DW Documentary

Treasure islands in the Pacific (2/2)

On the Chatham Islands, we learn how loneliness becomes a daily challenge when you live surrounded by so much water. A supply ship fails to arrive on time, leading to food prices rising quickly and diesel becoming scarce. But there is a treasure that is harvested in this remote region - something prized by gourmets that fetches high prices: abalone. Jade Kahukore-Dixon dives for these precious sea snails, gathering them at depths of 10 to 15 meters. But the job is dangerous. This is great white shark territory. Divers are regularly injured or even killed. Over on the Marshall Islands, we find the area where the United States tested atomic and hydrogen bombs until the 1960s. The people of these remote atolls are still living with the consequences. On Runit Island lies one of the world’s largest nuclear waste sites - the structural integrity of which is now under threat because of rising sea levels and tropical storms.