The Seaspiracy “virtually empty ocean” claim
More or Less
BBC
4.6 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2021
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Popular Netflix documentary Seaspiracy has sparked a lot of debate recently, including some controversy over some of the claims the documentary makes and the numbers behind them. One of the most striking is that: “if current fishing trends continue we will see virtually empty oceans by the year 2048.” Although overfishing is a global problem, we take a look and find that this scenario is unlikely.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.1 | My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC. |
| 0:08.7 | It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs, |
| 0:13.5 | moments and movements, stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous. |
| 0:19.1 | And the BBC's position, at the heart of British music |
| 0:21.7 | means we can tell those stories like no one else. |
| 0:24.5 | We were, are and always will be right there at the centre of the narrative. |
| 0:28.6 | So whether you want an insightful take on music right now |
| 0:31.3 | or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music, |
| 0:36.1 | check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:38.9 | Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service. We're the programme that throws |
| 0:44.1 | a life raft into the sea of numbers all around us. And I'm Tim Harford. This week on the |
| 0:49.8 | programme, a documentary which has been making lots of waves, sea spiracy. |
| 0:55.2 | We hear a lot about blood diamonds. This is blood shrimp. |
| 1:02.5 | We are at war with the oceans. And if we win this war, we're going to lose it all because |
| 1:08.1 | mankind is not able to live on this planet with the Dead Sea. |
| 1:12.7 | It is described on Netflix as documenting the harm that humans do to marine life. |
| 1:18.4 | It's the kind of consciousness-raising program that will have you swearing off fish finger sandwiches for the rest of your life. |
| 1:25.0 | But don't take my word for it. I haven't seen it. I'm a radio man myself. |
| 1:29.1 | Our intrepid reporter, Matt Murphy, has watched it so that the rest of us don't have to. |
| 1:34.2 | Hello, Matt, what's the story? Hi, Tim. So yes, C-spiracy has sparked a lot of debate recently, |
| 1:39.7 | but there has been some controversy over some of the claims the documentary makers make and the numbers behind them. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

