A To-Be Record 31 Day Underwater Living Nearing End

Fabien Cousteau is all set to break his grandfather, Jacques Yves-Cousteau's record of the amount of time spend living underwater.

Jacques Yves-Cousteau was an underwater explorer who was known for his fascination with the sea. He made a documentary, World Without Sun, on his exploration and it went on to win an Academy Award.

A world record was set by Yves-Coesteau after he spent 30 days underwater in a facility he built in the Port of Sudan in 1963. Fabien is all set to break this record by living underwater for a day more than his grandfather in Aquarius, a lab the size of a bus owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He had gone to the lab on June 1 and is expected to return on July 2, six more days for his return. Fabian hopes to break the underwater record as well as bring attention to the ocean by looking into the unexplored areas and the life that it supports.

Fabien said, "If we don't spark the interest of our upcoming generations in terms of ocean exploration, we are faced with some of the most dire consequences that human beings have ever faced."

Living without sunlight since June 1 could have caused physical and psychological effects in Fabien. Fabien said that he has so far not suffered any consequences, like cabin fevers, because of living underwater. Along with other researchers, Fabien is working to experiment new technology to determine the effect of climate changes on a nearby reef.

Aquanant Liz Bentley Magee noted, "Without these tiny little planktons there would be nothing to eat. And the fish wouldn't live. And the larger fish wouldn't have anything to eat. And it would trickle up the food chain. And eventually there would be a crash."

The Aquarius Reef Base off Islamorada offers as part of the underwater living experiment, lessons for filmmaking, online chats with classrooms worldwide, marine research and underwater painting lessons.