Darwin's Nightmare (2005) on Netflix
NR20051h 47mDocumentary
The Nile perch, introduced into Lake Victoria, wiped out hundreds of native species and now supplies fillets flown to Europe. Fishermen, factory workers and villagers depend on the trade.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb7.4/105,781 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes90%
Trailer
Plot summary
A Soviet-built cargo plane lands at Mwanza airfield in Tanzania, beside Lake Victoria, to collect processed fillets of Nile perch for Europe. The fish was brought to the lake as an experiment and has driven hundreds of endemic species to extinction. The Russian and Ukrainian aircrew, factory owners, guards, fishermen and villagers describe how the perch has changed the lake and the region's economy. European aid is funneled into Africa while munitions from European arms dealers arrive on the same aircraft. Prime fillets go to European supermarkets, leaving local people the remaining carcasses, and a factory manager says selling the fish at home would cost too much. News reports describe famine in northern and central Tanzania.
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Darwin's Nightmare (2005)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Nile perch was introduced into Lake Victoria and caused the extinction of hundreds of endemic species, a chain of events the film examines through the fishing industry around the lake.
- Arms and munitions were often flown into Africa on the same planes that carried Nile perch fillets out to European consumers, feeding the conflicts that European aid was meant to remedy.
