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BLUE FIN TUNA OVERFISHING DOCUMENTARY – KAITIAKITANGA IN FOSTERING MARINE RESERVE SAFE HAVENS

16 Sep

Yesterday, I watched the documentary The End of The Line narrated by Ted Danson.

Within the film, we quickly learn that Mistubishi control 60% of blue fin tuna catch in the world. It is being stockpiled and frozen and blue fin tuna are quickly becoming a fish of the past. We also learn that fish farming needs to be done a smart way, otherwise it takes one pound of anchovies for example to create one pound of salmon farmed fish.

Not smart, when “people can get used to eating anchovy” better for you than many other fish, was the suggestion. Hmmm.

The truth is, bottom trawling ploughs the oceans seabeds destroying the ocean’s ecosystems. Commercial fishing, often kills species food chain supplies and re-alters the ocean as we know it. Jelly fish are on the rise as a result of overfishing where fish populations are being wiped out. Many marine scientists fear that we will awake to world of limited fish supplies. They posit that line fishing only, should ensure we as people do not destroy the gifts of the ocean given to us.

What is needed is Maori worldviews on what marine life means to Indigenous people, from a traditional fishing perspective. It has good cultural match, with what this documentary posits as being a more preservatory pathway forward in preserving marine life and global fish stocks.

The official blurb of the documentary states: “The End of the Line is a powerful film about one of the world’s most disturbing problems – over-fishing. Advances in fishing technology mean whole species of wild fish are under threat and the most important stocks we eat are predicted to be in a state of collapse by 2050.

The film points the finger at those most to blame and shows what we can do about it. This is not just a film, it is also a campaign – for sustainable consumption of fish, for marine protected areas to allow the sea to recover, and for a new ethic of responsible fishing.”

The doco’s website is – www.endoftheline.com.

One of the fascinating facts of the documentary was that the great Celtic migration from European nations to Canada, occurred when Celtic tribes caught wind of Canada’s cod supplies. Fish was the motivating factor that caused people to leave the UK etc to go in search of fresh fish. Go figure!

Marine reserves are upon us, to be thinking about. Oil reserves, fish reserves… blue fin tuna reserves to protect the next waves of fish populations from ourselves. In New Zealand, we’re quite into the vibe of “just reserves.”

Have you seen this documentary yet? It’s interesting.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 16.9.11~

 

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