SEASPIRACY: EXPOSE OR MISLEADING?
Netflix’s new documentary Seaspiracy aims to expose the adverse impact of plastic and overfishing on the world’s oceans an marine life. Made by the same team that made the documentary Cowspiracy, both documentaries share themes of exposing the truth behind huge corporations, and the façade they use to hide the truth.
It is no surprise that overfishing and commercial fishing are destroying our oceans. However, the magnitude of the issue that is highlighted in the documentary is really what took me by surprise. The extent to which plastic covers our oceans, the degree of overfishing, and the manner in which governments and huge corporations turn a blind eye to all this is mind boggling. The film rejects the concept of sustainable fishing, citing that it is not feasible for profit-making corporations to qualify for such certifications due to their gruesome fishing techniques. Seaspiracy also takes a stand against farmed fisheries, which are considered to be eco-friendly, stating that farmed fishing is actually “wild fishing in disguise.”
As these massive claims were put forth, the documentary faced serious backlash from big fishing councils, and some agencies working for marine life protection. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has stated that “fish stocks can recover and replenish if they are managed carefully for the long-term.” Prof. Christina Hicks, an environmental studies scientist who is featured in the film, was disappointed with how her words were interpreted. She said that “Yes there are issues but also progress and fish remain critical to food and nutrition security in many vulnerable geographies.”
While this entire blame game has ensued over certain claims and numbers, I believe we are losing sight of what truly matters. If something this massive is affecting our world, does the triviality of numbers and names really matter? What is more important: saving those names and corporations from losing a little respect, or protecting the actual marine life? If these corporations are doing their jobs, these trivial blames thrown at them will fall down eventually as the world sees the truth. If something this massive is true or maybe nearly true, what matters is that something be done, and that the blame game ends. How long is it going to take us to realize that in the big scheme of things, you or I or no individual matters? It’s all of us, doing this damage collectively. And it’s only going to stop if collective effort is made.
So instead of focusing on the “distorted” truth, maybe we can align our focus on things that truly matter – like the millions of sea animals that are dying, while we sit comfortably in our air-conditioned offices, hide behind the façade of the internet, and blame others. This whirlwind of immense depletion of sea-life is due to human actions, actions that are in our control. Climate change is definitely a huge factor that is negatively impacting marine life, and should have been included in the film. But instead of focusing on that, why not focus on issues that have been highlighted, and take actions on reducing their impact? The year in which marine life is predicted to end really doesn’t matter in the end. Whether its 2048 or 2079, the question is: ‘Is the trajectory in the wrong direction or the right direction?’ I believe that the answer here is crystal clear.