Reviewed by Justin Bateman
Narrated by Ted Danson | Written by Rupert Murray based on the book by Charles Clover
UK certification E | UK RRP £14.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 85 minutes | Directed by Rupert Murray
In case you hadn’t heard, the earth’s fish population is falling rapidly. In Canada, cod, once the very life blood of Newfoundland, is now an endangered species. But this is just one example of the decimation of the oceans. Blue fin tuna is also being fished out of existence and yet restaurants such as Nobu still offer it on their menus. So how has this situation come about?
Man has fished as long as they’ve known that fish were in the oceans and the notion was that there was an inexhaustible supply. In the past, this was almost the case but since the evolution of technology, fish simply have no chance any more. The global fish industry has been talking full advantage and it was only in 1992 when Canada imposed a moratorium on fishing for cod. Quotas have been put in place worldwide but all too often these are ignored. There are some staggering statistics too. If the fisheries continue to fish the oceans at their current rates, there will be no more fish by the year 2048. Seven million tons – that’s 1/10th of the global fishing catch – is thrown back unwanted into the oceans every year.
Having read Daily Telegraph journalist Charles Clover’s book, filmmaker Rupert Murray decided he needed to spread the message – “the biggest problem you’ve never heard of” – about how we’re fishing our oceans to extinction. He does a fine job too, combining talking heads from the world of science with footage of fish themselves, a mixture of Blue Planet-style beauty and brutal fishing horror to get his message across. The familiar and reassuring voice of Ted Danson provides the narration, while the score from Srdjan Kurpjel and Marios Takoushis gives the film a well-deserved sense of drama and it’s hard not to be moved by the speed at which fish numbers are being depleted.
In the end, the answers to prevent this huge calamity from becoming total devastation are simple and, to a large extent, obvious – creating no fish zones, sticking to quotas, simply giving the fish population time to replenish themselves, where it’s not already too late. The answer to the question “Where have all the fish gone?” is simple. We’ve eaten it. But all the while there is a demand and money can be made from the industry, the sad truth is that within 40 years, there may be no fish at all.
EXTRAS *** 6 short films – a background to how the film came about and further information on the problem; Ted Danson on The End of the Line – short promo piece; Trailer; The Coral Triangle: Nursery of the Seas – a look at where a lot of the world’s fish supply comes from.