On World Ocean Day conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation launched ‘The Bottom Line’, a satirical short-film starring two of the charity’s ambassadors, actors Theo James and Stephen Fry, highlighting the destruction caused by trawling the bottom of the sea.
In The Bottom Line, James plays a diner at a smart restaurant who orders a seemingly sustainable fish course. But his evening takes a horrifying turn when an enormous net of rotting bycatch and oil is dumped on him and his table as the ‘extras’ to his ‘sustainable’ plaice.
Fry, plays a waiter, delivering the harsh reality of the seafood industry, and reminding Theo that what we don’t see on the menu is often the most devastating to marine environments.
Directed by twice-BAFTA nominated director Ben Mallaby, the filmmakers say this exposes the brutal truth about one of the most destructive and overlooked fishing practices taking place in British marine reserves.
Despite their designation, most UK marine protected areas (MPAs) still allow bottom trawling – the industrial practice of dragging weighted nets across the seabed, decimating habitats and indiscriminately catching and killing countless ‘non-target’ marine species in the process.
Research, by Blue Marine, shows that 74 per cent of England’s inshore MPAs and 92 per cent of those in Scotland are affected by the trawling.
The Bottom Line’s Timely Launch
Timed to coincide with the United Nations Ocean Conference, Blue Marine Foundation, Only One and Oceana UK are calling on the country’s Government to draw the bottom line and impose an immediate ban on bottom trawling in all UK marine protected areas.
‘This shockingly destructive practice continues even in the UK’s protected areas,’ said Fry.
‘I witnessed the waste firsthand and was absolutely appalled. It is morally corrupt to allow what should be thriving ecological wildernesses to be reduced to shells of destruction. Bottom trawling in marine protected areas must be banned now.’
Stephen Fry
‘I witnessed the waste firsthand and was absolutely appalled. It is morally corrupt to allow what should be thriving ecological wildernesses to be reduced to shells of destruction. Bottom trawling in marine protected areas must be banned now.’
James added: ‘As a keen diver I’ve long been captivated by the ocean and been horrified by the impact humans are having on it. Having had a load of bycatch dumped on me, it really drove home just how grotesque and devastating the practice of bottom trawling is. It was deeply unsettling but I was glad to do it if it helps drive real change.’
The film was co-produced between Blue Marine Foundation and Atomized Studios and all bycatch was authentic and legally sourced.
It was responsibly disposed of through Billingsgate Market’s regulated waste system.
Blue Marine Foundation says it acknowledges sensitivities of viewers but defended the hard-hitting imagery as essential to confronting the true impact of industrial fishing.
Jo Coumbe, Communications Director at Blue Marine Foundation, says ‘Making this film was an eye-opener, even for the seasoned conservationists. When we first saw the bycatch it was just devastating to see – almost unbelievably so. Baby sharks, rays, cuttlefish, angler fish – nothing gets away. The bycatch sourced to create this film was made up of 27 different species, including five species of shark or ray and numerous juveniles. Nothing is safe from the nets of a trawler.’
