I am never eating fish ever again.
And neither will you after watching Seaspiracy.
Trust me.
This documentary is a real eye-opener to the realities of the world’s fishing industry through the use of
undercover filming, whistleblowers and interviews. It begins exploring how modern day fishing damages
marine wildlife but then uncovers more and more shocking facts about the world’s oceans and how
humans are destroying them at an alarming rate.
Facts and statistics are shown on screen to illustrate how severe situations are in the oceans, for
example, it is estimated that if fishing trends continue in the way they are going, by the year 2048 we will
see virtually empty waters. Additionally, the film-makers explored the impact of plastic pollution and found
that plastic fishing nets, discarded by fishing boats themselves, make up nearly half of the dangerous
substance that winds up floating in the ocean creating a huge risk to innocent sea creatures.
Something that particularly struck me was the fact that the fishing industry does not just harm species
underwater but also creates a torturous environment for people above it. Modern slavery was highlighted
as a huge concern and the film-makers interviewed former captives who said that they were forced to stay
on boats for years, constantly being threatened and even seeing others killed.
I would certainly encourage you to watch this documentary so I don’t want to give away too many spoilers
as it is really impactful when you first watch it. Although if you’re wondering about anything you can do to
help, the film concluded by saying the best thing individuals can do is to stop eating fish and instead
consume plant-based seafood.
However, there’s a huge problem with this.
Plant-based seafood is expensive and there isn’t a huge variety in supermarkets. It might be easy to
make this switch if someone has disposable income and can afford to make this kind of lifestyle change
but, the bottom line is, that is not affordable for everyone.
Furthermore, it sparked lots of conversation across social media where some claimed the show created a
false narrative about having no solution to the extreme fishing methods but, there are many places across
the world that have actually implemented strict regulations to fishing and have restored levels of fish in
their local areas – so it isn’t impossible.
Regardless of these criticisms, I would say that Seaspiracy definitely achieved its aims of creating a huge
awareness of what is really happening in the current world of industrialised fishing. This is a documentary
that everyone should watch and I guarantee that you will take something away from it when you do
Written by Hannah McCann
Edited by Sophie Alexander – Entertainment Editor
Header Image by Christos Alamaniotis – Head of Design
