Film Review: Seaspiracy
Seaspiracy is a new documentary on Netflix that delves into the murky waters of the fishing industry. I think, to start off, I should declare that I have not eaten fish/seafood for over 35 years now. I have never understood how divers can surface from an amazing dive, chatting about the wonderful marine life they have just seen, and then order fish for lunch. So, I openly declare that I am biased and I was eagerly awaiting this documentary.
The style of the documentary was not to my taste, but it was gripping nonetheless. The camera follows Ali Tabrizi who is on a quest, initially, to discover the causes of plastic pollution in the ocean and the story follows him all around the world as he discovers revelation after revelation about the fishing industry. No matter how much you think you know about marine conservation, there will be something in this film that shocks you. Watching Professor Callum Roberts, a biologist I respect and trust, state that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill actually benefited the local marine life, as the fishing fleet had to stay away due to the oil pollution, blew my mind.
The exposure of some of the dolphin friendly and sustainable fish labeling to be unregulated, profit making exercises, funded by the fishing industry, rather than something that actually works to protect marine life was eye-opening. The human suffering industrial fishing caused, including slavery and links to the African Ebola epidemic, was depressing. Add to that the dolphins, whales, sharks and more being killed as bycatch, the ghost nets, the destruction of reefs, the climate change impact, the pollution caused by fish farms and the suffering of the fish themselves, and this documentary is a damning indictment of an industry that is still being subsided by governments all over the world.
Seaspiracy is greatly enhanced by those interviewed in the film including Dr Sylvia Earle, George Monbiot and Prof. Callum Roberts to name but a few. It could have been more balanced with comment from the other side of the fence, and it could have looked at issues in more depth, but in the end the stark facts brought to the viewers attention are important and any film that gets these dark secrets out to a big audience has to be a good thing.
Bottom line – if you care about the ocean you should watch this film. It is full of vital facts about the fishing industry that are rarely brought to light. I can only hope that it will make people think about their consumption of seafood and what it is doing to our ocean.
For more information visit the Seaspiracy website by clicking here.
