1.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Dark Commercial Fishing Industry
• Seaspiracy features human impacts on marine life such as plastic marine
debris, ghost nets and overfishing around the world.
• Seaspiracy argues that commercial fisheries are the main driver of
marine ecosystem destruction.
• Seaspiracy rejects the concept of sustainable fishing and criticizes several
marine conservation organizations, including the Earth Island Institute
and its dolphin safe label and the sustainable seafood certifications of the
Marine Stewardship Council.
• Seaspiracy also criticizes efforts by organizations to reduce household
plastic given the impact of ghost nets. It accuses these initiatives of being
a cover-up for the environmental impact of fishing and corruption in the
fishing industry.

2.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Commercial Fishing – Takeaway #1
1. Sharks kill 12 people a year. But humans kill 11,000 to 30,000 sharks per hour
There’s a persisting myth that sharks are universally dangerous to human beings.
But in reality, it’s the other way around.
Indeed, 50 million sharks are killed every year through bycatch alone, meaning that
they’re scooped up from the ocean accidentally while hunting for other fish.
The documentary says that without sharks, and the other fish governing the top of
the food chain, the ocean’s ecosystem wouldn’t be able to cope.
And yet, in total, 100 million sharks are killed every year.
Verdict: True.

3.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Commercial Fishing – Takeaway #2
2. Fishing nets make up 46% of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 3X the size of France, is the most polluted
patch of water on the planet.
Located between Hawaii and California, it’s filled with all kinds of plastic —
especially all the leftovers from fishing activities.
Seaspiracy says that the role of overfishing in the patch hasn’t really been
told. In fact, they say that “the whale in the room” is that a lot of large
animals you see wash up on beaches with plastic in their stomachs often
have fishing nets in them.
The claim about fishing nets in the patch has been disputed. The 2018
study quoted in the film was based on plastic that floats, and did not
account for microplastics, tiny particles of plastic that often sink.
For the ocean as a whole, a 2019 study from environmental charity
Greenpeace found that fishing nets likely make up 10% of plastic waste.
Verdict: True on the point about buoyant plastic within the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch

4.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Commercial Fishing – Takeaway #3
3. Plastic straws account for just 0.03% of ocean plastic.
We can’t really know this one for sure.
According to the BBC, the two studies referenced in the movie both provide estimates,
with a calculation made from these estimates.
But it basically comes down to this: Plastic straws are not as big a problem as people
think they are, and fishing nets are a far more serious threat to the ocean.
Verdict: True-ish

5.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Commercial Fishing – Takeaway #4
4. If we continue as we are, oceans will be empty by 2048.
Boris Worm, the man who authored the 2006 study that this claim is based on, has since come out and said that the research is now dated — and shouldn’t be used to
reach conclusions today.
But while many have taken that to mean the claim is false, a Medium piece says that although the professor criticized his own findings, he never actually said they were
incorrect.
Overall, it’s more about the direction than the destination.
“We are not scientists nor did we claim to be,” Tabrizi said in a response noted in the Guardian.
“Despite there being some confusion about this particular projection, the overall state of fisheries are in severe decline.”
Verdict: Probably False

6.
Seaspiracy on Sheds Light on Commercial Fishing – Takeaway #5
5. The fishing industry gets $35 billion in subsidies a year.
The Seaspiracy documentary frames this alongside another fact: that it
would only cost $20 billion a year to end world hunger.
Both of these need to be taken separately.
Most of the subsidies come from the US, the EU, Korea, Japan, and
China, totaling $35.4 billion in 2018, according to one study.
The UN has previously said that for every $5 of fish products exported,
$1 is subsidized.
And on world hunger, it’s important to note that this claim came from
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2008.
Although estimates vary wildly, updated research from FAO and others
in 2020 put the figure at closer to $33 billion a year — still less than the
figure for fishing subsidies.
Verdict: True
Source: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/seaspiracy-fact-checked-netflix/

7.
Commercial Fishing is a Global Problem
About 40% of fish catch worldwide is unintentionally caught and is partly thrown back into
the sea, either dead or dying.
The fish that ends up on our plates often has a disturbing past.
Often, it’s not just the desired species that are caught but also many other undesired animals
– so-called bycatch.
Global bycatch statistic: killed accidentally each year
300,000 small whales and dolphins
250,000 endangered loggerhead turtles and critically endangered leatherback turtles
300,000 seabirds, including 17 albatross species
In total, 38 million tonnes of sea creatures are unintentionally caught.
That is 40% of fish catch worldwide.
A large amount of this is either thrown back into the sea as ‘rubbish’, dead, dying or seriously
injured, or disposed of on land.
For some species, it is even more: for 1 kilo of shrimp, 5-20 kilos of bycatch can be found in
the nets.
This commercial, unselective fishing is therefore one of the biggest threats to marine
species.
A huge waste that is bringing entire species closer to extinction is threatening the basis of
fishing and is destroying the sensitive marine habitat – not to mention the question of how
we can find it ethical to treat living creatures as waste products.

8.
The Global Economic Impact of Commercial Fishing
Infographic: The Impact of Overfishing, in Statistics
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is widespread; it is therefore likely
that illicit trade in marine fish catch is also common worldwide.
Ecological-economic databases were combined to estimate the magnitude of
illicit trade in marine fish catch and its impacts on people.
Globally, between 8 and 14 million metric tons of unreported catches are
potentially traded illicitly yearly, suggesting gross revenues of US $9 - $17
billion associated with these catches.
Estimated loss in annual economic impact due to the diversion of fish from the
legitimate trade system is US $26 - $50 billion, while losses to countries’ tax
revenues are between US $2 - $4 billion.
Likely economic effects of illicit trade in marine fish catch, suggest that bold
policies and actions by both public and private actors are needed to curb this
illicit trade.
The United States imported an estimated $2.4 billion worth of seafood derived from IUU fishing in 2019. This figure represents nearly 11 percent of
total U.S. seafood imports, and over 13 percent of U.S. imports caught at sea (“marine capture”). ~ U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)

9.
The Global Economic Impact of Over-Fishing
The fundamental issue with over-fishing is the total
allowable catch too high, often because of a failure to
take into account the amount of fish caught as bycatch
in other fisheries or because of significant conflict as to
how a reduced quota should be allocated.
Another factor is illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing

10.
The Global Primary Causes of Over-Fishing
While ecosystems are complicated, the math is simple.
When you take more fish out of the ocean than the ocean can
naturally replenish, the number of fish drops.
Keep that up year after year and you’re laying the groundwork for a
major crisis.
Although the concept is simple, overfishing takes many forms.
The issue is the total allowable catch too high, often because of a
failure to take into account the amount of fish caught as bycatch in
other fisheries or because of significant conflict as to how a
reduced quota should be allocated.
Another factor is illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

11.
Atlantic Over-Fishing – Europe’s Worst Offenders
A report by the New Economics Foundation has named
Europe's worst offenders for overfishing in the northeast
Atlantic.
Every year, European fisheries ministers agree on a total
allowable catch (TAC) for commercial fish stocks.
This is generally determined using advice from scientific
bodies who provide information on the state of stocks and
recommended maximum catch levels.
In 2019, Sweden exceeded its TAC by 52.4 percent -
equating to 17,369 tonnes.
The United Kingdom and Ireland join Sweden at the top of
the list of the worst offenders for overfishing, exceeding their
quotas by 24.3 and 21.7 percent, respectively.

12.
Atlantic Over-Fishing – Europe’s Worst Offenders
Bycatch is defined as unwanted fish and other marine species caught during
marine fishing intended for a different species.
Species of all types are affected by this, including turtles, dolphins, porpoises, and
sharks, among others.
The process of being caught can kill these species directly, or after being released
again, they are often injured or too weak to survive.
Even when regarding fish that would have been commercially viable, many times
they are caught and discarded due because they are too young and too small.
As a result, they typically do not survive either.
The culprit behind this is often non-selective fishing gear.
In a number of cases, alternatives exist that can help reduce the bycatch of
juvenile fish and non-target species.

13.
Commercial Fishing Discard Ratios – Commercial Fishing Waste
Source: https://reefci.com/2018/02/16/overfishing-what-is-bycatch/
Global discard weight by major world region.
Just over 1/3 of total discards originate in fisheries conducted within the
Northwest Pacific.
Key contributors to this regional total of 9.1 of million mt are the large crab,
true and jack mackerels (Scomber spp. and Trachurus spp.), Alaska pollock,
and cod fisheries of the region, as well as discards associated with the
roughly 560,000 mt of wild shrimp harvested in the area.
This table documents global discards on the basis of the FAO International
Standard Statistical Classification of Aquatic Animals and Plants (ISSCAAP)
species groups.
Source: http://www.fao.org/3/T4890E/T4890E03.htm

14.
Certified Sustainable Seafood (MSC) a Marketing Scam?
In a scene in the Seaspiracy documentary, Palmer, the associate US director of the
International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP), which is operated by the Earth Island
Institute, was asked if his group could guarantee that no dolphins were ever killed in any
tuna fishery anywhere in the world.
“I answered there are no guarantees in life but that drastically reducing the number of
vessels intentionally chasing and netting dolphins as well as other regulations in place,
that the number of dolphins that are killed is very low”, he said.
The film’s MSC-specific claims include accusations that the organization has been
certifying fisheries with high levels of bycatch, thus undermining the credibility of its label,
and that its certification was too easily achieved.
US Director of the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) – No Guarantees in Life