5 Lessons from ‘Seaspiracy’
SEASPIRACY, the Netflix documentary that highlights the negative impact of commercial fishing on ocean life, has gained mixed reactions since its release last week.
On the one hand, viewers are left mind-blown by all the claims made by the director and narrator of the film, Ali Tabrizi (and his partner), as they travel parts of the world in what is initially a look into the effects of plastic debris on ocean life. Their search quickly shifts to what is highlighted as the real problem, though: the fishing industry.
On the other hand, NGOS, sustainability labels and experts featured in the film have accused it of making “misleading claims” and using out-ofcontext interviews to make a point. “An executive with the international organisation responsible for the Dolphin Safe tuna label, Mark Palmer, has said his comments were taken out of context,” The Guardian reported.
The film poses difficult questions to the sustainable seafood movement, some of which remain unanswered. Here are five things we learnt from watching Seaspiracy:
1 Plastic is definitely an issue
For years, we have been told the negative effects plastics have on ocean life. The documentary highlights this by featuring articles on whales beaching around the world with stomachs full of plastic debris.
But Seaspiracy claims that the real threat to ocean life is by-products of commercial fishing such as nets, which allegedly make up 46% of waste in the great Pacific garbage patch. Plastic straws, on the other hand, only account for 0.03% of plastic entering the ocean, the documentary claims.
2 Can labels be trusted?
If seeing MSC labels on seafood has been making you feel like your consumption is not harming marine life, Seaspiracy begs you to think again. Even Palmer concedes, on the subject of bycatch: “No, nobody can (guarantee the product is dolphin safe) once you’re out there in the ocean. How do you know what they’re doing?”
3 Fish farming is not the answer
Tabrizi looked into fish farming as a solution to overfishing and visited a salmon farm in Scotland. This is where another set of issues around lice, illnesses and waste problems were highlighted. The documentary claims that each salmon farm produces as much organic waste as 20 000 people and that the Scottish salmon industry produces organic waste equivalent to the entire population of Scotland every year.
4 Bycatch is a huge problem
Bycatch refers to the fish and other marine species that are unintentionally caught when trying to catch another type of fish. The film reveals that 40% of global fishing catch is unused, wasted or not accounted for. Another shocking statistic suggests that as many as 50million sharks are caught annually as bycatch.
5 Slavery exists at sea
British writer George Monbiot highlights what is probably the scariest part of the documentary when he says that slavery is still in use on fishing boats. In Thailand, former fishermen interviewed by the director in a safe house claim that they have been kept on boats for years, living in horrible conditions, with some being held at gunpoint. One claims that the ship’s captain kept dead bodies of other sailors in the freezer on board.
◆ Seaspiracy is available to stream on Netflix.