End of the Line

Thursday 21 October 2010

The award winning and eye opening film The End Of The Line opens in cinemas tomorrow, 22 October. Watch it, and change the way you eat fish. Chris Mason discusses why you should see it.

I watched the film a few weeks ago, during a rather environ-mentally zealous week. It shook me to the core. It is not however, a shock and guilt movie, and the overall message is one of hope. But the sheer magnitude of the destruction we have wrought open our scaly friends is frightening.

"Where are all the fish gone, daddy?"

"We ate them all."

I hope we never have to say that to our children. There are scary stats, like the claim that there will be no fish left by 2048. This particular statistic has taken some flak, with a argumentative scientist here and there claiming it will be closer to 2060. But the point is not to argue whether it will happen in 40 or 50 years. The point is to realise that as a nation, and a global community of fish eaters, we need to change the way we approach fish as food.

It is not that we can no longer eat fish (or does it?), but we must start to do so responsibly. That means being aware of what fish is put on your table. If it is green (according to the well publicised Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative, or SASSI) then it's all good, but orange and red are no no's because it means the species does not have the numbers to survive if fished continually. The reason this kind of informed choice is so important is because, as they say in the hospitality industry, the client is always right. So if we carry on going to resturants and demanding Steenbras and Blue fin Tuna, we'll get it. Supply and demand. Until there is none left.

The idea is to encourage and support responsible commercial fishing through responsible eating. With overpopulation and massive depletion of natural habitats on land, we would be very, very stupid to squandor the massive potential of the oceans as our last wild, natural resource. A place that will make food for the human race for generations to come. That is of course, if we leave enough fish in the sea right now.

End of the Line will also be showing at this year's Wavescapes Film Festival. For more details go to www.endoftheline.com