DiluzjFilmAnnotation5

//End of the Line //, by Maurice Devereaux, 2009

 If we do not drastically halt all fishing industries worldwide, we will fish the oceans empty within 40 years. The extremely unsustainable fishing industry has already fished to extinction the Cod fish of Northern Canada, and the same will happen to all commercial fish by 2048 if drastic measures are not taken.

The film presents the information on overfishing in a very apocalyptic manner; however it does so using scientific models, empirical evidence, and hard numbers, that prove that this situation is happening, and that the fishing industry is blatantly ignoring this fact in its overfishing methods. The film does a good job of tying the culture that goes behind fishing into the causes behind the unsustainable fishing industry. It is hard to peg this film with the same kind of fury you could peg a film on oil production, because the culprits are not just the big multinational fishing industries, but also the cultures of fishermen, which have only every know fishing, and now face the choice of stopping fishing now, and perhaps saving the fish for future generations, or losing their way of life forever. This cultural tie-in causes a very strong emotional response from the viewer, where it is hard to blame the individual fishers. The film focuses mostly on the ecological impact of overfishing, but touches on the economic unsustainability of overfishing as well, and the cultural aspects of the fishing industry. The ecological impact, however, takes the main focus, as through our advanced technology and our increased demand for fishing, we are capable of fishing out the ocean’s population within 30 years.

One of the most shocking stories show in the film is perhaps the numbers around the UN’s set fishing limits. The fact that the UN scientists recommended a maximum catch of 15 thousand tons to keep the population from crashing, 10 thousand tons to allow for a recovery, and that the actually quota decided by the UN was in fact 29.5 thousand tons, is quite appalling. To add onto that the fact that this dangerously lenient UN regulatory amount is blatantly ignored by industries which fish 61 thousand tons of fish annually, is baffling. Of all the various issues facing the world today, the overfishing of the oceans seems to have the most irresponsible disregard for the environment. This is quite easily the most persuasive piece of evidence for the argument of ceasing the overfishing of the oceans.

The film did not convince me that the world would be able to turn around this drastic downward trend. The global cultural desire for fish is so strong, that we are perhaps more addicted to it then to oil, if the way we treat the two crises is any way to compare them. With oil, we are all aware we are addicted and in many cases are seeking sustainable alternatives, and yet with fishing, we refuse to acknowledge that the fish are at a higher risk of running out then the oil. This insane desire for fish seems far too strong for us to turn the trend around in time to save the global fish population.

This film perhaps best targets the consumers of modern culture, which are more detached from where our fish comes from. The knowledge that the fish on our plate is one of the last 10% of its species may do well to curb the increasing demand for fish in the world. The film has the best impact on getting consumers to shop consciously. This film does not seem like it is structured in a way that would reach a fisherman or a fishing industry CEO, however the impact of the consumer should not be underestimated.

The film also provides several solutions to this crisis, which are simple to do assuming the world can get the will to go behind them. Firstly, reallocating the money spent on fishing subsidies towards marine sanctuaries where the marine wildlife can spring back to life, before it is too late. Secondly, for the consumer, to do research into the fish they buy, and only buy fish that are caught in sustainable ways.

The film touches on the strong cultural ties to fishing, but does not touch on how it would go about combating these cultures in a sustainable way. This is perhaps something that should have been added to the film in order to better give an overall environmental education.

After watching this video, I have done my research into how to buy sustainable seafood, and found this handy website at [], which tells you for which fish, what market name is sustainable and which market names are unsustainable.