Seaspiracy Documentary – The Truth Behind The Fish We Eat

Seaspiracy is a 2021 documentary on Netflix about the environmental impact of worldwide fishing. Directed by and starring Ali Tabrizi, an Independent British filmmaker, the documentary premiered on Netflix globally in March 2021 and garnered immediate attention in several countries and continues to sit in their Top 10 most watched programmes.

Made by the team behind the award-winning 2014 film Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy questions the idea of sustainable fishing, the current labelling and Certifications, and accuses the industry of using slave labour and other human rights abuses.

Seaspiracy unlike many programmes on TV these days, wasn’t hugely funded or hosted by one of those well known faces we’ve all got used to. Instead it’s fronted and created by Ali Tabrizi, a 27 year old independent film maker from the south East of England. It’s this independence and raw filmmaking that makes Seaspiracy worth a watch.

If like us, your pretty keen on knowing where your food comes from and spend your time buying “sustainably sourced”, or “Certified” foods to feed yourself and family, then be prepared to have your eyes opened a lot wider.

Now before you rush off to give it a watch, lets comment on the huge amount of negative press surrounding this documentary.

It’s clear that the massive machine that is the international fishing industry and many of the participants and organisations in the documentary, were of the impression that a small independent creator couldn’t really do much harm, and as such they didn’t take his documentary too seriously. They certainly didn’t expect his documentary to explode the way it did and reach the huge numbers of people around the world as quickly as it has.

But that’s the thing with modern independent documentaries, and once the cat was out of the bag it was too late, viewers from all over the world were changing their habits, and worse still for those with egg on their faces, they were promoting the documentary further to their own families and also followers on their social media channels.

Its at this point the industry had to swing into action, and the mud slinging began. As with all big industries faced with a loss of public support and the money that inherently brings, they had to change the narrative and quick. Roll out the smear campaigns, the smoke and mirrors and the muddying of the waters, lets fill the internet, the newspapers and the TV with alternatives to Seaspiracy’s claims.

Our advice, if you hear or see contradictory information on the subject, just take a look at who benefits from that message and who paid for it too, then draw your own conclusions.

For us, as with many others, this programme was a game changer. If you can’t trust the labels and certifications and you can see the damage created, then its simply a decision of carry on regardless or make a change. We chose to make a change.

You can watch Seaspiracy yourself by clicking here

Sources:

Seaspiracy, The Guardian, Peta, The Tab, BBC,