Seaspiracy: How we can save our oceans (and ourselves!)
It’s my sincere suggestion to please read till the end of the blog with open-mind
Recently, I watched ‘Seaspiracy’, a ~90min documentary in Netflix and was shocked to learn about the conspiracies in the commercial fishing industry. To be frank, I don’t have direct connection with sea (as I live very far from one) and as a vegetarian, am not aware of anything related to fishing.
Note: Anyone who’s interested in environment, climate change, food habits must watch it. I would suggest this documentary to everyone (especially non vegetarians) because I am sure at least some of you might make conscious decisions after watching it. If you are interested to recollect facts, they made a website with timestamps which you can check it at (https://www.seaspiracy.org/facts).
Q. From the title, I understand it’s something related to water bodies. We live on land, why do we need to take care of oceans?
Well, oceans supply 85% of oxygen required for planet and absorb carbon dioxide. In short, oceans are the largest carbon sinks and are more effective than the forests in supplying oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide
Q. But how do oceans supply oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide?
Technically, it’s not oceans which supply oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. Phytoplankton, which are present in oceans does this job and this phytoplankton survives on the poop released by whales and dolphins. Our actions from the past few decades caused a massive decline in their numbers and many are near extinction. So,
No whales and dolphins → No phytoplankton → Less O2 and more CO2 in atmosphere → All the problems
Q. Okay..I understand that we need to protect whales and dolphins. As an individual, what can I do?
If you are convinced, then it’s great. One thing that many environmentalists suggest (and you might have overheard by now) is “Stop using single use plastics” which is great (and everyone should try). But, the real impact can be seen only if you stop eating fish
Q. What!! But what does me having a small fish at dinner has to do with decline of whales and dolphins?
For starters, the term to search is bycatch — some other species is caught unintentionally when trying to catch a targeted species.
Eg: Suppose, your ship is assigned to catch a particular species of fish (i.e you have been licensed to catch only those species). Standard way of fishing is trawling (above pic) and it’s obvious that other species get trapped inside the net. It’s only when the net is bought to deck, that the authorities check and dump the ones which are not required (as they don’t have license to catch them or they don’t have market to sell, it can be any reason)
Eg: To capture a thousand consumable fish — tens of dolphins, sharks, whales, sea turtles etc; are captured (and the worst part is, they are dumped as if they are waste). And because of trawling, the entire coral reefs are getting plucked and thrown away (these reefs are important to maintain temperature).
Q. Well..what about fish farming/pisciculture? It doesn’t produce this bycatch right!!
Hmm..Not exactly. To cultivate fishes in enclosed tanks etc; we need to feed them and one of the ingredients for fish feed is made from fishes. The irony is, “To produce enough fish feed for cultivating 100 fishes, we need to catch more than 100 fishes”. So, again the loop of bycatch etc; comes into picture.
Q. Hey!! I have heard about sustainable fishing labels. Apparently, I can have my fish in a sustainable way. Isn’t it cool?
First of all, there’s no proper definition of sustainable fishing. What the label makers assume is that “no other animal is harmed/killed while catching the fish which you are purchasing”. But I am sorry to say that almost all the labels don’t carry any meaning (that’s the main reason why the title of the documentary is Sea+Conspiracy)
One issue is, how do the label authorities know whether the fish is captured in a sustainable way i.e how do they know that no other species is killed during the capture
Q. But fishes are great in proteins, they have omega-3-fatty acids etc;..
First of all, fishes don’t produce these proteins. It’s the algae that produce this and as fish consume them, they get eventually attached to fishes body which we eventually consume.
So, technically, the cons outweigh the pros.
Q. If it’s really dangerous, why didn’t the governments ban it by now?
The short answer is, though few governments are trying, it’s very very difficult to implement. There’s a whole big picture (illegal smuggling of fishes, killing of officers, money incentives, lack of proper vigilance and enforcement) and I really suggest to check the documentary for this part (it feels as if you are watching a true-crime story)
Q. Hmm..but I have to confess that it’s tasty :) Is there any way where I can have that taste, nutrient values while not damaging environment?
There’s a lot of hype and market scope for plant based meat i.e providing same taste and nutrient values processed from plants. Few companies are ImpossibleFoods, BeyondMeat. I am not sure whether this option is available in India.
Though this industry seems to be a promising avenue for new diets, what I have observed from the past is everything we created with good intention has some problems (as if good always has a baggage). So, right now, this is a speculation.
Q. But still, isn’t it our freedom to eat whatever we want. How can you (or someone) say outrightly not to eat something?
Well, it’s true that no one can dictate on what you can/can’t eat (unless it’s a law). All I (or the documentary) has done is to place facts in front of you so you can make a judicious decision. My final takeaways are:
Irrespective of who you are, “Reduce the usage of plastics”
- If you are a vegetarian, then most of the work is already done.
- If you are a non-vegetarian, who consumes fish and believed in the threats behind commercial fishing but thinks it’s difficult to stop eating fish (because of taste, habituated etc;), think it as this way: “Each time you order a fish, the one which is being served in your plate is actually the life of a whale, dolphin, shark, sea turtle combined”.
3. If you believe your freedom of choice (to eat your desired food) is being disrupted, I suggest you need to think deeper. I know not everyone agrees. My suggestion is — Reduce the intake i.e if you eat fish once a week, try making it once a month. Slowly change your food habits. Research more and make a conscious choice.
Note: Before diving into research, remember that we humans has a peculiar bias known as cognitive dissonance — we try to support ideas/actions which we believe and reject which we oppose. (Check this for more examples on cognitive dissonance)
Eg: If you are a non vegetarian, you will listen/read only one side of picture and avoid the other side, known as confirmation bias. So, make sure you research with an open mind i.e make a fair research :)
Q. Though I believe most of the content, I think it doesn’t matter if I alone stop eating fish!
Not exactly.. It’s all about butterfly effect i.e each person’s conscious decision is a baby step towards greater good. Also the power of supply and demand comes into play. As the demand reduces, automatically the supply will reduce i.e commercial fishing will be reduced
Q. What about people who consume cows, hens, goats etc;? And people who consume plants. A life is a life irrespective of whether it’s cow or fish or plant right!!
This comes under the umbrella topic “Vegan, vegetarian and non vegetarian” which is heavily debated. I’ll try to write a detailed blog, but a gist is “The survival of the fittest challenges every organism on planet. Evolution created this complex food chain and we humans somehow occupied the top place. With the power and knowledge we have, we are disrupting the entire food chain (partly because of our greed, desire and arrogance that we are at top and nothing will happen to us). This eventually will lead to our own destruction”
So, a suggestible food chain is where we consume in such a way that the ecosystem doesn’t get disturbed.
It all boils down to, survival of the fittest → survival of the fittest with minimal disruption to ecology and consuming plants might be the best way for minimal disruption.
Final suggestion: If you can’t avoid non-veg, try to reduce. If you are vegetarian, try becoming vegan. Put a target (like being a vegetarian for a month, streak challenges etc;) Making conscious decisions is what really matters. Also, do clap and share this blog if you love it.