“Seaspiracy” has started a conversation that no one was having
Seaspiracy is a distressing and depressing look at commercial overfishing and the marine crisis it’s causing. But it raises a critical topic within the climate conversation that is so often overlooked, and the reasons for this are somewhat explored in the documentary itself.
“No one is interested in fish”
It’s always flummoxed me just how little knowledge there is around overfishing — I grew up eating first haddock as cod were dying out, then coley as haddock numbers declined with ever-evolving knowledge imparted from my parents as marine species moved up and down the ‘endangerment scale’. Salmon was strictly for special occasions. And yet most people I mention this to aren’t even aware that salmon numbers are in danger; I know several people who eat it a few times a week for the protein intake — a dieting habit pushed in recent years by many a healthy eating ‘expert’.
When I went to work for an environmental charity, I was informed that while audiences generally loved ocean content, particularly involving plastic, turtles and dolphins, posts on our social media channels about overfishing just never went down very well, much to my disappointment.
So while Seaspiracy left me fuming at the state of things, I was equally thankful to see the issue finally brought to light, in an engaging documentary on Netflix. The obvious problem with overfishing is that the number of fish in the ocean are declining beyond the point where they can regenerate their own numbers quickly enough. But presenter Ali Tabrizi raised a number of other problems, less immediately obvious.
The ocean as a carbon sink
Perhaps the number one concern is the lesser known release of carbon emissions from trawling — the act of dragging huge fishing nets along the ocean floor. The ocean is a carbon sink, which means it naturally absorbs carbon and stores it. Trees are the main carbon sink we think of when we talk about absorbing emissions (think: businesses that pledge to plant a tree per purchase) but trees and forests are only the third biggest carbon sink, after the ocean and then soil. The ocean absorbs almost one third of global carbon emissions, a portion of which is stored in the ocean floor. So when trawler nets are dragged along, scraping up the ocean floor, they release huge quantities of these carefully stored emissions. Bear in mind, some of these nets are big enough to hold thirteen jumbo jets, so that’s a lot of ocean floor. And on the topic of jumbo jets, trawling releases more emissions than the global aviation industry does every year. Simply put, planting trees is a great thing to do but if we don’t do something to protect the ocean’s carbon-absorbing properties, trees won’t help us.
40% of global fish catch is unintentional
The environment takes another hit after carbon emissions — to its biodiversity: the range of species of plants and animals that keep an ecosystem working effectively. When we overfish, the fish we’re targeting are not the only ones at risk of declining. Bycatch is a devastating side effect of wreckless, ungoverned commercial fishing where a vast number of ‘protected’ species such as blue fin tuna, and endangered sharks, turtles and dolphins are accidentally caught. While the EU has laws in place to restrict bycatch, vessels are checked once they’re back at shore. Therefore, a common result is that fishing vessels put no measures in place to prevent bycatch, and instead throw anything they’re not allowed to catch back overboard, by which point it is usually already dead.
Endangered species of shark are a common victim of bycatch, which has an extensive domino effect on the marine ecosystem. Sharks are apex predators — meaning they’re the top predator in their bit of nature. When numbers of an apex predator fall, the next predator down — or ‘level 2 species’ — thrives and overpopulates but eats too much of species ‘level 3’ so they become endangered. Then ‘level 2’ has nothing left to eat so they decline. And the cycle goes on.
What can you do about it?
So what can you do about all this? Well, not everything, sadly. Unfortunately these are bigger issues of regulation that governments and governing bodies need to step up and address, head-on. Subsidies need to be restricted to those abiding by fishing regulations and in areas where they are needed to protect the livelihoods of communities, and the human rights atrocities within the industry need tackling.
But in the meantime, avoid at all costs fish caught by trawling methods. This helps to limit the carbon impact, devastation of marine vegetation and bycatch impact of your choices. Equally, understanding that certain ‘signals of sustainability’ such as MSC certification and ‘dolphin-friendly’ stickers can mean less than we would hope.
This can leave us with not much to go on, which unfortunately is the state of things at the moment. But opting for the most sustainable option available is the best thing you can do right now when you buy fish.
Eating less fish is even better. If we all ate responsibly caught wild fish once in a while as a treat, that probably wouldn’t be a terrible thing. But the consumption around the world right now is enough to show the fishing industry that it’s not worth their salt employing better practices because people are still buying their fish.
One oft-touted ‘solution’ is to farm fish. Sure, farming fish handles the problem of population decline. But that’s where the pros end. Farming fish can be incredibly cruel — huge numbers of fish are kept in containers far too small for them to get any healthy amount of exercise — bearing in mind a salmon will swim the circumference of the globe in its lifetime if left to its own devices — disease is rife, and the damage to the surrounding ecosystem caused by huge swathes of fish faeces is extensive beyond measure. Farmed fish is a cheaper alternative for those of us who require fish in our diets, but it’s not the perfect solution we need and supporting the industry is not ideal.
If protein is your concern, understand that fish is by no means the only, or best, way to get protein in your diet. It’s just an easy one for dieting/health ‘experts’ to push because we already think it’s delicious. Do your research — meats, dairy, eggs, lentils, beans, tofu (if it’s your thing), broccoli, nuts all contain good levels of protein.
If it’s omega fatty acids you’re looking for — good because these are a great thing to have in your diet. But fish don’t actually make these, algae does and fish eat that algae. So cut out the middleman and buy algae oil capsules instead. Try more plentiful fish such as mackerel, herring or sardines, or — yes, again — nuts and seeds.
It’s a sad state of affairs currently, but it is within the power of governments and ministers worldwide to reverse the overfishing crisis. Charities globally are working to advocate for stronger laws and offering resources to support a reform of fisheries management, focusing on sustainable practices — sustainable for both ecosystems and livelihoods.
