We Are Dying
“If the ocean dies, so do we” (Seaspiracy). It is a known fact that pollution is the main cause of global warming. Yet, there is a key part of Earth that can fix global warming- its the sea. However, as the sea starts to collapse due to human-caused pollution, the solution to global warming rapidly disappears. The majority of the human population are not aware of the serious harm of fishing. The truth behind large ocean industries are also covered by governments and illegal activities. Therefore, it is necessary for documentaries like Seaspiracy to educate students and motivate change.
The ocean is also called the lungs of Earth because of their significant impact of providing humans with oxygen to breathe. From the algae to whales, the living organisms in the sea take large part in slowing down global warming and reducing air pollution. However, these precious mammals are the victims of mass killings. Each year 300,000+ whales, 50 millions sharks, 250,000 sea turtles are killed by industrial fishing (seaspiracy). These critically high numbers are stated by Seaspiracy:“These animals washing up with their stomachs filled with plastic was devastating not only because of their incredible intelligence, but because they even help keep the entire ocean alive,” (Seaspiracy). With the exponential increase of death rates, the effectiveness of sea creatures generating oxygen decreases dramatically.
Commercial fishing is bad just by the thousands of fish that get caught up every day, however it’s the fishing nets that are left stranded in the ocean that leaves permanent damage. These heavy nets are indestructible and they scrape along the ocean floors picking up fish, ocean mammals, and the coral reef. Currently, 90% of the coral reef has been wiped out, and the ocean is barely surviving with the remaining 10%. British filmmaker, Ali Tabrizi states,“Approximately 46% of the 79 thousand tons of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of fishing nets and waste,” (Seaspiracy). The solution to removing these immense fishing nets are extremely costly and requires large ships that are hard to find, making this an unfixable problem.
As most of the audience that viewed the documentary, the question: “what can we do?” Has come up. The only effective answer to this is to not eat fish, however not only is this unworkable, many are not willing to cut fish out of their diet. Another solution Seaspiracy states, is to boycott brands that utilize overfishing and to eat less seafood. Overall, the most important lesson is to keep ourselves educated and aware of our dying ocean.