The newest Netflix sensation that touches on marine life conservation and sustainability
If you haven’t seen it yet, Seaspiracy on Netflix is an absolute must. It has taken the world by storm, exposing the fishing industry and showing an in depth view into how fish is caught and who is catching the worlds fish.
The documentary touches on an array of topics ranging from whale importance to fishing slavery but what are some major takeaways that anyone can get involved with from Seaspiracy? Read below to learn more and see how you can get involved to help conserve the worlds marine life.
Takeaway 1 – Whales, Dolphins, and Sharks are Vital to Human Survival
Protests and petitions against the whale and dolphin trade has skyrocketed in recent years with the depletion of the species and exposure of the trade going viral. While many of these petitions focus on unnecessary marine life loss and gruesomeness of the killings not many talk about how important their lives and shark lives are to the human population.
Whales and dolphins help produce up to 85% of the world oxygen by fertilizing phytoplankton every time they come to the waters surface.
Sharks are vital to human survival because they help keep the oceans healthy. They help maintain a food chain and ecosystem while helps keep the ocean life running healthy and smoothly. However, while many people are terrified of shark attacks, there are only six humans killed per year by sharks compared to the 100 million killed by humans each year.
You can get involved by perusing change.org and other websites of the such and sign petitions against the slaughter of these animals.
Takeaway 2 – Our Marine Life is Exploited by Money
So many of our marine life including dolphins, whales, and sea turtles are killed daily as bycatch. Bycatch is when a fish or animal is killed accidentally while fishing for another species. Bycatch is then tossed overboard and disposed of like trash into the ocean.
You can help by eliminating your fish and seafood intake to hopefully eliminate the need for large numbers of fishing ships and castings.
Along with bycatch killing our marine life, the fishing industry is killing even more marine life through their wasteful disposal of fishing nets and gear. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised primarily of plastic fishing nets and gear that continue to unnecessarily catch sea turtles, fish, and dolphins that never receive help.
Takeaway 3 – The Money Subsidized by the Government to the Fishing Sector Could End World Hunger
In the United States alone, the government subsidizes $35,000,000,000 a year to the fishing sector.
With that said, it is estimated that only $25,000,000,000 is needed to end hunger for the entire country.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Get involved by phoning your government and signing petitions against the subsidization of the fish industry.
Takeaway 4 – Labels Lie
Seaspiracy goes in depth about how sustainable fishing labels like Dolphin Safe and Marine Stewardship Council don’t mean anything.
The fishing boats are rarely reviewed and when they are, can easily pay off, bribe, or kill their observers to obtain the safe and sustainable fishing labels.
You can help by eliminating your intake of seafood and avoiding all big name brands.
Takeaway 5 – Fishing Slavery is a Real Thing
Yes, it’s 2021 and slavery is still a thing. Especially in the poorer fishing communities when people are brought onto fishing ships and never returned.
The documentary showed interviews with men that have survived fishing slavery and depicted stories of what they had seen through the years on their respective ship.
They talked about how guards kept them on the ships, constantly watching over them, and if they tried to leave they could succumb to cruel ends.
Freedom United is a petition and involvement source that helps end current slavery and other freedom impeding conditions and groups.
Takeaway 6 – Do Your Own Research
The biggest and final takeaway is to always do your own research. Documentaries like Seaspiracy have helped bring globally overlooked issues into the limelight but these documentaries just scratch the surface. We are fed lies and oversights daily from publications and companies trying to sell to us. In the 90 minutes they have to make their argument, they focus on bringing you the problems, it’s up to you to look further into them, make your own decisions, and find ways that you, too, can get involved.
You can learn more about Seaspiracy and how to get involved by going to Disrupt the website by Seaspiracy creator, Ali Tabrizi.
About Rachie
Rachie is a blogger and freelance writer and marketer based out of the United States. Her blog focuses on travel, freelancing, and a vegan lifestyle. Follow along with Rachie’s adventures by visiting her blog travelwithrachie.com or following her on Instagram @travelwithrachie.
