A new Netflix original documentary by the name "Seaspiracy" dwells deep into the various interdimensional aspects of resource exploitation among the high seas and the myth of sustainability that surrounds the fish we consume every day. Starting off with a Whale hunting session at Taiji in Japan, the film soon shows us about the fabrications of "sustainable" licensing and how there's a multi-billion dollar industry built on environmental degradation, over fishing, slavery and human rights abuses. From plastic pollution in our oceans being primarily caused by fishing gear, to the way fish farms operate with heavy organic waste and diseases permeating their fish stock, the piece sheds light on crucial questions that we as concious consumers need to make: is there really any sort of thing as sustainable fishing and are we making an informed choice about it?

Shrimp farming in South East Asia is often run by transnational crime syndicates that use modern day slavery to earn their profits. Blue fin tuna and whaling in Japan bypasses international norms related to fishing and "bycatch" which is the phenomenon of non-target fish species being caught alongside target populations is often a primary reason for the decimation of turtles, sharks, dolphins and innumerable aquatic species.

Chances are, the fish on your plate probably has vestiges of microplatics, toxic chemicals, came as a byproduct of harmful undersea trawling that contributes to coral destruction and climate change while being extracted by illegal fishing vessels that use modern slavery. Would we then look at fish on our plates in the same way? Or perhaps it is time to introspect what is fundamentally wrong with our consumption patterns, industrialisation of the fishing sector and the gross silence surrounding all of this. This film feature is one step in the right direction to shed light on the dark crevices of a highly disruptive and dangerous industry that affects each one of us.