MOVIE REVIEW: The End of the Line--Fish Stocks on the Brink of Collapse

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      by Annelise Kelly

     The End of the Line, opening August 7 at the Landmark Lagoon, is a powerful new documentary illustrating the increasingly precarious condition of fish stocks throughout the world, based on the book of the same name by English environmental journalist Charles Clover. Directed by Rupert Murray (Unknown White Male), the film features captivating underwater footage, vivid depictions of open ocean fishing and a number of international experts portraying seas in crisis. Ted Danson narrates. No newcomer to ocean advocacy, Danson co-founded the American Oceans Campaign in 1987, which later merged with Oceana, a major international organization focused on ocean conservation.

      We see fishing boats perched over nets bursting with tremendous numbers of fish, and illustrations of the jaw-dropping capacity of modern industrial fishing fleets--the mouth of the largest trawler can embrace thirteen 747's, and a year's worth of long-line fishing line would encircle the globe over 500 times. Ever-improving technology, more and larger ships, and skyrocketing consumer demand have conspired to send fish stocks plummeting. 90% of large ocean predators--tuna, marlin, shark, swordfish--are gone, victims of "the worlds most efficient predator."

      The North Atlantic cod collapse is a tragic example of inadequate regulations. In 1992, the numbers dropped so dramatically due to overfishing that the Canadian government was forced to impose a total moratorium, putting 40,000 people out of work. Seventeen years later, the stocks haven't recovered. Cod overfishing passed the tipping point and these fish, a global resource for centuries, are now considered a victim of commercial extinction.

      Bluefin tuna, "the front line" in the crisis, are the focal species of The End of the Line. Enormous economic interests are at stake: these are the fish that command five- and six-figure prices in the legendary Tokyo fish market. We see a bluefin whistleblower at work, convinced that actual catches are dramatically underreported, and suspicious that huge corporate interests are storing frozen bluefin until the population collapses, in order to make a financial killing on the increasingly scarce beasts. At a European Union meeting in Luxembourg, scientific advice is ignored and the government approves catches which are double the amount recommended to sustain the already diminished population. Due to lack of enforcement, the actual reported catches are quadruple the recommended amount. Majestic and endangered bluefin are compared to pandas and orangutans, equally endangered yet lamentably invisible compared to their terrestrial, cuddly, and protected counterparts.

      The gloomy assessment is countered near the end of the film, when journalist Clover reminds viewers that "we know what to do. It's not rocket science."

      Measures endorsed by the film include increasing marine sanctuaries, which currently protect less that 1% of oceans; consumers understanding the impact of their seafood choices; citizens reclaiming their rights as stewards of the oceans; and governments regulating fisheries according to scientific evidence.

      The End of the Line is an activist film, in the tradition of An Inconvenient Truth or The Eleventh Hour, conveying a complex message in a brief package. As we view the industry from Senegal to Malta to Alaska to Tokyo, it's clear that many values--human health, social justice, environmental integrity--require a sea change in our approach to harvesting the wealth of the sea.

View a trailer and learn more at endoftheline.com