Seaspiracy Review
Introduction
The 2021 film Seaspiracy is a documentary about the detrimental effect that fishing has on the planet’s ocean. Here’s our Seaspiracy review…
British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi directed and starred in the film, and it is his best-known work to date. He turned down an offer to be formally educated in filmmaking at university but turned down the offer so that he could teach himself.
The film is in many ways a sequel to the animal rights classic documentary Cowspiracy. One of the two makers of that film, Kip Andersen, worked with Ali Tabrizi in the production of Seaspiracy.
Seaspiracy looks at many different aspects of the fishing industry and humanity’s environmental carelessness. It advocates for the end of fish consumption as the only realistic of pushing back against the devastating environmental impact people are having on the seas.
Another aspect that is explored aside the fishing is the plastic pollution that is being wreaked on our seas. There is much crossover between this and fishing, though, which is something that’s rarely discussed not just by people with interest in the environment, but even relative charities.
In fact, this deliberate attempt by charities and environmental organisations to muddy perceptions about how so much plastic gets into the ocean but be the most intriguing part of the whole film.
You’d think an attempt to educate people on the various aspects of overfishing and pollution of the oceans would be a key role of ocean-related charities. Yet, there is a web between various organisations that creates an undeniable conflict of interest.
Seaspiracy does a great job of dramatizing this situation, which means it is both entertaining and informative.
The Earth Island Institute and the Marine Stewardship Council come under particularly heavy fire for the façade they present to concerned consumers. The film ruthlessly criticizes initiatives such as these for covering up the true impacts of fishing on the environment.
The film’s conclusion makes an emphatic case for the end of fish consumption and the huge creation of marine reserves.
Viewers will recognise many similarities with Cowspiracy. The use of the same production team in both films can be seen through the stylistic choices of both, and the way the two of them explore the way the meat and fish industries protect themselves through widespread manipulation.
Ever since the film premiered globally on Netflix in March 2021 it has been a part of the public discourse and attracted plenty of media attention.
Reviews of the movie were initially mixed. Undoubtedly, many people were pleased that Seaspiracy brought attention to such crucial issues and looked at its subject matter in a light that was new to most people.
Others had concerns with the (lack of) scientific accuracy at points throughout the film, and how the sensationalism was handled.
Of course, the individuals and organisations who came under fire during the film also contested its claims and tried to provide the other sides of the argument, claiming that they were misrepresented during the documentary.
The film was able to be produced due to a lot of help from Dale Vince. This British renewable energy entrepreneur provided much of the initial funding, having become a fan of Kip Anderson after meeting the Cowspiracy director in 2016. The same production teams were used for both films.
Overall, Seaspiracy received a 75% score on rotten tomatoes from critics and an 87% score from the audience. So, you can say reception overall was pretty high!
Is Seaspiracy a good movie?
If you ask the fishing industry, certain organisations, and some individuals then you’ll probably hear back that it’s not a good movie. This is because it comes down on them with such a hard-hitting dose of criticism.
However, if you’re interested in the environment and how our actions affect our planet and more specifically, the oceans, then chances are you’ll think this is a great film.
Ever since it came out many people have been discussing Seaspiracy and there is a good reason for that.
Like its predecessor, Cowspiracy, it does a fantastic job of mixing intrigue and thriller elements with an informative and educational form of movie-making.
Overall critics and audiences both enjoyed the film on average. However, that’s not to say that it is only profiteering fishing industry oligarchs who have any criticisms of it.
Some scientists did express their problems with how facts are presented in the film and misrepresentations of certain timelines and realities.
This includes experts even who were quoted in the film. There have been claims of interviews being used out of context and statistics being used erroneously.
The idea of sustainable fishing is certainly one that needs to be re-examined. However, that doesn’t mean the situation is exactly as the film presents it.
Mark Palmer, who is an executive with the international organisation responsible for the Dolphin Safe tuna label publicly came out and said that his comments were taken out of context.
He isn’t the only one.
David Phillips, who is the director of the International Marine Mammal Project, claimed that the movie “grossly distorts” how his organisation works. He claims the huge successes in reducing dolphin deaths are completely avoided and instead misrepresented as a conspiracy to benefit the global fisheries industries.
One professor in environmental social science who is interviewed in the film, Christina Hicks, sent out a tweet saying it is “unnerving to discover your cameo in the film slamming an industry you love and have committed your career to”.
The film’s most shocking claim, that “the ocean will be empty by 2048” has in fact been contradicted by the authors of the 2006 study that it is from.
However, criticisms such as these somewhat miss the point.
The film hasn’t been made for its scientific rigour but is instead meant to draw sorely needed attention to the failure of sustainable fishing, the amount of plastic in our oceans and the overall environmental degradation that occurs, due to people’s current fish-related eating habits and the industry that promotes it.
Instead, it aims to urgently draw people’s attention to the imminent problems and therefore encourage action and changes in eating habits.
In this respect, it undoubtedly excels. It is hard to argue against the fact that Seaspiracy will encourage many viewers to rethink their assumptions that they have about the fishing industry and at the very least look into these things further – if not completely cut out seafood altogether.
These steps are going to be helpful in our struggle to save the planet, and there isn’t really much dispute about that from the scientific community. The fishing industry doesn’t really deny it either although it’s hardly happy to hear about it.
On top of this, the film needs to be given praise just for how exhilarating it is at certain points. It creates an atmosphere of conspiracy, hostility and a sense of paranoia about the dangerous industry that will take extreme steps to protect its profit.
It’s not easy to combine information with thrills but Seaspiracy does it better than most. This makes the educational aspect all the more effective.
The scores on rotten tomatoes of 75% from the critics and 87% from the audience speak for themselves. The consensus is that Seaspiracy is indeed a good film.
How do I join the Seaspiracy movement?
Seaspiracy’s website is full of great ways to get involved in the struggle to save the world’s oceans.
First of all, you want to make sure they’ve checked out the film, of course. It’s a great ride and is full of information on what current problems are and where they’re coming from.
The film’s website states three main steps through which we can save the ocean.
- The first of these is to shift to a plant-based diet. If you’ve seen the film and you should know just how big the problem we face is in regards to fish consumption.
Whilst different brands officially slap various labels on about the sustainability of their brand, there isn’t really any fish you can eat that actually helps the oceans, even if some fishing is less detrimental than others.
If you watch Seaspiracy and are wondering why you need to switch to a plant-based diet rather than just cutting out fish and continuing to eat meat, then we strongly suggest you watch Cowspiracy. It is made by the same team as Seaspiracy and primarily focuses on the problems created by the meat industry.
In fact, the similarities between the two are striking, with huge efforts to manipulate public opinion coming from both industries and the size of the problem facing us being enormous in both cases.
Both films make a convincing argument for why shifting to a plant-based diet is the only way reaching stop having a negative impact on an already dire situation.
- The second step that the website suggests is to enforce marine reserves by protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030.
Now, is understandable if you can’t enforce these marine reserves by yourself, and aren’t expected to! This is where it becomes important to exert pressure on the industries and politicians that influence these decisions.
On its most basic level, it’s always possible to contact your local representatives to show them that this is an important matter to you and to pressure them into taking necessary steps.
There are also numerous larger organisations already set up to exert this pressure and joining them can be part of your contribution to influencing the creation of crucial marine reserves.
- The same can be said for the third step. This is to end fishing subsidies which are currently a whopping $35 billion per year.
The website also has links to petitions, crowd funders and more.
If, as most people do, you plan for your contribution to be to switch to a plant-based diet then there are loads of alternatives out there.
A plant-based diet doesn’t just mean eating carrots and broccoli, certainly not in the modern-day and age! In fact, there is a huge range of alternatives to the environmentally damaging food products that you may be looking to cut out.
Joining the movement is as simple as beginning to educate yourself on the impact of eating fish and learning what alternatives they can bring into your diet to reduce the damage being done to the oceans.
Is Seaspiracy kid-friendly?
Right off the bat, Seaspiracy can be very gory at parts. It doesn’t shy away from showing the atrocious things that are done to dolphins, whales and fish. In fact, it may be among the classic hard-hitting animal-rights documentaries out there.
However, many people hold the opinion that you shouldn’t be eating anything that you can’t stand the murder of. On the other hand, you can learn about these things and come to the conclusion that you don’t want to eat fish without having to sit through some extreme blood and gore.
There is no doubt though that the explicit nature of the fishing practices on show helps to hammer the point home of how cruel the industry can be.
Many people may decide that this makes the film unsuitable viewing for children. It is done in the context of an informative story about what we eat and how it impacts other living creatures.
Conversely, the educational nature through which the film is displayed, might make some parents decide that it shouldn’t be hidden away from children.
Possibly the most extreme aspect of the film is the discussion of slavery that sometimes occurs on fishing boats, particularly in Southeast Asia. These stories are harrowing, scary and greatly upsetting.
Many parents may wish to decide that such subjects are suitable for children, although some children will want to know if there are such gruesome aspects potentially to the food that they eat.
In terms of the less bloody, more educational parts, things are laid out in a fairly accessible manner that should make it accessible to many children.
It uses statistics and facts in a way that remains entertaining, providing graphs and diagrams throughout that means there is a visual element which keeps your attention as you watch. This makes it suitable in that sense, for children to watch.
Many children may not have an interest in documentaries particularly but Seaspiracy (like Cowspiracy before it), is presented with pacey thrills, which means there is a dose of excitement to go alongside the education.
If you’re considering watching the movie with a child who might otherwise get bored easily by documentaries, they should still consider giving Seaspiracy a chance, as it has many of the elements that a more conventionally exciting film would have.
Overall, deciding whether Seaspiracy is different, is going to depend on the child watching it and what each parent believes is suitable for their children.
Yes, there is horrible cruelty, but it’s filming has a purpose and does help to drive the educational point of the film. At the same time, it is indeed educational and filled with statistics, but this is presented in a way that should remain accessible and entertaining to people of all different ages.
Overall, considering the challenging and, at times, the depressing subject matter of the documentary, it does a good job of remaining accessible to some children, bearing in mind the caveats mentioned above..
Who is the producer of Seaspiracy?
Seaspiracy has the same producer and production team as its predecessor, Cowspiracy. Considering the huge success of the first film and the impact it has on the public discussion of eating habits, it’s no surprise that the same team came back to produce the goods again!
The producer Kip Anderson was actually invited to talk to the European Parliament after the release of Cowspiracy and so having his name behind Seaspiracy brings a lot of weight with it.
He is an American writer, entrepreneur, filmmaker and, of course, producer. Here’s involved in many aspects of the animal-rights struggle. For example, he founded the Animals United Movement or A.U.M.
This organisation primarily takes on the role of promoting awareness of animal-rights issues as well as fighting for equality between all forms of life whether they be human or not.
However, he is most well-known for Cowspiracy which he narrated as well as produced, and now Seaspiracy. What The Health explores eating habits that he produced which as garnered a lot of attention and praise. All of the films are available on Netflix.
Kip was educated at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Probably the most impactful part of his Animal United Movement organisation is A.U.M. films. This is a non-profit that mainly focuses on creating films and other types of media that encourage people to consider how they can contribute to positive ways of living and display compassion for human and nonhuman forms of life and help them thrive.
There is a certain style of production that has started to become tangible as more of his films have come out. They all create a sense of intrigue and build up the tension around the conspiracy which causes the industries involved to lash out, the closer they are to being discovered.
This ‘trademark’ style is proving to be very effective and not only encourages a great deal of discussion about these huge industries but also keeps people entertained as they are watching and hopefully, being educated.
Andersen’s beliefs about morality are very much informed by his spiritual side. He is a certified instructor for both Kundalini and Jivamukti yoga.
Much of his inspiration comes from the famous Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth.
Al Gore was the vice president of the United States under Bill Clinton and he campaigned to become president on a platform that put saving the environment at its front and centre.
The film documents his attempt to educate people about global warming and is widely acknowledged to have raised international public awareness of global warming. It was a crucial factor in the re-energising of the environmental movement. It has been used in science curricula in schools around the world.
Kip Anderson’s interest in the environment and animal welfare did exist before the movie but he cites it as the movie that really took his passion up a level and would inspire him to go on to make movies about these issues.
The film also encouraged him to make many personal lifestyle changes such as moving away from car usage and instead using his bike, always turning lights off, showering as quickly and infrequently as possible, recycling whenever he could and taking all steps possible to avoid animal products.
The most important part of the inspiration was the journey of self-education it led Kip on. He slowly began to realise that these small individual changes were only a drop in the water compared to the systematic travesties brought on by the meat and fishing industries.
His conclusion was that as an individual, the biggest thing he could do to contribute was to stick with a plant-based diet whilst it is also important that larger measures are put in place to prevent these things happen on a systematic level, something that his organisations and movies aim to contribute towards and put pressure on making it happen.
Is Seaspiracy available on Netflix?
Seaspiracy, like the other films available from this team, is available on Netflix. In fact, it was first released on the video streaming platform in 2021.
Its initial production support and funding came from Dale Vince. Vince is a British green energy industrialist with a hippie New Age traveller background. He owns the electricity company Ecotricity.
He’s been given an OBE for his services to the environment and the electricity industry. He was also given an honorary degree of Dr of philosophy by the University of Gloucestershire in 2013. He is a vegan who has provided funding to numerous causes that give support to green initiatives.
He met producer Kip Anderson in 2016 and agreed to work with him on the film. The final result Seaspiracy before being released on the platform on 24 March 2021.
The Netflix blurb for the film reads “Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species — and uncovers alarming global corruption.”
Will we run out of fish by 2048?
Perhaps the starkest claim made during the documentary film Seaspiracy is that all of the fish in the sea would have disappeared by 2048. This is a pretty dramatic claim!
In the film, director and narrator Ali Tabrizi says that “current fishing trends continue, we will see virtually empty oceans by the year 2048”. Ever since the film’s release, numerous news articles and blogs have recycled the statistic which is taken from a 2006 report.
It originated in a scientific paper published in science by Boris Worm and colleagues. The paper looked at the decline of marine populations and species and found that the huge loss of marine biodiversity that we are currently seeing, has important and potentially devastating effects on the ecosystem.
One line in the concluding paragraph says that the “current trend is of serious concern because it projects the global collapse of all taxa currently fished by the mid-21st century”.
A large number of scientists have since argued against the accuracy of the predictions in the paper. Several scientific publications have heavily criticised the 2048 prediction.
The method used by the authors to extrapolate data into the future has been called unrealistic and the definitions of “collapsed” by the authors are based on catch data even though these don’t necessarily reflect abundances of fish populations.
Even the authors of the original paper have repeatedly attempted to emphasise their findings’ broader conclusions, rather than this specific prediction.
However, claims like these tend to catch people’s attention, hence why it has stuck in circulation. This is also why it is used in Seaspiracy. There have been other contentious claims used in the film such as the idea that the only way to save the oceans is to stop fishing altogether.
Again, whilst this might not be technically accurate it does do a good job of catching people’s attention and making them sit up and take notice.
Some experts have taken issue with the fact that Seaspiracy omitted some of the achievements of ‘sustainable fishing’.
However, whilst sustainable fishing initiatives may have provided better outcomes than if the idea of sustainable fishing was to be totally ignored, the idea that killing more fish in any manner going to help the ocean, is still a convoluted argument to make, especially when species numbers are so low and the time factor being such an important consideration.
How can we stop overfishing?
This is a very big question and its answers are going to vary massively depending on who you ask.
Interestingly, organisations that are financially tied to companies that sell fish are unlikely to give you the same insight as an environmentalist whose first priority is replenishing the oceans and preventing further damage to the environment.
However, there are some steps which will undoubtedly play a huge role in preventing the amount of unnecessary death of marine wildlife.
One absolutely devastating form of fishing is trawling. This involves the use of gigantic nets that are dragged through the ocean to scoop up every animal and the surrounding ecosystem that’s unlucky enough to be in it pathway.
This has a terrible impact on the ocean because of its huge inefficiency. Unforgivably large amounts of wasteful bycatch mean that a countless number of marine creatures are killed without ever even feeding any humans.
Dead fish are thrown back into the sea as they weren’t even being targeted to be sold. This method just has an absolutely awful ratio of actual edible fish to the amount of wildlife killed.
Unfortunately, there are only very small regions where bottom trawling is currently banned or limited. As long as these prohibited areas continue to remain so small, it is likely to be very difficult/impossible for us to reverse the destruction of the oceans.
One of the largest and most successful stances yet taken against trawling is in Hong Kong, where the Chinese government has imposed an outright trawling ban in the waters in response to depleted stocks and the imminent threat of a complete collapse of the local marine wildlife.
This step wasn’t just taken as an outright ban and left there. Fishing vessels fitted for trawling were bought and either refitted for more efficient methods or repurposed.
Deckhands were also provided with financial support if they were in need of it, meaning there wasn’t a significant pushback and people didn’t have their livelihoods snatched from underneath them without alternatives.
The problem is of such a scale however, that it is not going to be enough to just designate some areas as free from trawling.
It is also likely to be the case that we need to create many more marine protected areas.
At the moment, barely two per cent of the world’s oceans are protected in marine parks.
An even smaller portion of the oceans is protected completely from all fishing. It is vital that more no-catch zones are set up so that fish populations can replenish and their ecosystems get a much-needed chance to recover from the massive damage that has been inflicted upon them.
Failing to do this will almost definitely end up being a case of friendly fire for fishing industries as the collapse of these environments and populations will result in there being no populations to fish.
The Marine Conservation Institute’s current demand is to increase the number of these areas tenfold, with at least ten percent of our oceans designated as Marine Protected Areas.
This goal is only short term and chances are that things will need to be expanded even further to a baseline of at least twenty percent in the medium term if our oceans are to stand any chance of survival.
Places such as Alaska and Chile could currently benefit greatly from approaches such as this and environmental organisations are targeting them as places where this could hopefully happen soon. Such steps will need to be taken in many more places if we are to have any hope of saving our oceans.
Spreading the word about overfishing is also an invaluable step that anyone can take which will further the cause to save our oceans. This of course is the main role played by Seaspiracy.
Several years ago, very few people even realised how big an impact animal products have on our environment. Now, with the repeated moves to release films and other types of media, even more niche aspects of this environmentalism such as overfishing are becoming public knowledge.
So, showing Seaspiracy to friends and family is a sure-fire way that you can do your bit to fight against overfishing.
This isn’t the only means of people educating one another. Environmental groups often hold discussions about pressing issues and bringing a friend or family member along to something like this is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to local active groups as well as inform yourself and others.
Informing yourself is just as important as informing others. Whilst Seaspiracy does provide plenty of information, the role it bestows upon itself of getting people to talk about fishing and raise public awareness means that at times it goes for sensationalism over siding with the exact scientific consensus.
Taking the time to find out the details of various aspects gives you an opportunity to understand the issues even better and potentially discuss the film and other media like it in greater detail with both sceptics and fellow environmental enthusiasts.
Educating yourself and others is a key part of raising awareness and helps build movements to put pressure on organisations and governments to take larger steps to prevent overfishing in our oceans.
Another great thing that you can do to help stop overfishing is to join an organisation or campaign that already has the wherewithal to take action.
There is a huge range of groups to choose from – a quick internet search will reveal the most active. One of the more famous ones is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
They all have different tactics in how they fight overfishing. Some such as Sea Shepherd are extremely hands-on, taking their own boats out to sea to physically disrupt damaging practices carried out by whalers and fisheries.
Other organisations, which are normally larger and better-funded, instead focus on campaigns to raise awareness and potentially put political pressure in the right places.
All of these organisations are super grateful for all the support they can get, whether that is through donations, or volunteering your time.
Find out what organisations are local to you and they’ll be eager to tell you how you can get involved and what role you could play as part of an organisation that aims to fight overfishing and its drastic effects.
A further step, is that governments around the world need to be pressured into taking, is the implementation of worldwide catch shares. This is a system of fishing management that has been shown to allow fish stocks to replenish.
Often people recoil at steps that achieve this because they threaten the livelihoods of local fishing communities. Instead, catch shares prevent this and prevent sudden collapses. To make these work, a total allowable catch is calculated using available scientific data about the area’s fish stock and the surrounding environment.
Fishing businesses are given portions of this total as licences and this sets limits upon how much of each seafood they can catch.
This has the effect of making seafood more valuable. In turn, fishermen stand to benefit from higher and more regular profit whilst the environment is also protected.
It is often the case now that fishermen are given limited time frames in which they can fish. This does nothing to encourage efficiency in terms of what is caught and instead allows for hurried wasteful catches that unnecessarily end up with countless dead fish thrown back into the sea. Time limits just encourage trawling and other unsustainable methods.
On the other hand, with catch shares, fisheries know that if the total number of different fish species goes up, they will all get a larger quota. This encourages communication between businesses and organisations rather than competition and fosters a stewardship mentality.
This idea has been tried and tested too. One study found that when the practice was used in American and British Columbian waters, the total allowable catch increased 19 percent whilst by-catch decreased by 66 percent.
This is all during a relatively short period of just a decade. Fishermen made 68 percent more money too, whilst having a significant drop in the number of accidents on the job. The lack of a mad dash to grab everything possible makes the process a lot safer for the fishermen as well as the fish. Compliance was consistently high too.
This demonstrably successful system must be brought in for every part of the ocean where fishing is going to be allowed before those areas collapse completely.
However, as Seaspiracy does such a good job of explaining, finding ways to sustainably fish whilst our seas are in such a precarious situation is still a far more risky strategy than just completely stopping fishing wherever we can.
The film’s director Ali Tabrizi doesn’t preach this view in an ignorant way though and says such encouragement doesn’t apply to impoverished and starving people who rely on fish to feed themselves.
This leads around to one of the most effective things we can do to diminish the overall demand for fish in such parts of the earth where people are stuck with few alternatives.
The rate at which meat is consumed in rich, usually Western, countries takes up a huge amount of the world’s resources including water and land. This isn’t just the land and resources of those Western countries but often relies on the raising of feed and livestock in poorer countries before it’s imported.
The amount of food that is produced on this land and with the same amount of resources varies hugely depending on whether it is animal or plant-based.
The widespread inequality across the world means that resources which could be used to provide a greater amount of food for more people are instead going into producing a smaller amount of meat for a smaller number of privileged people.
The impoverishing effect this has on millions of humans means they understandably have very little choice when they engage in the most rewarding fishing practices they can and eat what’s available.
Impoverishment doesn’t provide people with the individual flexibility to cater for such global concerns.
This aspect of the fishing problem suggests two obvious solutions. One is the reduction or elimination of meat consumption.
Following a vegan or plant-based diet frees up more land and resources for a more efficient production of food for a greater number of people, in terms of giving them the freedom to eat less fish if needs be.
The second solution is to reduce poverty in other regards. This has the potential to take people out of the desperate situations where they may not be able to turn away from frantic and destructive fishing techniques.
People can instead turn to other walks of life and this allows organisations and governments to explore fishing policies without outrage and pushback from the very people whose livelihoods would otherwise be at stake.
We’ve covered a large range of things that can be done to stop overfishing here. Some, such as switching to a plant-based diet or sharing Seaspiracy with your friends, are something that we have a good amount of control over.
Other things, such as reducing global inequality or implementing worldwide catch shares may seem a bit more out of our reach. And that’s fair enough! But organisations do exist to make these things happen through putting pressure on governments, raising awareness, creating petitions and movies and so much more.
So even if we can’t tackle the bigger solutions by ourselves, we can find an organisation that is also pushing for these things.
It’s a large problem that will require some large solutions, and you can be a part of it.
Seaspiracy fact check
Seaspiracy has come under fire for some of the facts that it uses in some parts of the documentary. It tackles a hugely controversial issue and so upon release, it was never going to be met with universal agreement.
However, there are some things that the scientific community, who we can hope generally don’t have alternative interests, do almost unanimously agree is wrong.
The main one of these is the early dramatic claim that at our current rate the world’s oceans will be empty by 2048. This claim hasn’t been arrived at by Ali Tabrizi himself or any of the other contributors to the film but is taken from a 2006 study.
However, the author of the study has since distanced themselves from that specific part of the report and instead encouraged people to look at the broader conclusions it draws rather than the specific predictions.
The film has also come under criticism for its portrayal of slavery in the fishing industry. The Environmental Justice Foundation and the Thai (where the slavery part of the film explores), government have both said that the documentary does a poor job of accurately depicting the situation on the ground and the sea.
Mark J. Palmer of the Earth Island Institute is interviewed in the film and it is made out to seem like he thinks food safety certifications for not killing dolphins are very ineffective. However, since the film’s release, he has come out and said that the comments were taken out of context and that he does instead believe in the system’s effectiveness.
Seaspiracy website
Seaspiracy has a website that has been out since before the film’s official release. On it, you will find plenty of great information about the film and what you can do to contribute to the struggle against the destruction of the oceans.
It also includes a means of connecting with all social media related to the film, from Facebook to TikTok. You can sign up to the mailing list to hear more information as the movement keeps pushing on. On the home page you will the official trailer for the Netflix release to watch in case somehow, you’ve not got round to seeing the documentary yet.
Near the top of the website, you will find ways to keep up with news from the crew as well as brief biographies about the three main crew members. You can also find links to petitions and crowd funders associated with the cause as well as a shop to find related merchanded from which a portion of proceeds are given to various channels supporting the struggle.
It is possible to donate through the website and contact the team.
Perhaps the best thing about the site is the plant-based meal planner that it provides a link to. This can be a very helpful tool in transitioning to a vegan diet by providing you with options and ideas for how you can enjoy what you eat just as much whilst staying away from meat and fish.
Seaspiracy documentary
Whilst it is certainly a documentary, Seaspiracy has many attributes that take it far above the standard in the genre. It does inform and educate – as all good documentaries should, but it also thrills in a way that’s very rare for that type of film.
Right from the off, an exciting story is set up of discovering a great secret with a great amount of pushback from those who wish to keep the secret. Especially during the sections of the film in Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand, you get a sense of danger and hostility to the possibility that the truth about the fishing industries could be discovered.
The same can also be said for some of the interviews held in America, where interviewees become visibly prickly to the questions being asked when it looks like they may be caught out for their ruse.
It’s so much more than your standard documentary!
Seaspiracy quotes
Here’s a selection for you of some of our favourite and most important Seaspiracy quotes:
- If The Ocean Dies, So Do We
- The oceans are home for up to 80% of all life on Earth
- These animals washing up with their stomachs filled with plastic was devastating not only because of their incredible intelligence, but because they even help keep the entire ocean alive.
- What are you talking about, saving the ocean? How can you do that? You can’t even fix this. This is the size of a football field.
- Not long into starting the project, this romantic vision that I always had of the ocean completely changed.
Seaspiracy age rating
Seaspiracy hasn’t got an official certification, but some parents may want to think twice before showing it to their kids.
It doesn’t shy away whatsoever from showing some of the gory practices that fish and whales and dolphins in particular, are victims of.
Many people are of the belief that you shouldn’t eat an animal unless you are okay with how it’s murdered, so some parents may decide to see these scenes are a worthwhile part of helping a younger person decide on what kind of diet they want to follow.
Some parents may also be uncomfortable with the idea of watching anything that investigates the topic of slavery. This section of the film is undoubtedly upsetting and younger audiences are likely to appreciate such discussions more when they’re older.
In terms of accessibility for younger audiences, the film overall does a good job of being easy to understand and presenting information in a digestible way.
If you’re keen for a younger one to learn the lessons of the film then you may be able to fast forward through some of the more gruesome parts whilst maintaining the educational qualities that the documentary undoubtedly holds.
Seaspiracy facts
Seaspiracy has come under fire at times for how it presents certain facts and uses bits of information to make its point.
The most controversial way in which it does this is when it quotes a 2006 study that says at our current rates our oceans will be empty by 2048. In fact, the author of the initial paper has distanced themselves from the specific claim and instead encouraged people to look at the broader conclusions made in the paper.
The wider scientific community also disagrees with the prediction almost unanimously.
However, there are plenty of intriguing facts and points explored throughout that make for fascinating and informative viewing.
One of these is its disparaging of the push to ban plastic straws.
Whilst this move isn’t disagreed with in any way, it is pointed out that they make up just 0.03% of all the plastic in the ocean and so the move is negligible at best. At worst, it threatens to placate people against the very much ongoing battle to rid the ocean of its plastic.
Another fact plainly laid out is that if the oceans die, we do too.
This is because marine plants absorb four times more carbon dioxide than the entirety of the Amazon rainforest. On top of this, it generates 85% of the oxygen we breathe.
The rate at which we are currently fishing threatens these ecosystems at an unprecedented rate and if we want to survive on earth we are going to need to take much better care of the oceans.
One of the biggest revelations made during the film is that there is very little oversight made by the charities and organisations that give out sustainability labels to fish products.
The documentary does a great job of presenting the accusation that because the organisations that supposedly fight for marine conservation, are in fact financially tied up with fish sellers, who can pay for the certifications.
This doesn’t necessarily make the labels completely useless but does highlight the complexity of the industry’s tools to discourage people from interfering with its pursuit of profit.
Seaspiracy Full Documentary
Seaspiracy can be found in its entirety on Netflix, which bought the documentary after production was finished in 2020. Netflix also hosts other documentaries by the same production team such as What The Health and Cowspiracy.
These all cover similar topics of how our diets affect us and the planet more than we could know and what steps are taken by the industries that sell these products to discourage us from making the necessary changes to protect our own health as well as the planet’s.
Getting access to all of these great documentaries is a great way to arm yourself with knowledge so you can see why so many people are transitioning to plant-based diets at the moment. They have served as an invaluable starting point for many people who are interested in veganism or at least reducing their meat and fish intake.
Conclusion
Even if the documentaries’ conclusions are often controversial, they offer a great springboard from which you can do your own further research and make important conclusions. Even if you find problems with some of the specific claims made in them, they will all undoubtedly have you thinking in new ways about the food you eat and the industries that produce it.
The (sort of) trilogy is a great way to begin your plant-based journey and they’re all a great way to introduce friends and family to ideas they may otherwise be initially prickly towards.
To find a trailer of any of them, in case you’re not signed up to Netflix and are considering going so to see them, then you can look on the films’ websites or on YouTube.
The reviews for all of them are positive from critics and the general audience too.
Seaspiracy especially really isn’t one to miss!
