Earth Protect Blog

Chilean sea bass is not from Chile, nor is it a bass. Since 1996, fishing vessels from a dozen nations have traversed the world’s most remote sea to catch the Antarctic toothfish.

The fishery lands 3,000 tons annually, selling much of it as "Chilean sea bass," deceiving customers of high-end restaurants and supermarket chains around the world and threatening "the most pristine marine ecosystem on Earth," according to the filmmakers behind "The Last Ocean," which was recently screened at the Casino Theater.

World-renowned diver Sylvia Earle called the Ross Sea the "last wild place, the last ocean." The film's extraordinary cinematography captured the stark beauty and marine life of a place most have not heard of, but is now threatened by overfishing.

"Most of the world's oceans have been impacted by human activity, but in the Ross Sea we have a chance to do something special," the film’s director, Peter Young, said. "We can fish it or we can protect it and gift this unique corner of the world to future generations."

The New Zealand-born film director's relationship with the Ross Sea began more than 25 years ago when he was working as a dishwasher at the McMurto Station on the southern tip of Ross Island. He was led to filmmaking while working as a fisherman in Alaska. Young's cinematography has been featured on the BBC, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.

Toothfish image courtesy icestories.exploratorium.edu

Read more at ecoRI.