There are several notable ocean documentaries, especially for 2025:

• “Ocean with David Attenborough” (2025) is a highly acclaimed feature-length documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough. It explores the planet’s underwater habitats during a great age of ocean discovery, emphasizing the ocean’s critical importance, the challenges it faces like coral bleaching and destructive fishing, and hopeful opportunities for marine life recovery. It debuted as a global cinema event in May 2025 and is available on National Geographic, Disney+, and Hulu
• Other impactful ocean documentaries include “Seaweed Stories” (2024), “Operation Restoration: Oyster”(2024), “Aqua Grom” (2024), and “Usugilix Awakun” (2024), highlighting topics from environmental education and community engagement to Indigenous wisdom and marine conservation.
• Earlier influential documentaries that remain popular are “Seaspiracy,” “A Plastic Ocean,” “Chasing Coral,” and “Mission Blue,” which investigate ocean pollution, plastic threats, coral bleaching, and ocean conservation efforts.

For deep ocean exploration, recommended films include James Cameron’s “Deepsea Challenger,” “Last Breath,” and the Italian deep ocean documentary found on YouTube.[6]

These documentaries offer insight into ocean ecosystems, environmental challenges, and inspiring recovery efforts. “Ocean with David Attenborough” stands out as the major new release in 2025.