The End of the Line

Rupert Murray, Director & Christopher Hird, Executive Producer

● Environment
Click to learn more
Share

"I didn't realize the scale of the problem - that there really would be no fish in the sea by the middle of this century, unless we do something about it."  Rupert Murray, Director

Featured at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and in hundreds of cinemas, aquariums, and universities across the United States and the United Kingdom, Rupert Murray’s The End of the Line chronicles the devastating effect of overfishing on the world’s ecosystems. Based on the book by Charles Clover, The End of the Line is the first major documentary to reveal the extent of the crisis facing today's oceans.

In this excerpt, we see how the economy in Newfoundland has suffered as a result of the decline in cod due to overfishing.

In partnership with:


 

 

Rupert Murray, Director

Rupert Murray directed and edited Unknown White Male (2005), which was nominated for awards at the Directors Guild of America Awards, the Grierson Awards and the British Independent Film Awards. He has recently directed a feature-length documentary Olly and Suzy: Two of a Mind, a film about two artists who paint dangerous predators in the wild.

Christopher Hird, Executive Producer

Christopher Hird is a founder of Fulcrum Productions and Dartmouth Films—a production company committed to documentaries that make a difference. In addition to executive producing The Terror and the Truth (BBC, 1997), the Grierson-winning Belonging (2003), and Black Gold (2006), Hird  executive produced Pig Business in 2009.

All upcoming public screenings in the US can be found here:
http://endoftheline.com/screenings/index.php/frontend/display/usa

You can also host a screening yourself. Find out more here:
http://endoftheline.com/things_to_do/host_a_screening_usa

Trailer:

Interview with Christopher Hird, Executive Producer

t21: How did you get interested in the subject of endangered fish and fisheries?
CH: Charles Clover and his producer came to see me and said they wanted to make a film based on his book The End of the Line. Like many people I was vaguely aware that there was a problem with fish stocks - in the UK some fish was hard to buy. The price of it had risen and many fishing communities had been decimated. But I didn't realize the scale of the problem - that there really would be no fish in the sea by the middle of this century, unless we do something about it. To make a film about that and to make a difference was an irresistible challenge.

t21: Did you think it would be hard to make people care about fish?
CH: I knew it would be hard to persuade television producers, which is why, from the beginning, I saw this as an independent documentary. But I always believed that if we made a compelling, persuasive and honest film, people would care about it, because this is about the food we eat and the future of the planet.

t21: What have the reactions been like by people who see the movie?
CH: Overwhelmingly positive; they get the argument, they go out and they change the way they shop and eat. This itself has forced companies and politicians to look at their policies and in the UK several major retailers have changed their purchasing policies as a result, either seeing the film, or sensing the potential public pressure.

t21: What actions are being taken to increase the cod population in Newfoundland?
CH: As the film shows, the main policy was a moratorium on cod fishing but the cod population has not recovered. Scientists puzzle over why this is the case, as in other parts of the world it has proved possible to rebuild fish stocks. One of the scientists involved in the study of this area expressed the view that the stock had been decimated so much that there just weren't enough fish left to restart the colony.

t21: Does unregulated commercial fishing still persist there? Why or why not?
CH: Yes, and it is for a combination of reasons - the seas are enormous, policing them properly is expensive and too many governments do not take this issue seriously..

t21: Overfishing is a global problem. What are some global solutions?
CH: Obviously the greater international cooperation between governments, the better. But even individual governments, or a group of governments working together, can make a difference: in conjunction with indigenous fishing communities, establish marine reserves where industrial fishing is banned or controlled; encourage the establishment of sustainable fisheries; stop subsidizing the construction of industrial-sized vessels and support more environmentally friendly fishing tackle instead.

 

 

t21: Is Alaska the best example of sustainable commercial fishing right now? If not, where would you say is?
CH: Alaska is one way of doing - appropriate to the circumstances of the region - but there are sustainable fisheries all over the world. The Icelandic cod fishery is also regarded as well managed - though there are now worries that Iceland's financial troubles may threaten this, which illustrates some of the complexities of this subject.

t21: Is the term "sustainable commercial fishing" an oxymoron?
CH: No, it is not. To get accreditation as a sustainable fishery you need to pass stringent tests on the way you fish, the way you measure the stock and amount of fish you take from the sea. This may mean that profits are lower than in an unregulated fishery, but there will be profits for longer. Sustainable fishing is a sustainable long-term economic proposition.

Join the conversation:

Send an e-postcard

From: (your email)

To: (your friend's email)

Your message: Spam test: