‘We know seafood is a healthy and sustainable more than a few’: Industry reacts to ‘outrageous’ and ‘deceptive’ Netflix documentary
‘Seaspiracy’, made with the backing of Hollywood broad title and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, has been trending on the streaming provider since its unlock on March 24.
The movie locations into inquire of the premise of sustainable fishing, claiming the likes of Dolphin Steady and Marine Stewardship Council labels might no longer present sufficient assurances for shoppers.
It extra claims seafood is corrupt with slave labour and human rights abuses and is inflicting irrevocable worry to ocean lifestyles. Amongst its claims are that Bluefin tuna absorb change into critically endangered thanks to overfishing; farmed salmon are raised in lice-plagued waters and the fish are “swimming in circles in their very acquire grime”; and that the oceans will be empty of fish in 27 years, and change right into a barren ocean barren region – main to our acquire extinction.
But seafood organisations impart the movie contains deceptive claims and flawed statistics and merely highlights the identified issues in the fishing alternate.
MSC certification: too straight forward and no longer credible?
On the movie’s remark that ‘MSC certification is too straight forward and no longer credible’, the honest no longer-for-earnings that become space up by WWF and Unilever over 20 years ago to tackle issues about overfishing, acknowledged the certification assignment is apparent and independently carried out by overview our bodies.
“There are more than 400 MSC certified fisheries across the arena,” it acknowledged. “Handiest fisheries that meet the rigorous requirements of our No longer unusual safe certified. Contrary to what the movie-makers impart, certification is no longer an straight forward assignment, and some fisheries exhaust decades bettering their practices in explain to succeed in our same outdated. If truth be told, our diagnosis reveals that the gigantic majority of fisheries that perform pre-assessments in opposition to our requirements, enact no longer meet these and have to abolish indispensable enhancements to develop certification.”
No such thing as sustainable fishing?
On the movie’s ‘there might be not any longer a such thing as sustainable fishing’ remark, the MSC acknowledged fish shares “can safe better and stock up if they are managed fastidiously for the long-time period”. Examples of shares which absorb come support from the brink embody the Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Oceans and Namibian hake. It added that “fish shares that are effectively-managed and sustainable are furthermore more productive in the long-time period, that implies there might be more seafood for our increasing international inhabitants, which is space to succeed in 10 billion by 2050”.
On the accusation MSC certified fisheries absorb unacceptable levels of bycatch, it acknowledged there are an unlimited quantity of positive examples of MSC certified fisheries introducing innovations to guard marine lifestyles, equivalent to modifying gear form to lower turtle bycatch or including LED lights to expand the selectivity of select. Amongst some essential achievements by MSC certified fisheries, it acknowledged, is a rock lobster fishery in Australia that decreased its bycatch of sea lions and a hake fishery in South Africa that decreased its bycatch of albatross by 99%.
The MSC added: “While we disagree with powerful of what the Seaspiracy documentary-makers impart, one thing we enact accept as true with is that there could be a disaster of overfishing in our oceans. Nonetheless, millions across the arena rely on seafood for his or her protein wants. With the international inhabitants space to succeed in 10 billion by 2050, the have to harness our natural sources more responsibly is more pressing than ever. Sustainable fishing has a indispensable role to play in securing these sources.”
‘Movies like this are designed to shock’
The movie “paints a tense and, frequently, outrageous characterize of an replacement that’s compulsory to feeding a increasing international inhabitants,” acknowledged Aoife Martin, Operations Director at Seafish, which helps the UK seafood sector.
“It’d be straight forward to think that these practices are the norm and to tar the total alternate with the same brush. But motion footage like this are designed to shock and it doesn’t constantly suit to spotlight the right work that’s going on in the UK and beyond to be obvious our fisheries are managed sustainably.
“We furthermore know the international seafood alternate isn’t very most titillating and no one might condone the horrendous activities highlighted in Seaspiracy. Fortuitously, these activities are rare in the UK and there are hundreds of reasons to absorb confidence in the alternate that produces the seafood we eat.”
In step with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2020, 78.7% of untamed caught seafood comes from sustainably managed fisheries, she identified, whereas seafood is the most productive animal protein we’re encouraged to eat more of by Public Effectively being England and the World Effectively being Organisation.
She pointed to the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance — established by seafood processing and retail firms to allotment records on emerging international disorders and to agree most titillating practice solutions so that the welfare of fishing alternate workers is safe – and the International Ghost Gear Initiative as an instance of the alternate actively tackling its contribution to marine plastic pollution.
“We know that no longer every fishery is sustainably managed but time and time all over again we scrutinize the seafood alternate, environmental groups and scientists working together to power enhancements in fisheries administration through a international network of Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs).”
She added: “There is more to be carried out despite the undeniable truth that and the seafood alternate and learn crew are working together to raised understand the carbon footprint of seafood, and to hunt down programs to lower it. We query this to alter right into a priority for the seafood alternate and for shoppers over the coming years.”