Seaspiracy, a marine documentary, just dropped on Netflix and is causing quite the stir. The film calls out the corruption in the fishing industry from the corporate level all the way down to the fishermen. Some say its a much needed wake up call to the deceit of these powerful corporations; while others, (the corporations) have responded by claiming the documentary is rife with misinformation and propaganda.
Dolphin Hunting & Captivity
What seems to be happy dolphins performing tricks on the surface, are really helpless creatures who do not have a choice in doing what they do. Dolphins have long been a major attraction at aquatic parks but almost no one stops to think about why or how these animals got there. It is just assumed that they're happy and we move on, which is nobody's fault but the ones who are pushing that narrative; and by deliberately starving them, they only perform tricks because they are simply forced to.
Those dolphins above still have to be considered some of the "lucky" ones. These are the scenes from an annual dolphin massacre in the Faroe Islands. These are a group of islands just north of England and belong to the kingdom of Denmark. They are killed by hand, for their meat and blubber in what they refer to as an ancient tradition. It is also said that some dolphins are hunted because fishermen see them as 'competition.' A dolphin may need to eat anywhere between 25-50 pounds of fish per day. Killing them would ideally increase the fishermen's catch and their profits.
Shark Finning
Probably the most absurd thing you may have no clue about is Shark Finning. This is the process of capturing sharks, slicing off their fins, and throwing their still-living body back into the ocean, essentially to die. Their fins are used to make 'shark fin soup' primarily for consumption in China, where it is seen as a status symbol.
It is said that about a dozen or so humans are killed annually from shark attacks. How many sharks do humans kill? A cool 100,000,000. That's one hundred million. A significant portion of these deaths are attributed to shark finning. It may mainly just be one country but with China commanding nearly 20% of the world's population, the damage that they alone can do is devastating. Shark Finning is banned in a variety of countries.
The sharks are very, very important to the overall health of the oceans. They are one of the top predators and act as a regulator for the fish populations. Let's say for example that shark numbers plummet, even to endangered levels. The fish that these shark used to eat will now overpopulate, and when they do, there will not be enough food for them. This has a knock-on effect throughout the eco-system and species will suffer and may go extinct because of the imbalance.
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council is a Non-Profit Organization which sets the standard for 'sustainable fishing.' The Organization was brought under some serious scrutiny in the documentary, as one of the executives failed to answer certain questions and constantly contradicted himself when asked about the plausibility of sustainable fishing today and what oversight do they have on fisheries' operations. The tough question being asked is what truly qualifies as 'sustainable' fishing and is it truly even a possibility. The executive stated that they outsource the screening process (deciding whether or not a fishery has 'sustainable' practices) and even admitted that certain people can be bribed, thereby gaming the system. When questioned about the validity of food labels like 'dolphin safe,' he stated that there wasn't any real way of guaranteeing that dolphins wasn't killed in the fishing process. Not to mention, that their main source of income is licensing their labels like the one above. This business model seems to be a rather direct conflict of interest, the more logos they license, the more money they make.
Slavery
Dolphins in theme parks could be likened to slavery but there is actual human slavery taking place right now in the fishing industry. Thailand, one of the largest seafood exporters, (namely tuna and sardines) suffer from extreme labour shortages in the fishing sector. To compensate for this, boat owners attempt to traffic in migrants from poorer countries nearby, and effectively trick them into working under slave-like conditions aboard fishing vessels. The documentary featured a few anonymous ex-workers who claimed of spending years at a time on vessels, some as much as ten years straight. Conditions were described as horrid, with common food shortages, much less than sufficient sleep, along with physical and verbal abuse. Some were said to even resort to eating raw squid, and others would take their life.
“When the situation was at its worst, we used to say it was hell,” he said. “It was really like hell.”
Conclusion
As far as I am concerned, the ocean is such a large place, that regulating much of it will prove to be next to impossible. Governments, organizations and other parties will have quite a tough time bringing many of these practices to an end. Therefore, that leaves the power almost entirely in the hands of the end consumer. Through basic economics, the more you can lower the demand, is the lower the supply will be and many of these corporations will eventually crumble as their sales plummet. In the end it may have to be us playing the biggest role in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 14, which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. I have only scratched the surface on some of these issues, so please check out Seaspiracy if you want to gain further insight.
Sources:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/thailand-seafood-slavery-why-abuse-fishermen-will-not-go-away-12831948