The Tragedy of the Commons on film

The fishing industry is regularly under investigation, and not just in the EU, in an endless attempt to avoid the Tragedy of the Commons and maintain a sustainable level of production. The links below to previous blog items show that this topic is under constant review, and it is now being strengthened by a new film release. ‘The End of the Line’ is a film about the global fishing industry which will open in the UK cinemas next Monday, having previewed at the Sundance Festival in Utah earlier this year.

The documentary claims to be to the marine environment what An Inconvenient Truth was to global warming, exposing the huge over-capacity of the fishing industry and inefficient, poorly enforced regulation. There are some extreme statistics: the industry has capacity which would allow it to catch four times the current annual output. The world’s long-lining industry sets 1.4 billion hooks every year. These are estimated to be set on enough line to encircle the entire globe more than 550 times. The mouth of the largest trawling net is big enough to accommodate 13 747 jets.

This article previewing the film highlights the waste in the EU fisheries policy, which allows discards - the practice of throwing tonnes of dead fish back into the water, and contrasts it with the Icelandic regulations which also rely on quotas but avoid discards. Icleandic fishermen here say they are making a good living, despite strict rules and regulations governing their work. The authorities can close the fishing grounds if there are any indications of the stocks failing. The film will aim to motivate market forces through consumer power to persuade producers and regulators to take a tougher line. Iceland’s record explains why some of our leading retailers go there to buy their fish. Waitrose, for example, relies heavily on Icelandic supplies because it can be sure that the produce is caught sustainably.

There is a website accompanying the launch of the film which has extensive coverage of the claims of overfishing, waste and government failure, and encourages consumers to campaign for better policies as well as consumer advice about which fish to buy and which to avoid in order to help move towards a more sustainable industry. Information campaigns which advises us to eat fish more often in order to gain private benefits of better health - lower cholesterol, better types of fats and oils which are good for our hearts and circulation as well as avoiding obesity – but these positive externalities have to be achieved without the huge associated failure which comes from such drastic and unrecoverable depletion of natural resources

The film follows a book first written in 2004 by Charles Clover, Environment Editor of the Daily Telegraph. It was reviewed on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Start The Week’ by Andrew Marr who described it as one of the few recent books that had left him feeling furious. His words are quoted on the cover: “It is a rare book that changes one’s life, even in a small way. But I am going to stop buying or eating – from this day forth – Atlantic cod, halibut, sea bass, bluefin tuna, hake and scallops.” The book is available from Amazon – follow this link.

Perhaps a trip to the cinema next week would make a good break from revision, while allowing students to feel they are still covering the syllabus? Though I doubt this film is going to leave us with the escapism of Mamma Mia or Night at the Museum 2…..