Seaspiracy (2021) on Netflix
NR20211h 29mCrimeDocumentary
A filmmaker who cares about ocean life sets out to record the harm done to marine species. He examines plastic pollution, ghost nets and overfishing, and questions sustainable seafood labels.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb8.1/1035,903 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes75%
Trailer
Plot summary
Whales, sharks, dolphins and sea turtles are in decline, and a filmmaker sets out to record the harm done to marine species. Plastic pollution, ghost nets and overfishing are among the subjects, and it places the blame for the destruction of marine ecosystems on commercial fishing. It questions sustainable fishing, sustainable seafood and dolphin-safe tuna labels, and travels to the dolphin drive hunt at Taiji in Japan, whaling in the Faroe Islands, fish markets in Thailand and China, coastal West Africa and salmon farms in Scotland, with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's work at sea.
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Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Seaspiracy (2021)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Before Seaspiracy was released, leaked internal documents from the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group for the US seafood industry, revealed a media strategy to protect the industry and brand the then-unreleased film a "dishonest attack". The institute appealed to Netflix to distinguish "legitimate documentaries" from "propaganda".
- The film's claim that the oceans could be virtually empty by 2048 traces back to a 2006 study in Science led by marine ecologist Boris Worm. In a 2021 BBC fact-check, Worm said the paper was 15 years old and most of its data almost 20.
- The Marine Stewardship Council, Earth Island Institute and Plastic Pollution Coalition disputed their negative portrayal in Seaspiracy, suggesting their representatives' comments were cherry-picked, and Oceana disputed the film's statement that it receives funding from the seafood industry.
