Last line of the "Oceans" movie

[TheZue]

There's always farm raised fish. Truthfully I find it hard to believe that the ocean will ever run dry of fish.

I have no doubt that day is coming. We've already had species collapse in a lot of zones. Just look up what happened to the cod stocks off of Newfoundland, that is nothing short of a travesty. When Europeans came to the new world the cod was so plentiful off the coast of Newfoundland that they could simply drop a bucket off the bow and bring it up and it was overflowing with cod. They said it slowed the progress of their boat, the water was visably full of cod. They fished them to the point that even a 10 year ban on fishing has done nothing to let them recover. They are gone, and I'd bet forever. The fish the cod used to eat now eat the rare young cod that are born. That ecosystem has been drastically altered.

It's happening again on the west coast with the salmon. When I was growing up salmon were absurdly easy to catch, I remember going out for a couple hours with my dad and we'd always bring home at least six or seven big fish. Then in grade 11 the salmon run just didn't come, people speculated maybe they took a different route that didn't pass by where we live, but it's never been the same since. We overfished it, refused to shut down the fisheries when we got the warning signs, and added fish farms full of non native species that breed parasites that kill off the fry. We are destroying it just like they did on the East coast with the cod...I'm sure there are tons of cases with species just like that all over the world. Japan takes an amazing amount of Tuna, I can't see how they can possibly keep that up. Then you get into things like the great barrier reef dying, dead zones where there is no oxygen, and the pacific plastic patch that is roughly the size of Texas...it's very clear the oceans are in big big trouble. We just can't see it so it's really easy to ignore.

I think the other problem is how short our memory is. I work with a 20 year old and she was horrified at the amount of fishing that Japan does after seeing the cove. I told her we are doing the same thing to the salmon right in our back yard and she had no idea that they used to be so plentiful. In less than a generation the stocks have very noticably collapsed and already adults have no idea what's been lost. How are we supposed to be motivated for change when we get so used to the new depleted version so fast?

 

[legalsea]

My thoughts on the quote by the original poster:

Before we can ‘define’ what something is, we must first agree on definitions. What is the Ocean? Is it something ‘separate’ from Land, from Animals, from Fish? Does it combine all?

For instance, there had long been a debate (I guess there still is) about what defined Man (Human) versus Apes. Many took the position that what separated Man from Apes was Man’s ability to make and use tools. Since Man is a toolmaker (i.e., creates tools to change, manage or control his environment), Man was proclaimed to be superior to Apes; to be “Human” versus the apes being ‘Non Human’. Hence, Man could define “Ape” as a ‘lower form’ of life.

In October 1960, Jane Goodall watched as two chimps stripped the leaves off twigs and poked the twigs into the holes of a termite nest to fish for food. It was the first glimpse of another creature making and using tools.

After Jane reported her findings to Louis Leakey, he famously responded:

"Now we must redefine 'tool,' redefine 'man,' or accept chimpanzees as humans."

In other words, Man had sought to create a definition of “Human” that would omit Apes as being considered Human. Then, when it was discovered that chimps were able to make tools (part of the definition of Human) we (as Man) had to either accept chimps as Human, or change our own definition.

So I guess the quote refers to that: before we, as Humans, set about to define the Ocean, we must first be sure to have defined ourselves, to make sure we are not part of Ocean (since humans are mostly water, depend on salt, etc).

 

[sbell111]

It takes about 50 plus fish to raise ONE farm raised salmon

That makes no sense to me.

It takes a village???

 

[Imzadi]

That makes no sense to me.

It takes a village???

This number doesn't make sense to me either. Doesn't each fish lay multiple eggs? They are not like pandas or the killer whales in captivity, where if we can get them to have one offspring in several years, we are fortunate.


From an ecological standpoint, we are killing off thousands of ocean life. Think of that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico happening now.

A few years ago, India detonated 2 nuclear bombs in the Indian Ocean. There must have been massive ocean life destroyed by that blast, not mention the radiation of the water afterwards. Then "coincidentally," about 6-8 months later, they had the largest tsunami ever in that region of the country.

People can't tell me those blasts were unrelated and had no longterm effect. We (general we) can't simply blow up parts of the ocean thinking there are no after effects. We rock & change the stability of the ocean floor, and there will be earthquakes & tsunamis to follow.

 

[TheZue]

That makes no sense to me.

It takes a village???

They make the aquaculture feed out of sardines, granted they are small fish but they still have to catch, process and feed that many to get a salmon full grown. And it's not like farming on land. There isn't a trough that the salmon can feed from, they throw it in the water and there is a lot of waste involved. Much of it falls through the open pens then pollutes the ocean underneath the salmon.

 

[npmommie]

That makes no sense to me.

It takes a village???

I should have said 50 fish to produce one farm raised salmon.

for their diet, they need to eat. they eat the smaller fish from the ocean.

 

[Claudia1]

Ah, yes.... Star Trek 4...... great movie!

Good insights on the last line in the movie. I love the different ideas! I'm curious what others think of that line after you see the movie.

 

[Imzadi]

If we destroy the ocean, we destroy our future and ultimately, our destiny.

Yes, we all came from pond scum.

Huh?

To answer your question on a more serious note, the premise of Star Trek 4, was that the great humpback whales roamed the oceans for millennia. But, they were rendered extinct somewhere around the latter half of the 21st(?) century, due to overfishing, pollution, (I'd add in nuclear testing now,) etc.

Jump to the the 23rd century. For various reasons, planet Earth is about to be destroyed. The only known remedy and answer is found (by Spock, ) to be the very humpback whales that we humans destroyed 2 centuries ago, with our own shortsightedness. The whales would have saved us! In essence, WE (humankind) destroyed our future, back in the 21st century.

This very premise is the basis for a lot of the debate on the destruction of the rainforests. There are hundreds of species of organisms, animal & plant life being destroyed daily. Organisms we don't even know about. What if ONE of those undiscovered organisms IS our cure for AIDS & cancers? But, we never get a chance to discover it and more importantly research it.

Like wise, if we all are descended from pond scum, at a genetic level, our DNA is linked to everything from that pond scum. What if something in that pond scum, or a fish (soon to be extinct) holds the one ingredient for our cure for AIDS & cancers today? It is a chemical that canNOT be produced in a lab. (Who the heck heard of Omega 3 fatty acids before a few years ago, that is so important & plentiful in salmon?)

In essence, we are possibly destroying our future, (and our destiny, since we won't have one.) OR you can say, the destruction of the oceans created our negative destiny. )

 

[All American]

When I first saw the thread title, I thought you meant one of George Clooney's movies: Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen.

Me too! Then, I wondered what could have been so profound about any of the endings. Finally, I hoped I missed something in the movies/thread that would mean there would be another "Ocean's" movie. Alas, I find myself disappointed as this is a discussion about The Ocean we swim in and not the one that pulls off cool heists along with a bunch of really entertaining sidekicks.

 

[cm8]

If we destroy the ocean, we destroy our future and ultimately, our destiny.

exactly
which is why I am vegetarian for conservation reasons

love it!!! ****the ocean thingy****

 

[aduck126]

off topic but aren't these earth movies just remastered versions of the series the BBC ran a couple years ago?

 

[alexandria674]

off topic but aren't these earth movies just remastered versions of the series the BBC ran a couple years ago?

The Earth documentary was made by BBC a year before Disneynature bought it. Earth and Ocean documentaries are basically produced by BBC and Disney distributes it.

 

[aduck126]

ok, so these are essentially just the BBC earth series? I don't get why people are paying to see these movies when they have been out for years now.