A couple weeks ago I posted this infographic on Instagram about being an informed consumer. Because I had been talking about organic foods at the time, that is what I referenced. However, the tips can be used for truly ANYTHING…including Seaspiracy, the latest documentary to have people up in arms and divided on a controversial topic.
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how important it is to do your own research on things and form your own opinions. Do not believe everything you hear in the media just because it’s trending. Find out where they got their facts from and do your own research. That’s not to say that Seaspiracy is a bunch of bullshit, it’s just to say that the film throws a bunch of information at you and expects you to just take them at their word and not dig deeper. One 90 minute film cannot provide a complete picture of an issue.
Because I want each and every one of you to be an informed consumer, I’ve made it easy for you to do your own research on the data presented in this film. Below you will find every single journal and study referenced + the timestamp of where it is referenced in the movie. Copy and paste the reference into Google or your preferred search engine and have at it!
You’ll notice that I did not include all the newspaper articles that were referenced. This was intentional. Newspaper articles do not necessarily equal scientific data, and if you read the articles they frequently refer back to some of these studies anyway. Skip the potentially biased newspaper article and go straight to the source for the most accurate information.
Referenced Studies & What Point in the Movie They Were Referenced
- International Monetary Fund, Nature’s Solution to Climate Change, Dec 2019
- “Japan Gov Data” (13:10)…how on earth is anyone able to confirm whether or not that vague reference is true? But regardless, the data he shows implies that for every one dolphin captured from 2000-2015, 12 dolphins are killed.
- Int Scientific Committee for Tuna (14:49)
- Marine Policy, Volume 40, Global Catches, Exploitation Rates and Rebuilding Options for Sharks , Elsevier (July 2013) (21:21)
- Bycatch of Seabirds and Marine Mammals in Lumpsucker Gillnets 2014-17 Marine and Freshwater Institute 2018 (22:41)
- FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 (23:31)
- Lebreton, L., Slat, B., Ferrari, F., et al. Evidence That the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Rapidly Accumulating Plastic, Scientific Reports 8, No. 4666 (March 2018) (28:14)
- Roberts, C. 2013. Ocean of Life, London, Penguin Books (29:11)
- University of Exeter, Marine Turtles Dying After Becoming Entangled in Plastic Rubbish, ScienceDaily (Dec 2017) (29:49)
- Sea Turtle Conservancy, Threats from Commercial Trawl Fishing (29:51)
- Jenna Jambeck in the Journal of Science and Denise Hardesty & Chris Wilcox (30:39)
- Roberts, C. 2013. Ocean of Life, Lindon, Penguin Books (34:25)
- (I also want to note that in this part they tell you to visit the Seaspiracy website for more info. However, as of 10:11am on Wednesday, March 31, the “Facts” section of their website is still blank and under construction. Personal and biased opinion here, but if you’re putting out a controversial documentary that you know people will come at you for then you better be ready for battle and have all your factual ducks in a row before that film is even released. There is zero excuse for this page to be blank a week after the film’s release.)
- (I also want to note that in this part they tell you to visit the Seaspiracy website for more info. However, as of 10:11am on Wednesday, March 31, the “Facts” section of their website is still blank and under construction. Personal and biased opinion here, but if you’re putting out a controversial documentary that you know people will come at you for then you better be ready for battle and have all your factual ducks in a row before that film is even released. There is zero excuse for this page to be blank a week after the film’s release.)
- Fishcount.org.uk United Nations FAO 2012 (38:20)
- (38:54): I wanted to quickly touch on the claim at this point in the film that a “study” said the oceans would be empty by 2048. The film does not give the actual source of this study, and instead references a New York Times article from 2006. The study was done in 2006 by Boris Worm. Boris Worm debunked his own study in 2009 and determined that this was no longer the case. Just something to be aware of. I’ll include references to the 2006 and 2009 studies below:
- Worm, Boris, et al. “Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 3 Nov. 2006, science.sciencemag.org/content/314/5800/787.abstract.
- Worm, Boris, et al. “Rebuilding Global Fisheries.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 31 Jul. 2009, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5940/578
- Worm, Boris, et al. “Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 3 Nov. 2006, science.sciencemag.org/content/314/5800/787.abstract.
- Dr. PeterMacreadie, The Future of Blue Carbon Science (41:49)
- FAO, State of the World’s Forests 2020 (42:29)
- Dr. Les Watling & Dr. Elliott Norse, Bottom Trawling Impacts On Ocean, Clearly Visible From Space (2008) (42:40)
- University of British Columbia, Marine Protection Targets, An Updated Assessment of Global Progress, Oryx, 2015 (43:46)
- Marine Policy, Volume 48 (54:13)
- United Nations FAO (1:00:22)
- www.IFFO.net (2009) Fish In – Fish Out (FIFO) Ratios Explained (1:02:31)