Feature Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash
I was in London visiting friends at the weekend and we went to eat at Burger & Lobster……don’t get me wrong – the food was delicious and company was awesome, but this could be my farewell to seafood, as after watching the Netflix Original documentary Seaspiracy directed by Ali and Lucy Tabrizi I am seriously rethinking my diet. Passionate about ocean life, Ali Tabrizi set out to document the harm that humans do to marine life and uncovers alarming global corruption.
SEASPIRACY DOCUMENTARY
Seaspiracy started out as a documentary about the wonders of marine life, but soon emerged to show the real story of what is going on in our oceans. From beach clean-ups to plastic pollution in the ocean, the documentary also set out to examine the effects of plastic pollution on marine life, but it began to look more closely at commercial fishing, which is responsible for huge quantities of plastic pollution through fishing nets, known as “ghost gear”, which is abandoned and lost at sea and makes up more than half of the ocean plastic pollution in some parts of the world’s seas and oceans, according to an environmental report by Greenpeace. Ghost gear is of particular concern as it yields direct negative impacts on the economy[1][2][3][4] and marine habitats worldwide[5][6]
More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, according to the United Nations (UN). That’s roughly the same weight as 55,000 double-decker buses. According to the UK-based charity World Animal Protection, this pollution is responsible for killing and injuring more than 100,000 marine animals, including whales, dolphins, seals, turtles and seabirds, which can become caught and trapped in the nets and lines used by commercial fisheries, making it harder for them to feed, and can eventually lead to starvation and a painful death.
Evidence of what is known as “the Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (GPGP) is rapidly accumulating plastic in subtropical waters between California and Hawaii. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is at least 79 thousand tonnes of ocean plastic which is floating inside an area of 1.6 million km2; and at least 46% is comprised of fishing nets.
Whilst making the Seaspiracy documentary Ali and Lucy witnessed horrific destruction, abuse, and corruption, and knew they had to expose how the global industrial fishing industries are killing our oceans, out of sight. They also reveal the deafening silence over fishing’s role in emptying our seas, its decimation of habitat, and its role in affecting our climate.
“THE FISHING INDUSTRY KILLS MORE ANIMALS IN A DAY THAN THE DEEP WATER HORIZON OIL SPILL DID IN MONTHS”
SEASPIRACY DOCUMENTARY
Related – Paradox Collection inspired by the Gulf of Mexico oil-spill & the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.
The combination of destructive fishing practices, polluted water entering the ocean, coastal development, shipping – and climate change is causing rapid ocean warming and has led to mass coral death. According to WWF, scientists predict that we could lose over 90% of our coral reefs by 2050 if we don’t act urgently to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. This is truly a climate emergency.
I was shocked to learn that the fishing industry is so destructive; every catch includes bycatch, which is the non-target marine animals who are killed as consequence or byproduct of the mass killing of fish and shellfish in the commercial fishing industry.
Marine animals often killed as bycatch include cetaceans (such as dolphins, whales, and porpoises), sharks, sea turtles, birds, and non-target fish (such as species that cannot be sold as food). Additionally, sometimes animals caught are the correct species, but are either the wrong sex, too small, or too young to be used, so they become bycatch as well.
According to a report by Oceana, it’s estimated that worldwide, 63 billion pounds of bycatch is caught every year, which equates to 40 percent of the world’s annual marine catch.
I love fish and especially seafood but what this meant was that whenever I eat seafood — whether it’s fish or shellfish — my consumption is not only responsible for the death of what I’m eating, but also for the deaths of many other sea animals, too.
The wide-ranging documentary questions the sustainable seafood movement and looks at the way the Dolphin Safe and Marine Stewardship Council labels may not be able to provide the assurances we, as consumers are looking for.
I was horrified to learn that even “sustainably sourced” fish is an issue – even if I want to reduce my impact and eat only “sustainably-caught seafood,” which is supposed to meet certain qualifications, there is no guarantee that no animals died as bycatch, and that no harm was done on the ocean.
According to Seaspiracy one Iceland fishery in one month killed approximately 269 harbor porpoises, 900 seals of four different species and 5000 seabirds – it was awarded the Blue Tick by the Marine Stewardship Council in their Sustainable Fisheries Assessment.
“OVER 80% OF THE INCOME OF THE MSC COMES FROM LICENSING THEIR “SUSTAINABLE” LABELS”
SEASPIRACY DOCUMENTARY
The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent non-profit organization which supposedly sets a standard for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable are assessed by a team of experts who are independent of both the fishery and the MSC. Seafood products can display the blue MSC ecolabel if that seafood can be traced back through the supply chain to a fishery that has been certified by the MSC. Over 80% of MSC funding comes from licensing their “Sustainable” Labels for brands, retailers and food service organisations who choose to use the blue MSC label on consumer-facing products.
It’s clear from the documentary that the fishing industry is by far the most destructive industry in our oceans. Here are just a few facts that Ali and Lucy discovered while making Seaspiracy:
- Fishing has wiped out 90% of the world’s large fish (7)
- $35 Billion in subsidies goes to the fishing industry worldwide – paying for bigger ships, more fuel, fishing licences, and the capture of even more marine life. (8)
- 300,000 dolphins, whales, and porpoises are killed by fishing operations every year (9)
- Fishing kills up to 30,000 sharks EVERY HOUR (10)
- Lost fishing gear is by far the deadliest form of marine plastic (11)
I didn’t know that sharks keep our oceans healthy and that for the first time, sharks are going extinct because of us; 50 million sharks are killed every year as bycatch alone – this doesn’t include the huge numbers killed for shark fin soup, which is a billion-dollar industry.
As top predators in the food chain, sharks help maintain the balance of marine life in the ocean. They regulate the variety and abundance of the species below them in the food chain, including commercially important fish species. In addition, sharks help to maintain the health of their marine habitats, including seagrass beds and coral reefs. Declines in shark populations can result in negative, broad cascading effects throughout the marine ecosystem.
In a report about Marine Protection Targets published by Cambridge University Press, Dr. Les Watling & Dr. Elliott Norse calculated that each year, worldwide, bottom trawlers drag an area equivalent to twice the lower 48 states of the U.S., which is the equivalent of 3,119,884.69 square miles and current designation of marine protected areas is not sufficient to ensure effective conservation. Currently only 5% of the oceans are marine protected areas, which is much less than the 10% planned by 2020.
Many scientists, Indigenous peoples and community champions, nongovernmental organizations, and government leaders have called for the need to protect at least 30% percent of the ocean by 2030—a target many scientists say humanity must hit to secure the long-term health of our planet. The call for 30% marine protection is part of securing a healthy ocean, where marine parks enhance fisheries and sound fisheries management enhances biodiversity conservation.
THE PETITION
Seaspiracy has exposed the horrific truth of what’s happening in our oceans, but now we need to take action. Ali and Lucy have set up a petition and are asking the UK Government to play a key role in saving our seas.
“This must be a global effort, therefore we are asking world leaders to join forces and help protect at least 30% of our oceans by 2030.
Unless we act now we will live to see the death of the oceans, and our children will never know the wonder and beauty of our once thriving blue planet”.
seaspiracy petition
There are currently only four ‘no-catch’ zones around the UK, and only 4% of UK waters have any protection at all.
So, they are asking George Eustice, the environment secretary, to create and enforce ‘no-catch’ marine reserves in at least 30% of UK waters. These no-catch zones will protect vulnerable wildlife whose populations are in a state of collapse, and will ensure these habitats have a chance of recovering.
SOURCES
[1] Arthur, C., Sutton-Grier, A. E., Murphy, P. & Bamford, H. Out of sight but not out of mind: harmful effects of derelict traps in selected U.S. coastal waters. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 86, 19–28 (2014).
[2] Al-Masroori, H., Al-Oufi, H., Mcllwain, J. L. & McLean, E. Catches of lost fish traps (ghost fishing) from fishing grounds near Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Fish. Res. 69, 407–414
[3] Sancho, G., Puente, E., Bilbao, A., Gomez, E. & Arregi, L. Catch rates of monkfish (Lophius spp.) by lost tangle nets in the Cantabrian Sea (northern Spain). Fish. Res. 64, 129–139 (2003).
[4] Humborstad, O. B., Løkkeborg, S., Hareide, N. R. & Furevik, D. M. Catches of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in deepwater ghost-fishing gillnets on the Norwegian continental slope. Fish. Res. 64, 163–170 (2003).
[5] Weisskopf, M. Plastic reaps a grim harvest in the oceans of the world. Smithsonian 18, 59 (1988).
[6] Wilcox, C. et al. Understanding the sources and effects of abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear on marine turtles in northern Australia. Conserv. Biol. 29, 198–206 (2015).
(7) https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01610
(8) https://unctad.org/project/regulating-fisheries-subsidies
(10) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X13000055