The End of the Line

You can see it on metacafe.com link is to webisodes "episode 1", and the rest of the links are to the side.



The NRDC gave a "State of the Oceans" report a few months back and spent the ENTIRE time talking about overfishing and collapsing fisheries. During the question and answer period, someone asked about the threat of global warming, and the answer was, that yes it's also a serious problem but PALES in comparison to the mass extinction of fish stocks throughout the ocean.

The ocean floor is trawled 7 times a year!

We used to think that fish were a renewable resource but they are not.

In 1992 the cod fisheries collapsed, today they are listed as an endangered species in Canada! 40,000 fishermen were out of work overnight. Today, they were so overfished they were never able to rebound.

Daniel Pauly, fishery expert conducted research for the UN.
How was it that all local fisheries were reporting drops in cod populations, yet world catch numbers showed an INCREASE. This was a result in Chinese officials overreporting their catches. So in 2002, we now know that the numbers had been in decline since 1988. Industrial fishing began in 1950.

Mielgo, whistleblower in Europe. Former tuna fin driver.
"an infamous minority of people making millions and millions and millions decimating a species of fish. Is this moral?"

The Bluefin Tuna
Once supported Roman Legions, now facing imminent collapse.
Scientists recommend 15,000 tons to be caught to prevent collapse. 10,000 tons to help stocks recover. Politicians set the quota at 29,500 tons! Yet actual figures was 69,000 tons! No one was enforcing the quotas, and no one was heeding them!

50% of cod was illegally caught.

According to Worm, 90% of fish are gone. This number may be disputed, but whether the number is 70% or 90%, it is a catastrophe!

Mitsubishi buys fish and profits in this slaughter. They are sending out new, larger boats (pumped up freezing capacity). They are freezing them off so that when stocks collapse they will have a priceless commodity frozen off!

Western taxpayers fund supertrawlers who pay off developing countries for fishing rights. Unable to compete with such industrialized fishing, locals are faced with no way to make a living at home, and are forced to emigrate. "The Europeans like our fish, but not our people."

By 2003, 1/3 of what we consider "seafood" is in a collapsed state.

Charles Clover
British journalist trying to discover the sourcing for most exclusive restaurants such as Nobu. They were serving an endangered species (listed since 1996!). There are no rhinos, cheetahs, and tigers on the menu, yet these fish are!

Marine Stewardship Council publishes a guide to which fish to eat.

Fish farming is worse, as wild fish are used to feed farmed fish. You're not actually MAKING any more fish. You're just converting one species to another.

One possibility is to eat the smaller fish: makerel, anchovies, and herring. It's healthier than salmon anyway.

We need to turn the clock back 200 years to replenish fish stocks. This means protected areas. There is hope. Marine Reserves have demonstrated tremendous resilience, recovering from the devastation of overfishing. They need to be well policed. Such a global network covering 20-30% of global oceans would cost about $12-14 billion. Current estimates of fish subsidies is about $15-30 billion, these subsidies encourage overfishing.


From the website:
The Campaign
The End of the Line is not against fishing. It is not against eating fish. But it is for a responsible attitude towards the oceans.
The film has three messages for consumers, citizens and companies:

Ask before you buy:
only eat sustainable seafood.

Tell politicians:
respect the science, cut the fishing fleet

Join the campaign
for marine protected areas and responsible fishing

website:
endoftheline.com


"Scientists warn about the dangers of overfishing." Narrated by Ted Danson. Directed by Rupert Murray. From UK. 2009. 82 mins. Based on a book by Charles Clover.


I swear, we're eating ourselves to death and taking the world with us!