happy sobriety?

I support responsible fishing. The free Ethic Ocean app helps me choose which species to consume. And I recommend the Poiscaille network, which markets the catch of the day from artisanal fishermen using practices that respect the sea.

What would you cook for Pope Francis?

A real St. Peter, whose legend says that the saint’s fingers created its side spots. A freshwater fish, native to the lakes of the Near East, that Saint Peter fished in Lake Tiberias and not at sea.

The beauty that will save the world?

That of living species in their fabulous diversity. Mathematics allows us to reconnect science to all these beauties. From the stripes of zebrafish to the patterns of Amazonian catfish, they are governed by the same mathematical laws. It’s dizzying!

You are offered immortality. Do you sign?

Why not take inspiration from jellyfish, immortal and capable of rejuvenating by returning to the juvenile stage? (Smile.) Many decide to die for the sake of their species to avoid overpopulation and inbreeding. What a sense of responsibility!