‘The End of the Line’, a new film about the state of the world’s oceans, has been hailed as the fisheries equivalent to Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’. Based on a book by Charles Clover, it focuses on the plight of the bluefin tuna, a species on the brink of collapse, as well as on the well-documented demise of North America’s cod fishery. Such examples show how the over-fishing of predatory species has had a catastrophic knockon effect on the rest of the marine ecosystem – in the former case a proliferation of jellyfish, and in the latter a plague of crustaceans.

And, as a result, scientists can now envisage a point in time when, as humans eat their way down the marine food chain, we will have to resort to consuming ‘jellyfish burgers and plankton pressed into the shape of fish.’ According to the film, this dire situation could be reached as soon as 2048. Clover urges his audience to take three steps – only eat sustainable seafood; demand our politicians cut fishing fleets; and join the campaign for establishing an extensive network of Marine Protected Areas in which stocks can recover.

For

At a special screening in Edinburgh, Clover was present to talk about the documentary and its relevance to Scotland. Despite the fact that his film largely focused further afield, his thoughts on the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) were packed to the gunwales with spleen. Indeed he claimed the ‘stinking system has emerged from the Dark Ages,’ and had resulted in some 90 per cent of Europe’s stocks being classified as ‘overfished’, compared to 27 per cent in the USA. As most of the seas around Scotland are controlled by the CFP, he conceded that Europe should shoulder the bulk of the blame. ‘I don’t want to suggest that the EU is a competent authority,’ Clover was at pains to point out, and his distrust of the Union’s ability to turn matters round was compounded by the fact that WWF had failed to sue the European Government over the mismanagement of cod stocks, ‘despite the fact that the European Government had been ignoring scientific advice and setting cod quotas too high for 10 years.’ He emphasised ‘the need for civil society to get involved’ before it is too late.

Against

While Clover’s argument might be compelling, Scottish fishermen and fish farmers feel they’ve been let down by what they see as a subjective, even ill-informed, account. Indeed, according to Bertie Armstrong, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, our fishermen have preempted Clover in dealing with their long-term future. ‘There is no doubt that some fish stocks around the world are in an imperilled state and require urgent remedial action,’ Armstrong agrees, but he feels that ‘consistent progress in Scottish waters points towards the way that this may be achieved.’ This ‘progress’ includes: decommissioning schemes which have resulted in a 65 per cent reduction in the Scottish whitefish fleet since 2001; closing 56 areas to fishing in 2009; increasingly close co-operation between government and marine scientists; and participation in independent eco-label certification schemes such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). ‘We recognise that consistent, meaningful, practical work is required to ensure the sustainable harvesting of food from the sea. Our future depends on it and the public can depend on the Scottish fishing industry to do it.

‘The End of the Line’ has been described as an inconvenient truth about our oceans. The inconvenient truth for the film is that the tide has turned in the waters around Scotland,’ Armstrong concludes. Aquaculturalists are also up in arms as Clover suggests that – despite the fact that the industry already provides almost half of the world’s fish and seafood – it is part of the problem not the solution. This opinion was based on data which suggested five kilos of fishmeal was needed to produce every kilo of farmed fish. Yet, as aquacultural consultant Martin Jaffa observes, ‘the typical conversion rates for aquaculture as a whole is just 0.5:1.’ What’s more ‘what the film also fails to address,’ he continues, ‘is that fishmeal is still widely used in the manufacture of pig and poultry feeds, yet there is no suggestion that consumers should stop eating these meats.’

Although WWF Scotland may concede that salmon farming still requires some improvement, on a global scale they point out that ‘aquaculture presently uses around 25 million tonnes of wild fish to produce 50 million tonnes of farmed fish, so it is already making a positive contribution to world seafood supplies.’ And the organisation is also impressed with the conservation measures Scottish fishermen have undertaken.

Conclusions

Although Clover believes that the problem of over-fishing is ‘relatively simple to solve’ it is apparent that, in trying to cram his argument into a film format, he is guilty of both ignoring some factors and oversimplifying others. Yet the documentary should nevertheless inspire viewers, in the words of Clover, to ‘act now… so that there will be fish in the sea for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.’ Although to some he is seen as a monger of doom, one of his prophecies has already been fulfilled – at the Edinburgh screening he mentioned that, since the documentary was made, new information suggested the bluefin tuna is about to join the fate of the dodo and the passenger pigeon.

Despite several discrepancies, Clover’s message provides a necessary wake-up call to our consumer society. It is only sad that, for the bluefin, the message has arrived just too late.

fieldfacts

For more information see: www.endoftheline.com