GONZALES, Celina O.

11981318 NATRES G03

The films Seaspiracy and Mission Blue covered the problem of the depletion of the
ocean’s resources in two extremely different ways: Seaspiracy utilized an investigative,
research-heavy approach in order to uncover the truths behind the large-scale causes of
such degradation. The film uses different kinds of information such as statistics and news
headlines together with the footage, interviews, and narrations in order to delve into the most
pressing issues surrounding the Earth’s oceans, such as overfishing and other
unsustainable fishing practices. Moreover, the film uses its investigative format in order to be
able lead viewers to find the root causes behind these practices, such as government-led
subsidies. Seaspiracy concludes through interviewees proposing solutions, such as
establishing and enforcing no-take zones, stop subsidies, and stop the consumption of fish.
On the other hand, Mission Blue takes on the issues on a more personal approach. The
film introduces its viewers to Sylvia Earle, an esteemed oceanographer and diver. Mission
Blue allows viewers to look into the vast oceans through the lens of an oceanographer by
utilizing underwater footage, narrating anecdotes that talked about Earle’s experiences in
her diving expeditions and other work. While Mission Blue served as Earle’s diary on her
adventures, it raised pressing issues that the Earth’s oceans are facing, such as overfishing,
other unsustainable fishing practices, and the depletion of coral reefs. After addressing these
issues, Earle talks about the wonders of marine life as showcased by her anecdote. Mission
Blue concludes with possible solutions to address the issues surrounding marine life such as
establishing Hope Spots, which are areas that must be free from threatening human
activities such as fishing.

Given that the approaches taken by both films are night and day, determining the
“better” approach would depend on the viewer. Seaspiracy would be the film that takes the
“better” approach If the viewer is more interested in information-heavy, investigative
documentaries. On the other hand, Mission Blue would be the film that takes a “better”
approach if the viewer is interested in a more anecdotal approach. Unlike Seaspiracy, which
uses a more “on-your face” approach with pressing interviews and undercover missions to
alert viewers, Mission Blue introduces viewers to the beauty of the environment, and then
digs deeper into the environmental issue at hand. This approach, in my perspective, is more
effective in not only introducing viewers to marine life as a whole, but also to the issues it
faces. In addition, Earle effectively integrates her experiences with issues surrounding
marine life. For instance, Mission Blue introduces the issue on overfishing of bluefin tuna
through Earle’s trip to Tsukiji Fish Market. In the said scene, she went around the market to
find out that some of the tuna sold were not yet even capable of reproducing. On the other
hand, Seaspiracy introduced the issue of overfishing by accessing one of Japan’s major
fishing ports for tuna, presenting statistics, and conducting on-the-spot interviews. As
someone who has just delved deeper into marine life issues, I find that the approach taken
by Seaspiracy, while informative, is intimidating since it overloaded me with information that
I needed to grasp in order to fully understand the issues discussed in the film.

Laws and legal systems are essential in addressing the issues raised. It is through
laws and legal systems that human activity in the environment at large is being regulated.
These regulations may be enacted through laws crafted by legislators, policies enacted by
administrative agencies, ordinances of local government units, among others. For example,
the Clean Water Act was enacted to ensure that to protect bodies of water surrounding the
archipelago from pollution. Through the objective of the Clean Water Act, the different
species of plants and animals that thrive in these bodies of water (not limited to oceans) are
able to live in a healthy environment. Additionally, the Fisheries Code was enacted in order
to prohibit illegal forms of commercial fishing and to preserve the aquatic resources here in
the Philippines. Aside from local laws, international law aids in addressing the issues on an
international level. For example, the UNCLOS not only establishes the boundaries of the
states but also directs Member States on what they can and cannot do in such areas.
Moreover, the Rio Declaration emphasizes that Member States must strike balance between
economic development and environmental protection.

In terms of influencing laws and the legal systems, Seaspiracy has the “better”
approach in introducing the issues affecting the oceans. It is able to introduce its audience
on the current situation of the oceans and the ecosystem beneath it through incorporating
data and alarming video footage. Moreover, the unsatisfactory answers of the interviewees
in Seaspiracy shows that issues surrounding the Aside from pointing out several causes of
the situation of the world’s oceans such as plastic use and overfishing, the film was also able
to point out that the high seas continue to be unregulated to this day. While the UNCLOS
establishes that the high seas are not owned by any State, no one is held accountable for
the degradation of marine life in these areas. Seaspiracy was able to emphasize that
individual and local efforts will not suffice in being able to solve the issues surrounding the
marine environment. International efforts play a key role in being able to come up with
solutions that will be able to address the root causes of these issues, such as unsustainable
fishing practices, government-led subsidies, and other large-scale practices that caused
aquatic resources to rapidly diminish over the past two decades. Nonetheless, both
Seaspiracy and Mission Blue were able to propose solutions that can be integrated into
laws and regulations.

The Philippines is rich in aquatic resources given that it is an archipelago that is

situated along the Pacific Ocean. However, the issues raised in Seaspiracy and Mission
Blue are prevalent in the country today. While the Philippines is rich in marine resources,
such resources are depleting due to human activities which unsustainable commercial
fishing, illegal fishing practices such as dynamite fishing, and destruction of habitat such as
seas and rivers. Moreover, there are other factors that contribute to the continuing depletion
of marine resources like climate change and global warming. It may be surmised that these
activities are done primarily to address the increasing demand for food in a growing
population. Although meeting the demands of the growing population can be done while
managing our resources, commercial entities succumb to their capitalistic goal of producing
more in order to earn more. Hence, the failure to strike a balance between economic
interests and environmental protection.

The Philippines already enacted numerous laws in order to address these growing
concerns. Examples of these laws are the Fisheries Code and R.A. No. 10654 (An Act to
Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing). While it is
noteworthy that the laws itself aim to address the specific issues at hand, the efforts to
actually and effectively implement these laws are insufficient. Unsustainable fishing practices
and illegal fishing continue to be prevalent today. In a 2019 report by the USAID, around
40% of the fish caught in the Philippines came from illegal fishing 1. The USAID also reported
that around 422,000 metric tons of fish were not reported by commercial fishers and that
300,000 vessels were unreported. Aside from this, illegal fishing by commercial fishing boats
have been prevalent amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Karagatan Patrol reported that there
were around an average of 900 illegal fishing activities per week, or a total of 3,602
instances of commercial fishing within municipal waters 2. These activities notwithstanding
the enactment of the mentioned laws show that fishing activities are not being fully
regulated. The Philippines has a long way to go in being able to truly achieve the goals
presented in these laws through its effective implementation and ultimately strike a balance
between the interests of the fishing industry, consumers, and most importantly, the affected
fishing communities.
1CNN Philippines. Mar 10, 202. USAID: 40% of total catch in PH in 2019 came from Illegal fishing. Retrieved from
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2021/3/10/usaid-40--of-total-catch-in-PH-in-2019-came-from-illegal-fishing.html
2 Mongabay. June 7, 2020. Lockdown allowed illegal fishing to spike in Philippines, satellite data suggest. Retrieved. Retrieved
from https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/lockdown-allowed-illegal-fishing-to-spike-in-philippines-satellite-data-suggest/