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Would any of you say it's definitely worth watching, to someone debating whether to spend the 90 min? Some of the reviews are pretty mixed, saying that the fil

Would any of you say it's definitely worth watching, to someone debating whether to spend the 90 min? Some of the reviews are pretty mixed, saying that the film's message is confused by conspiratorial threads and off-putting journalistic style. Or, if you're already aware of the problems with industrial fishing, is it a pass/not much of an eye opener and not mandatory watching? Watching episodes of David Attenborough's Blue Planet might have done more for me already to appreciate the value of sea life than what I imagine is lots of footage of industrial fish markets, processing facilities, etc. But maybe knowing the ugly side is important.

iamacyborg 6y ago
I tried and had to turn it off after 20 minutes. By that point the interviewer had attempted two ambush interviews, made a lot of statements without backing them up (Japanese fleets overfishing tuna, they might well do but I'd like to see numbers), made false statements around the value of caught tuna (just because the first fish sold at auction in Japan sells for millions does not mean every fish sells for anywhere near that much) and acted surprised about something I thought was common knowledge when I was 6 years old (dolphins are bycatch in tuna fishing operations).
- RHSman2 6y ago
  Maybe you should have watched to the end then your comments may have been very different
  - iamacyborg 6y ago
    Why would I when the first 20 minutes were so painfully bad?
    - RHSman2 6y ago
      So you could make a valid comment on HN instead of ‘I didn’t watch it but here is my opinion’?
      - iamacyborg 6y ago
        What have I said that's wrong?
        RHSman2 6y ago
        Its a very intriguing and sensitive subject that I personally don’t think is a waste of time and there is an awful lot more to the documentary than the first 20 mins.
        iamacyborg 6y ago
        It is an interesting topic, I don't disagree, I just really didn't like the presenter's style.
        RHSman2 6y ago
        Then you aren’t wasting your time then.
        jonwithoutanh 6y ago
        How would you suggest he press the people he's talking to that are outward lying to his face?
        iamacyborg 6y ago
        Like the chippy?
- DennisP 6y ago
  He was surprised that dolphin bycatch was a big problem in fishing operations labeled "dolphin safe." That probably surprises a lot of people.
DennisP 6y ago
I thought I was aware of the problem, but it turned out the ugly side was a lot uglier than I'd imagined. Definitely worth a watch. The most "conspiratorial threads" consisted of sustainable seafood labels being mostly a sham and funded by the fishing industry, which is not exactly surprising. The film also documented rampant criminal behavior and some oppressive police action, but I wouldn't call any of that "conspiratorial" rather than depressingly common.
t0mbstone 6y ago
Regardless of whether or not it was "gotcha" journalism, I learned a LOT of stuff that I didn't previously know. For example, I had no idea that the "Dolphin Safe" label was just marketing and didn't actually represent any sort of guarantee. When you think about it, it all makes logical sense. These fishing trawlers are dragging huge nets across the ocean to catch giant schools of fish. Who else eats that fish? Dolphins and sharks. So of course they are going to get caught in the nets along with all the other fish. This had never really occurred to me before. It was also incredibly eye opening to find out what really happens at most fish farms. They have all these fish contained in a relatively small area and they are feeding them all the other waste fish byproducts that come from normal fishing. The farmed fish just sit there in their own filth. It's hard to believe that's a healthy or sustainable way. I also learned that a lot of the health benefits of fish such as omega 3 oils actually originate from the algae that fish eat. This means that you can just avoid eating fish entirely and just source omega 3 oils from algae. No reason to even eat the fish. It was also very eye opening to discover just how much more toxic the ocean is becoming over time as humans keep using it as our dumping ground. Ultimately, there only seems to be one solution: Stop eating fish. But that begs the question... if the ocean runs out of fish, then we have to stop eating fish, right? So if we just all stop eating fish now, how is that any better than running out of fish later? The net effect is the same!

iamacyborg 6y ago

I tried and had to turn it off after 20 minutes. By that point the interviewer had attempted two ambush interviews, made a lot of statements without backing them up (Japanese fleets overfishing tuna, they might well do but I'd like to see numbers), made false statements around the value of caught tuna (just because the first fish sold at auction in Japan sells for millions does not mean every fish sells for anywhere near that much) and acted surprised about something I thought was common knowledge when I was 6 years old (dolphins are bycatch in tuna fishing operations).

RHSman2 6y ago
Maybe you should have watched to the end then your comments may have been very different
- iamacyborg 6y ago
  Why would I when the first 20 minutes were so painfully bad?
  - RHSman2 6y ago
    So you could make a valid comment on HN instead of ‘I didn’t watch it but here is my opinion’?
    - iamacyborg 6y ago
      What have I said that's wrong?
      - RHSman2 6y ago
        Its a very intriguing and sensitive subject that I personally don’t think is a waste of time and there is an awful lot more to the documentary than the first 20 mins.
        iamacyborg 6y ago
        It is an interesting topic, I don't disagree, I just really didn't like the presenter's style.
        RHSman2 6y ago
        Then you aren’t wasting your time then.
        jonwithoutanh 6y ago
        How would you suggest he press the people he's talking to that are outward lying to his face?
        iamacyborg 6y ago
        Like the chippy?
DennisP 6y ago
He was surprised that dolphin bycatch was a big problem in fishing operations labeled "dolphin safe." That probably surprises a lot of people.

DennisP 6y ago

I thought I was aware of the problem, but it turned out the ugly side was a lot uglier than I'd imagined. Definitely worth a watch. The most "conspiratorial threads" consisted of sustainable seafood labels being mostly a sham and funded by the fishing industry, which is not exactly surprising. The film also documented rampant criminal behavior and some oppressive police action, but I wouldn't call any of that "conspiratorial" rather than depressingly common.

t0mbstone 6y ago

Regardless of whether or not it was "gotcha" journalism, I learned a LOT of stuff that I didn't previously know. For example, I had no idea that the "Dolphin Safe" label was just marketing and didn't actually represent any sort of guarantee. When you think about it, it all makes logical sense. These fishing trawlers are dragging huge nets across the ocean to catch giant schools of fish. Who else eats that fish? Dolphins and sharks. So of course they are going to get caught in the nets along with all the other fish. This had never really occurred to me before. It was also incredibly eye opening to find out what really happens at most fish farms. They have all these fish contained in a relatively small area and they are feeding them all the other waste fish byproducts that come from normal fishing. The farmed fish just sit there in their own filth. It's hard to believe that's a healthy or sustainable way. I also learned that a lot of the health benefits of fish such as omega 3 oils actually originate from the algae that fish eat. This means that you can just avoid eating fish entirely and just source omega 3 oils from algae. No reason to even eat the fish. It was also very eye opening to discover just how much more toxic the ocean is becoming over time as humans keep using it as our dumping ground. Ultimately, there only seems to be one solution: Stop eating fish. But that begs the question... if the ocean runs out of fish, then we have to stop eating fish, right? So if we just all stop eating fish now, how is that any better than running out of fish later? The net effect is the same!