The new film narrated by Sir David Attenborough has some important things to say, but some equally important things should be added to it.
Ocean is a powerful piece of work and a passionate statement of the film makers’ affection for the world’s seas. Much has been made of the King’s attendance at the film’s premiere, where he was joined by a variety of celebrities and international campaigning organisations. Sadly, though, for a film that has much to say about fishing, fishermen and fisheries scientists were notable by their absence. This wasn’t really an event for the likes of us.
This is a great shame, because the film makes some significant points about the need to protect the seas and the fish stocks that all of us in the fishing industry depend on for our livelihoods. The debate around marine protection is a vital one. What is missing here is the understanding that those of us who work on and in connection with the sea every day have more to contribute to it than most.
As a work designed to entertain and influence, Ocean is outstanding, but – by its nature – indiscriminate. The film makes claims about the impact of bottom trawling that are not recognisable in Britain’s modern fishing fleet.
There is no point in denying that this fishery has had problems in the past, but much the same can be said of many things that we consider successful today. David Attenborough started his path to fame and fortune by filming expeditions to capture wild animals to be exhibited to the paying customers of London Zoo. Both presenter and zoo have distanced themselves from their pasts. Both have gone on to become beloved national treasures, all previous transgressions long forgiven and determinedly forgotten.
The same should be true for our trawler fleet. Insofar as it relates to the UK – and, of course, most of the film does not – the narrative promoted by Ocean is a story about a fishery of the past. New technology and more scientific, evidence-led fisheries management has led to a present-day fleet that is increasingly selective in its gear and restricted in its activities to those areas that can sustain it. Those successes are proof of the fishing industry’s commitment to continually improved sustainability. If we are going to continue sustainably producing food from the sea, a diverse fleet is essential. Bottom trawling is a relatively small, but important, part of that in the UK today.
Is this true everywhere in the world, though? Of course not. We in the fishing industry should not shy away from acknowledging problems where they exist and calling for them to be resolved. Quite aside from the protection of the marine environment simply being the right thing to do, it is commercial common sense. Britain has some of the most heavily regulated fisheries in the world – to our credit – and the fishermen who work diligently within that system should not have to compete against products harvested to far lower environmental standards elsewhere.
It must be remembered, too, that fishing is not the only problem that the oceans face. Clearly, there is only so much ground that one short film can cover, but marine management is such a complex and truly important topic that we can only regret that more couldn’t be mentioned here. If you leave out pieces of the jigsaw, you don’t see the whole picture.
Nothing was said about aggregate dredging; about subsea cables; about seabed mining. There was no discussion of the tens of thousands of square kilometres of seabed that our government plans to lease to multinational energy giants, to build their wind power stations on. The negative impacts of these mammoth developments have recently been highlighted by a major ICES report and the future prospects of our seas cannot be properly understood without including them.
A partial understanding of the problem will not yield solutions that work. Anyone who truly cares about improving the state of our oceans and ensuring that humans can continue to use their resources – as we have for thousands of years – in a sustainable manner, should want to ensure that any actions taken are effective. Promoting ‘conservation’ measures that will not achieve any tangible outcomes will waste time and resources, and reduce confidence in the whole endeavour of marine conservation, to the benefit of no-one.
I think that this is a point of view that many of the people involved in producing and promoting Ocean can understand and support.
Dr Andrew Forrest, whose foundation provided much of the funding for this film, may have made his billions in mining, but his doctorate is in marine ecology and he is a serious contributor to the field of ocean conservation. Likewise, no one should doubt the real and deep commitment of King Charles to environmental causes. These are not the sort of people who want shallow gestures that will capture the public attention for a moment and then be forgotten. Nor will poorly-conceived measures, that hurt fishermen and damage our food supplies without achieving any actual conservation benefits, satisfy their drive for meaningful change.
To do that, we need the conversation about ocean conservation to be rooted in solid evidence, credible research, and the wealth of experience that already exists.
My challenge to all the passionate, committed people who have made and promoted Ocean is this: if you want to see how our fisheries really work, and to understand the potential of sustainable fisheries management, come and talk to us.
Talk to the fisheries managers and scientists who are devising innovative, evidence-based management plans for fisheries all around our coast. Talk to the gear technologists who are helping to minimise ground contact and reduce bycatch even further. Talk to the engineers exploring zero-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels, to power fishing boats. Above all, talk to the fishermen who collaborate with all these people, lending vast expertise to drive, refine and improve their work.
Come to any fishing port, at any time, and we will have some compelling stories of our own to tell you.