The End of the Line, 2009, is the world’s first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing premiered at Sundance Film Festival and launched in Spanish in Madrid.
The Spanish version of The End of the Line was launched by MarViva Foundation, Oceana Europe and renowned singer Miguel Bose in Madrid on 3rd February.
The film examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish.
Bose is the narrator in the Spanish version of the documentary, directed by Rupert Murray and based on investigative journalist Charles Clover’s book of the same name.
During the presentation, MarViva and Oceana released a statement signed by a group of environmental organisations and international figures urging Spain to support the ban on the international trade of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) at the next Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that will be held in Doha (Qatar) in March.
Representatives of Greenpeace, Ecologistas en Acción, Pew Foundation and the government of the Balearic Islands, and Roberto Mielgo (the former tuna farmer turned whistleblower who is a protagonist of the film) were present to support the statement.
They highlighted the critical situation that the species is undergoing in the North Atlantic and the need for immediate action to ensure its future. Decades of overfishing, illegal fishing and management dominated by industry interests, have decimated the bluefin tuna spawning stock to levels below 15 per cent of the existing population before industrial fishing.
Negotiations are currently taking place in the heart of the EU for a common stance for the CITES meeting, which will be a determining factor for this species’ future. The European Parliament’s Environment Committee, in a resolution within the process framework, has already urged Member States to support Monaco’s proposal for a ban on international trade.
The signatories consider that Spain has the responsibility of acting to preserve bluefin tuna, and they urge the Spanish government to immediately adopt and promote the following measures:
- Support for the inclusion of bluefin tuna in Appendix I of CITES. Bluefin tuna is disappearing. The decades of management by the Contracting Parties to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which include the EU, have been called an “international disgrace” [Report of the Independent Performance Review of ICCAT, 2008]. The parties have shown themselves to be incapable of adopting the necessary measures such as quotas in accordance with scientists’ advice or the closure of the fishery during the spawning period. CITES is currently the sole valid alternative to guarantee the future of this species. On the other hand, the socio-economic considerations do not make sense in this context. The EU Member States must guarantee the fishing industry’s long-term viability. The administration’s current position only constitutes a guarantee that bluefin tuna fishing will cease to exist in the near future. Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency and has the highest quota percentage among Member States, therefore has the responsibility of supporting this measure.
- Creation of marine reserves in bluefin tuna spawning areas. The protection of bluefin tuna spawning areas in the Mediterranean through the creation of marine reserves is a necessary step to protect this species, starting with the area located to the south of the Balearic Islands where there is already sufficient scientific information that upholds the immediate need for protection.
The signatories include:
Organisations:
- Palma Aquarium
- PEW Foundation
- Slow Food Spain
- Slow Food Illes Balears
- Greenpeace España
- Avina
- Ecologistas en Acción
- WWF
- Grup Balear de Ornitología (GOB) Mallorca
- Grup Balear de Ornitología (GOB) Menorca
- Grup Balear de Ornitología (GOB) Eivissa
- Instituto Internacional de Derecho y Medio Ambiente (IIDMA)
- Amics de la Terra Balears
- Amigos de la Tierra Spain
- Centro de Estudios Rurales y de Agricultura Internacional (CERAI)
International Public figures:
- Kofi Annan, former secretary general, United Nations
- Javier Solana, former High Representative of the European Union for the Common, Foreign and Security Policy
- Michael Douglas, actor
- José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica
- Sybilla, designer
- Ted Danson, actor
- Elle MacPherson, model
- Basilio Baltasar, Director, Fundación Santillana
- Dr. Enric Sala, investigative scientist of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) y Ocean Fellow, National Geographic Society
- Diego Hidalgo, President, Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE)
- Jordi Bigas, journalist
- Diego Azqueta, Honorary President, WATU Acción Indígena
- Sean Cleary, CEO, Strategic Concepts
- Colin and Livia Firth, actors
- Jordi Bigas, environmental journalist
- Víctor Viñuales, Director, Ecología y Desarrollo
- Pedro Barbadillo, director
- Rupert Murray, director, The End of the Line
- George Duffield, producer, The End of the Line
- Charles Clover, investigative journalist, author of The End of the Line
- Valeria Golino, actress
- Baron Eric De Rothschild, banker
- Greta Scacchi, actress
- Stephen Fry, actor
- Dr. Carles Amengual i Vicens, Education Secretary, Liga Médico Homeopática Internacional
- Yannick y Ben Jakober, artists
- Irene Peukes, designer
- Sandy Hemingway, President, Amigos de la Tierra Spain
- Liliane Spendeler, Director, Áreas Ambientales, Amigos de la Tierra Spain
- Yolanda Kakabadse, former President, IUCN, and Senior Advisor, Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano
- Prof. Jacques Marcovitch, former President, Universidad de Sao Paulo
- Jaume Tapies, chef and President, Relais & Chateaux
- Musaed Al Saleh, Council member, Earth Council Geneva (ECG)
- Jacques Perrin, director and producer
- Tom Aikens, chef
- Sophie Andrieu, author
- Joanna Lumley, actress
- Charles Dance, actor
- Fiona Shaw, actress
- Zac Goldsmith, environmental journalist
- Damian Aspinall, entrepreneur
- Ben Elliot, entrepreneur
- Ben and Kate Goldsmith, entrepreneur and envionromentalists
- Laura Bailey, actress
- Alan Rickman, actor and director
- Prince Urbano Barberini, actor
- Richard E Grant, actor
- Sophie Dahl, writer and model
- Emilia Fox, actress
- Amber Valletta, actress and model
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