Exclusive Seaspiracy Documentary Director Interview with Ali & Lucy Tabrizi / Episode 60

The Plant Based News Podcast

Hi Plant Friends, and welcome to a very special episode. Today's show is hosted by PBN Founder Klaus Mitchell. Husband and wife Ali and Lucy Tabrizi are the filmmakers behind the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy - which uncovers the horrors of modern industrial fishing. The film features human impacts on marine life such as plastic marine debris, ghost nets and overfishing around the world. The documentary was one of the top ten most-watched films on Netflix in several countries on the week of its release and generated significant traction on social media. According to the United Nations FAO around 87 percent of the world’s fish populations are ‘fully fished’ or ‘overfished’. Nearly a third of edible fish populations have declined by 90 percent. That same study says that if biodiversity continues to decline, the marine environment will not be able to sustain our way of life. Indeed it may not be able to sustain our lives at all. The global fishing industry has more than doubled in capacity since 1950. It’s now so huge it can’t help but destroy our oceans. What Ali and Lucy discovered whilst making Seaspiracy was truly shocking: Fishing has wiped out 90 percent of the world’s large fish. More than 300,000 dolphins, whales and porpoises are killed by fishing operations every year. More than $35 billion is paid in subsidies to industrial fishing every year. Fishing kills 30,000 sharks EVERY HOUR. Ali and Lucy sat down with Klaus Mitchell from Plant Based News to talk about some of the questions they’ve faced, some of the criticisms, and to go through some behind-the-scenes snippets from the Seaspiracy documentary. Since its release in March 2021, Seaspiracy has garnered many reviews worldwide. It soon climbed up the ranks on Netflix in over 30 countries. During our exclusive interview for Plant Based News, Klaus Mitchell asked Ali and Lucy what proportion of the feedback they thought - in terms of the reception of the documentary - has been positive and negative. Find out more about Seaspiracy here https://www.seaspiracy.org And sign the petition already signed by over 650,000 people at https://change.org/seaspiracy This podcast is sponsored by Nuzest - use code PBN20 to get 20% off your first order of their delicious golden pea protein 👉 https://plnt.news/trynuzest This episode is produced by Robbie Lockie. Presented by Klaus Mitchell and Edited by Phil Marriott. *Show Notes* 00:02:19 The reception for the Seaspiracy documentary 00:03:51 Interesting responses from fans, seafood chefs and celebrity followers 00:05:38 The Seaspiracy journey 00:07:40 Responding to cynics 00:08:30 Documenting the distressing footage of whaling in the Faroe islands 00:10:35 The filming and editing process 00:13:01 Finishing the documentary and receiving messages from influencers, friends and family 00:15:25 What Ali and Lucy learnt from making the documentary 00:17:00 Is change happening now? 00:18:27 The size of the Seaspiracy production team 00:19:32 Surprises of the shoot location 00:20:17 Ali and Lucy’s personal favourite moments of the documentary 00:22:10 Dangerous moments in the film 00:24:05 The state of our oceans 00:27:48 What proportion of feedback has been positive and negative 00:31:27 The strangest criticism 00:32:44 The kinds of criticism directed at Seaspiracy 00:33:25 A chance for Ali and Lucy to refute particular criticisms 00:38:00 Critics and their conflicts of interests 00:40:50 Making sure that statistics used are accurate 00:41:45 Addressing claims from participants that their words were put out of context 00:47:26 Using narrativised sections in the editing process 00:48:58 ‘Fish aren’t as sentient as land animals’ - responding to fish eaters 00:49:50 Responding to those who believe they need to eat fish to get nutrients 00:51:00 Was Seaspiracy made with a vegan message in mind? 00:52:40 What is next for Team Seaspiracy? 00:53:51 How can people support the Seaspiracy efforts?