The Road to Earthrise | Review: Seaspiracy

Ollie FitzgeraldCommunity AssociateHuckletree5/1/2021

My whole life I have eaten tuna. It’s been integral to my lunch for as long as I can remember - and I’m not alone.

The UK alone consumes £5.7 billion worth of fish and seafood products every year. For the first time the other day, I realised I was hesitant when reaching for that familiar tin. Let me explain: it occured after viewing documentary of the moment, Seaspiracy, which seeks to expose the fishing industries’ impact on the world's oceans - creating passionate vegetarians and detractors alike in its wake. 

This Earth Day, I’ve been reflecting on the 2021 theme: Restore Our Earth, which focuses on innovative thinking to restore the planet’s ecosystem. As we begin to make moves to restore and rebuild in a post-COVID world, 



DIVE IN

As the high profile doc continues to gain traction, there will no doubt be many more like myself following suit with similar reevaluations of our lifestyle choices. This is a shocking, brutal and bleak watch. You are forced to see cruelty and disregard on such a scale you wonder how the ecosystem of the sea hasn’t already collapsed. But, one can’t deny that it is eye opening and stirring, currently holding the number one watched spot in many countries on Netflix. Ali Tabrizi, the filmmaker, says his ultimate goal was ‘to create a global discussion around the topic of food choice and sustainability, that effects change on a personal, industrial and governmental level.’ Well, he’s certainly achieved the first element. I generally think of myself as proactive in my contributions to reduce my impact on the environment. However, my long-held tuna habit definitely questioned after the viewing. Afterwards, I started researching tuna fishing and ended up with a much deeper understanding of the impact fishing as an industry has on the environment.


WIDENING THE NET: INSIDE THE CONTROVERSY

Firstly: no, I don’t think Seaspiracy represents its facts and figures in the most impartial ways. Considering the documentary is produced by those behind Cowspiracy, there are times where the film loses its way, the transparency of the producers’ motives err towards pushing a vegan agenda and vilifying those who eat fish. But, you would be wrong to assume that this is the entire backbone of the documentary. It simply blemishes the integrity of something that doesn’t need any hyperbole.

There is a certain naivety behind the film’s suggestion that we simply end fishing and that there is no such thing as a sustainable alternative. Not only does this dismiss organisations which are actually doing good and proving alternatives can be a success, it also disregards the many millions of people who rely on fishing as a means of living and don’t make a dent on the fish stocks.

If this makes people read up and reveal the inaccuracies and misrepresentations, it’s challenged indifference, which is arguably better than denial and ignorance. Seaspiracy viewers might not necessarily walk away as fans of the film - but they can still become critics of a system that clearly has major flaws.

 A lot of people I know who have viewed the documentary, have said they will never eat fish again. This, I suppose is a good start, if a lot of people reduce demand for a product ultimately the reduction in profit will make it less appealing to those big investors responsible for the majority of problems behind extensive fishing. But, unfortunately, there WILL always be a demand for fish, the money to be made will simply move elsewhere. Fish is a necessity for a lot of communities wellbeing, whether through diet or financially, there is no alternative. They would perish without the ability to fish. This is the point where the excitement of a documentary like this wears off, people become driven to make a change but that change is eventually viewed as having so little impact that there is very little point in sacrificing this element of your diet. When you see the selfishness and greed of those at the top, combined with the power, ruthlessness and money those people have, it is a bit of David and Goliath situation. 


THE TAIL 

Perhaps the main problem I have with Seaspiracy is that the main takeaway viewers will have is ‘I will stop eating fish’, as this is framed as the single and only thing one can do to help with the fishing crisis. That doesn’t leave any room for alternative activism. So, what else CAN you do to help?

  • The most effective way to enact change is unifying and creating pressure on those in power. Industrialised fishing is the real evil that’s frequently given the blind eye by those in power. Sign up to and shout about this petition for ocean protection via Greenpeace. If this were to be enforced, it could protect up to 30% of the world’s oceans, allowing them the essential time to recover. We need to hold the fishing industries to account, as they have too much influence over governments. Bottom trawling needs to become an offence where the negatives of being caught outweigh the potential profits. Remember, recovery IS possible. It could even happen within a few decades if we take action right now. 

  • Want to make an impact? Become aware of your footprint (try our pre-seed programme grad, Evocco’s supermarket shopping monitoring app). A lot of things you throw away will end up in the ocean, plastic being the obvious one, and it all takes time to perish whilst simultaneously threatening the health of ocean residents. Disregard Seaspiracy if you find it too disingenuous, thanks to its scientific inaccuracies and misrepresentations, but remember that legitimate data on the impact of fishing has been publicly available for many years. Maybe some creative license was needed to force us to take action to ensure we can all enjoy the planet for years to come.



JOIN THE MOVEMENT FOR OUR PLANET’S FUTURE


Learn, listen and get inspired by innovation leaders, academics, politicians, campaigners and more at our first ever virtual, sustainability festival, Earthrise Summit on May 19th. Hear from the minds behind food businesses championing sustainability, including Iceland and Tony’s Chocolonely, plus food waste campaigners Tristam Stuart and Saasha Celestial-One, Founder of Olio. Book your ticket here.


Ollie Fitzgerald

Ollie began as an office runner in the glamorous world of TV production before realising he wanted to work and thrive where community is key. Come to him for the ultimate experience and music recommendations! Superpower: Uncanny David Attenborough impersonations.

ollie@huckletree.com

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