All language subtitles for Fin.2021.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX].en

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[Indistinct chatter]

Wow.

So this is it.

Tell me about what they
found on this boat.

Man: This vessel came
here to Liberia

with a long line
fishing license.

What they were doing
was using gillnets

that are prohibited by law

because they're so
particularly destructive.

The primary catch was shark.

We refer to them
as the galician mafia

because they're fishing
syndicates involved

in other types of
criminal activity,

which makes them
criminal syndicates

that are involved in
this kind of business.

[Indistinct chatter]

Oh, that's fucking cold.

Agh.

Man: Watch your step.
It's very slippery.

Holy shit.

Yeah. Look here.

Here, look there. Look.

Holy shit.

Look at all this.
It's all fin.

[Panting]

Roth, narrating: Growing up, I
was obsessed with scary movies.

And the rush of horror films.

I started making movies.

And I said, "I want
to be a director.

This is what
I want to do forever."

Oh!

This is all I want to do.

[Chainsaw buzzing,
man screams]

I want to be the one
pushing the button

that shocks the audience.

Aah!

Roth, narrating: Growing up,
nothing scared me

more than sharks.

And that was all
because of one film--

"jaws."

Man on film:
A mindless eating machine.

Roth, narrating:
I was terrified of sharks,

but also fascinated by them.

Hi, there.
It's me again. Eli roth.

I'm at the house
of Gabriel asner,

and I'm going
to interview him.

Gabriel?

What's your name?
Gabriel.

Roth: The head
of discovery asked,

"have you ever hosted
a talk show?"

I'm like, "no,

but I think I was born
to be a talk show host."

He goes, "you'd be great
for 'shark after dark.'"

[people screaming]

I'm your host Eli roth,
welcome to "shark after dark,"

our late night show
with shark week experts,

interviews, clips,
and plenty of conversation.

You lost your arm
and a leg to a
bull shark in 2009,

and now you are
an advocate for
their conservation.

Very few people actually
get eaten by a shark.

They always come,
they take a bite,

and then they take off
when they realize
that you're not food.

Roth: The craziest thing
I learned

was that without sharks,
the planet can die.

Sharks are doctors of the sea.

When they're not there,
diseases turn into epidemics.

Man: They've been around
long before mammals

or other fish or even
dinosaurs came on the scene.

Oceans touch every one of us

and the life of every one
of us in many ways.

Every second breath we take
comes from the ocean

because 50% of
the world's oxygen

is produced by phytoplankton.

So the ocean is still
a major part

of our life support
system today.

Sharks shape these ecosystems
over the evolutionary history.

Sharks act much like
the police on land.

Once in a while
they eat something,

most of the time,
they scare everything.

And they keep certain species
out of certain habitats

where those species
could do damage.

So the sharks are restoring

some kind of balance
to the ecosystem

when they're pressed.

When sharks are taken away,
we see that balance change.

And we see large negative
changes in the ecosystems

that often cannot be
reversed easily.

Roth: Discovery said
to me, "do you want to
go for a shark dive?

"I bet we can do that.
We can film it

and make it part
of 'shark after dark.'"

and I was like,
"are you kidding me?

My whole life I've
wanted to do that."

I was nervous.
I was scared.

But it's truly amazing
when you can face your fears,

because you realize how much
of it is just in your head.

Roth, narrating: For me,
this happened in the waters
of The Bahamas.

I learned to stop
fearing sharks.

I could not believe
how social they were.

They were curious, shy,
intelligent animals.

Some were friendlier
than others.

It was one of the most
incredible experiences
of my life.

Roth, narrating:
They were the most beautiful
animal I had ever seen.

I couldn't imagine harming

even one of these majestic,
intelligent creatures.

Roth: So what do you
think is happening
to the planet?

What's happening is
there's an insatiable demand

for shark fin soup.

And they're getting
walloped all over.

And which is used for
shark fin soup,
an Asian delicacy.

The conservative number
of sharks killed every year

is 100 million sharks.

For a long time in
estimating shark mortality,

we've relied on official
figures from the food

and agriculture organization
of the United Nations.

Right now we know
about 25 species

that are either endangered
or critically endangered

which could go extinct
within the next decade or two.

The special problem with
shark finning is

everybody can do it.

Small artisanal boats
off Baja, California
and Mexico can do it.

Everybody is part of this.

Roth: Sharks are
a difficult subject

because of the perception that
sharks are these monsters

that want to eat us.

[Woman screaming]

I want to help change
the conversation.

I'm not a scientist.

I'm not a doctor.
I'm not a marine biologist.

But I am someone
who loves sharks,

and I care about the ocean.

And I want to understand
what's happening to it.

Roth, narrating: I'm traveling
the world to find out.

No matter how uncomfortable,

dangerous, or upsetting
it gets...

I have to expose the truth.

[Speaking Spanish]

Roth: Oh, shit.
He's right there.

That's a mako?

Ok?

[Man speaking Spanish]

[Speaking Spanish]

Roth: Can we let it go?

Is he gonna kill it?

[Woman speaking Spanish]

Can we pay for it?

Can we pay for it
and let it live?

[Gasps]

[Thud]

It's the worst thing
I've ever seen.

[Flies buzzing]

[Speaking Spanish]

Roth: How many
sharks a year

can a small fishing
community take out
of the water?

500 sharks?
From 4 boats?

Yeah.

Roth: Are they aware
that they're depleting
the shark population?

[Seagulls cry]

You just pulled a baby out?

Yeah.

Oh, my god.

[Speaking Spanish]

Roth: You look at it and you
think, it's a fish, it's a fish.

And then they slice
open the stomach

and there's babies that are
probably 2 or 3 weeks away

from coming out
in the world.

That was a mother.

That was a mother
feeding her kids.

I don't care
what species it is.

In one hook they
killed 9 sharks.

May to August is
the breeding season,

but here we are in
the middle of April,

and they killed
a pregnant shark.

How is the population
ever gonna survive?

[Flies buzzing]

Man: Sharks are biologically
different than fish.

When fish reproduce,
what they do is they--

the males will release millions
of sperm into water column

and females will move
millions of eggs.

They mix together

and create millions of
little eggs and larvae.

Sharks are different.
Males and females mate.

Females have long
gestation times.

Some sharks are pregnant
for over 3 years.

And when they give birth to
either eggs or live young,

it might take several years
again before they reproduce.

Worm: Sharks are
a little bit like us.

They mature late
in their life,

between 10, 20, sometimes
30 years of age.

They have few offspring
like us.

And they're slow to recover
from any large mortality event

because they never had to.

When you're top predator,
you don't have to evolve

the ability to withstand
extra mortality,

much like people.

Now people are
the top predators

and sharks are the underdogs.

Roth: You can't blame
the fishermen

for trying to make a living.

But this is happening
every day.

We're killing them,
slaughtering them,

ripping their fins off,
and for what?

This is for soup
at a wedding.

It's crazy.

[Flies buzzing]

Nowadays a good quality
fin would be like

a smooth hammerhead
or a hammerhead,

they pay like 700 pesos,
setecientos pesos.

[Man speaking Spanish]Or a thousand pesos per kilo.

How long do they
dry them out?

For 10 days.

Why is that?[Speaking Spanish]

Because this has a fiber inside,
so it's a cartilage.

People just eat
the cartilage?

Yeah, in a shark fin soup.

How much do they
know about it?

So it's a Chinese
company in Tijuana?

Do we know what
that company is?

[Speaking Spanish]

Domingo: I never take out
the fin topic in
the very beginning.

Most of them are really
afraid to talk about it.

Is that because they
know something's wrong?

I think that they know
there is a big market for it

and normally that market,
it's black.

But in fact, what they are
doing, it's not illegal.

It's the starting point
of a whole chain.

Roth: This can't continue.

There will be nothing left
in the ocean.

There will be nothing left
for these people.

I've heard about
Hong Kong my whole life.

It's kind of sad that it took
sharks to get me here,

but I'm glad I made it.

[Ship horn blows]

Man: Hey, Eli.

How are you, mate?

Good to see you.
All right.

We're good to go.

Let's do it, buddy.

So this is ground zero
for the shark trade.

Yep, this is where
more than 50%

of the world's shark fin
passes through.

Stokes, voice-over: Basically
you have over 83 countries

that are shipping
shark fin into Hong Kong.

We're talking like
17,000-plus tons

a year coming through here.

It comes into here,

and then most of it goes across
the border into China.

I first started off
really as an ocean lover.

I, you know, grew up
in the mediterranean diving.

Seeing the eradication
of our oceans

got me on the road
to my activism.

Further down the line,
joined sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd is a marine
conservation organization

set up in 1977
by captain Paul Watson.

My main role with sea Shepherd
over here in Hong Kong

has been exposing
and investigating
the shark fin trade.

One of the biggest
misconceptions

is that shark fin is illegal,

and in reality,
it is actually legal.

What we are actually trying to
do is find the illegality,

trying to find these
endangered species

that are actually
being smuggled in
with the other fins.

That's when it becomes illegal.

[Ship horn blows]

Over here we've got the main
container port for Hong Kong.

Ok.

Being such a major port,

we see tens of thousands
of containers

coming through
every single week.

But the thing to note is,

there's no customs check,
per se.

It's not like an airport where
you have to go through customs.

Sadly, Hong Kong
can only inspect

less than one percent
of containers.

Most actually arriving,
nobody even checks them,

nobody knows what's
inside them.

The customs base their
inspections on priority.

But when it comes listed
as dried seafood,

it is not a priority.

So you can stick
anything in a container,

label it dried seafood,

and the chances are of
it getting to Hong Kong

without even being inspected.

Look at how many
containers are on there,

and how can customs in any
form actually manage that?

We have one of the most
advanced container ports

in the world here,
and it handles so much,

but how can it physically
check every box?

Roth: What percentage
of the sharks being
brought into Hong Kong

would you say are illegal
endangered sharks?

Surveys and research
that scientists

have been doing by taking
samples around the markets,

checking the DNA,
we're looking at around

25% of the entire
market here is from

endangered or cites
listed illegal sharks.

Worm: Cites is the
convention on international
trade on endangered species,

and it regulates the
international trade of species

such as elephants
and rhinos and tigers

and sharks more recently.

So when a species is listed
under appendix one of cites,

it cannot be traded
internationally.

If it is listed
under appendix two,

it can't be traded if
a country can demonstrate

that the species is thriving
and doing well

in their particular
jurisdiction.

Right now, almost
a dozen species

of sharks are
listed under cites

or under consideration
for listing under cites,

meaning they are
at that point where

they're immediately
threatened with extinction

and we have to curb
international trade

with these species in
order to save them.

But one of the problems
with cites is

the species listed can
still be legally caught

in any one country unless
other regulations exist.

Finning is very low tech.
You just cut the fins off,

you dry them in the sun,
and they keep for years.

So it's really hard to assess
where they come from.

Illegal fins are finding
their ways to traders

that then bring them
over to east Asia.

It's the dark trade
that we can't see,
we can't regulate,

we don't have any data for.

Why was Hong Kong
the number one spot

in the world for shark fins?

Hundreds of years ago,
the shark fin

was the dish
of the emperor.

It was served at
the emperor's banquet.

Around the sixties,

it suddenly became
an idea that people put

onto wedding
banquets to show
how wealthy you were

and how successful you were.

And there's different
stories of where it started,

but there was two hotels
that suddenly started

putting it on their
wedding banquets.

Have your wedding
banquet here,

you could eat
like the emperor.

So this is something
from the last 50 years,

the shark fin soup.Yeah.

But the big problem is

just across
the border in China,

you've got
a massive population

who are just finding
new wealth.

They all want to be
like the emperor.

Gorgeous photo done
where it's all
golden looking

and shiny and rich
and fancy graphics,

and it looks expensive.

And yet the insanity is,

I could put it next
to the picture

of where it really
came from.

These shark fin
traders are just--

they are having
the last laugh.

This is the insanity of
the marketing industry

behind the shark fin
industry.

You are taking
something that has

just been skankily
dried in a gutter.

This is what I call
gutter food.

It's lying there in a
gutter next to dog shit,

next to cigarette butts,
rat poison.

What if we put posters of
a billboard of shark fins

next to dog shit
around Hong Kong

and said, "this is
what you're eating"?

That's something
I'm actually working
on at the moment.

I saw the photos
that you took

of 40,000 some-odd
fins on a rooftop.

Tell me about how
that happened.

So that was actually
just over here

on this building here
where the yellow thing is,

just behind that.

I actually got a tip-off
on new years day

very early in the morning.

I called our head office
in the states,

got permission,
chartered a helicopter.

Jump into the cameras.

We're talking an insane
amount of shark fins.

We literally run up
onto the roof.

Shoot, shoot, shoot.

It was actually
an old Chinese couple
with straw hats,

and they were
just on the roof

just turning
the fins over.

And you don't know
what time you've got

before a load of
other people turn up.

I was worried about
me being the only
guy on the roof.

Some angry traders, yeah.On an abandoned rooftop.

Angry people.Yeah. Someone might slip.

And falling off
the roof. You know?

We've seen the
massive decline in
shark populations.

It's been literally
since the 1960s.

Because of soup.Because of the soup.

[Indistinct chatter]

Hi.
Hey.

Hi, Eli.

How are you?Very well.

Pleasure.

Hi, how are you?This is chef to.

Nice to meet you.

Tell me, how does,
uh, how does it work?

[Speaking Chinese]

Roth: Ahh, ok.

And that rehydrates it?
Yes.

It'll sit in the ice bath
for [speaking Chinese].

Overnight.

So afterwards you
get, uh, to this stage.

This is the finished product.

So do you clean--
is it cleaned before,

or it just comes
like that?

Well, I mean, fins generally
are pretty, uh, clean.

[Speaking Chinese]

Yeah. These are
really pristine.

Woman: Shark fin is discolored.

And it also has a
very strong smell.

To make it more appealing
for somebody to eat,

they'll strip the skin off

and start vigorously
scrubbing it.

To get rid of the smell

and to get rid of
that yellowing,

unappealing texture,

they have to use strong
chemicals such as bleach.

What you're eating is
not pure shark cartilage.

You're eating toxic chemicals.

[Speaking Chinese]

Roth: So what's
he doing now?

What is superior broth?

It's outdated.

What do they put in
the fake shark fin soup?

Ok.[to speaking Chinese]

This feels like jelly.It is.

It's calcium.

Other than the thickness,
they feel exactly the same.

Yeah, this doesn't
smell at all.

Seriously, go, go,
go take a bite.

Of this.

No,

This has no taste.

How are you?Man: Good.

So nice to meet you.

We have a lot in common.
We love food.

But we also love "riki-oh:
The story of Ricky."

[Laughs]

You made "riki-oh."

Yeah. Yeah.

"Riki-oh" is one of the most
violent movies ever made.

Oh, yeah.

Uhh!

Aah!aah!

How did you then become
a food critic?

From making films?

It's true.
It's a lot nicer to eat.

Here it is.
Oh, wow.

Yep.

I had a pet pig,
so I don't eat ham.

And I love diving
with sharks.

So this is literally
my worst nightmare

combined into one bowl.

This is like
cannibal holocaust.

The great inferno.
It's like me eating my friends.

Let me try the fakey.

It's tasty.

I don't know the difference.
I've never had it before.

But this to me tastes
kind of like wonton soup.

Ha ha ha! Ok.

The texture, I don't kind of
feel or taste anything.

Ok.it's kind of fun.

And chewy a little bit.

And now the shark fin soup.

If I'm being honest, it
tastes exactly the same.

It's gooey-er and thicker.

I'm thinking about
the animal more.

I can't pretend that this
tastes worse than this,

'cause it doesn't,
it tastes exactly the same.

Why do people love it?

That's it?That's it.

So this would be, I mean,
$100 a bowl or something?

Thereabouts, yeah.
They're buying
into prestige.

They're buying into
a tiny sliver of,

you know, emperor royal
history, so to speak.

In america, we do
the exact same thing.

It's just human nature.Absolutely.

People want to order
the most expensive thing

to show they can afford it
and pretend they like it,

even if they don't.Lam: That's it.

Does the older
generation think about

sustainability,
the environment?

Do they just--or it's...

Fake news, yeah. No.

Roth: Tell me about wildaid and
what you guys are doing here.

Wildaid, we're
a conservation ngo

that we're focused solely
on reducing the demand
for endangered species.

So in Hong Kong
that primarily means the
elephant and the sharks.

We've managed to get
the ivory trade banned
here in January.

And so now we're
fixing our attention
firmly on sharks.

You did a campaign
that I heard about in
the U.S. with yao ming.

Announcer: What if you
could see how shark fin
soup is made?

Hofford: We had
a campaign back
in about 2013

calling on the Chinese
public to reduce their
consumption of shark fin.

When the buying stops...When the buying stops...

When the buying stops...The killing can, too.

Can, too.Killing can, too.

Hofford: And so the Chinese
government stopped selling

shark fin at official
banquets in 2013.

6 months after
that happened,

the Hong Kong government
also stopped serving

shark fin at all
official banquets here.

But it's a huge country,

and even if the consumption
is still not as much,

it's still a hell of a lot.

What we're seeing now
is that the consumption
of shark fin

is actually spreading
around China,

places like Cambodia
or Southeast Asia, Vietnam.

We're pretty much
the only ngo I think,

apart from sea Shepherd,
publicly calling

for a shark fin trade
ban in Hong Kong.

Scientists have
actually determined

that there is no such thing

as sustainable
blue shark fisheries.

They can't get them to
reproduce fast enough

to keep the trade going.

When you bring that
to the ngos, going,

"why are you supporting
so-called sustainable
fisheries,"

what is their response?

I don't want to talk
about this on camera.

Well, you don't have
to name them by name.

But I'm saying, why wouldn't
everyone think the way you do?

Uh, because the fishing
industries have got,

you know, pretty long
tentacles into
the ngo community.

Fishermen are not bad people

that want to empty
the oceans out.

They are some of the biggest
environmentalists that I know.

The first people that told me
about climate change,

the very first people,
fishermen.

Man: There's something
in this whole notion

that the shark fin
soup is bad.

To completely ban the use
of fins in the United States

will literally have
no effect on the global
conservation of sharks.

Hofford: Some of the scientists
and the ngos

that are backing the sustainable
shark fin trade act

are not really
mindful of how big

and how powerful the criminals
are in this trade

because it is
a hidden trade,

and it only comes to light
during seizures.

Hofford: The restaurants
in Hong Kong

are just as much a part
of the problem.

They have a moral duty
to stop selling shark fin.

And that's why we want them
to see sharks

within the concept of crime.

Roth: What's so
notorious about it?

Stokes: There's
the retail market,

mom and pops going in
and buying

the odd little bit
here and there.

And then there's the wholesale,

where they're coming in
and they buy sacks.

When it comes down
to the money,

which is what's
driving it all,

we're looking at $380 million
just in the fin trade alone,

with over a billion
dollars worldwide

in all the shark industries.

But one of the problems
is the statistics.

What's being declared
is all we know.

How much isn't being declared
is just mind-blowing.

We're just gonna go in
as curious tourists
and have a look.

Just be prepared to be
told to get out.

All right.

We have to fake
like we're shopping.

What are those?

Want to go in,
have a look?
Yeah, sure.

Cat loves the sharks.Which is all right.

Those are pectoral fins.
Sea horses.

Roth: That looks like coconut.

Man: Get out!
Get out! Yeah.

Stokes: Ok, ok, you don't
have to push. No push.

Roth: Fish caught in 1987?Stokes: 1987.

What is that?

Stokes: Can I take photo?

Woman: No, no, no.Just one. Just one.

No, no, no.

No, no, no.

Is that a whale--oh, I was
saying, what is that?

[Speaks Chinese]

Ow! Don't do that.

That's not nice.

Don't get run
over by a tram.

Oh, yeah,
I'll try not to.

Stokes: Obviously you're
trying to hide something
for your business.

No, none. Done.

Stokes: That is whale shark.It's done.

Why are you closing?
Why we cannot see? Why not?

[Speaking Chinese]

Anyone would think they
had something to hide.

Cool.
Yeah.

Stokes: I don't know this one,
I don't think.

Roth: Wow.
The smell is strong.

They look like candies.

Hello. Hi.

What are these?

Does he know what that--
the big one came from?

Man: Jaws.Roth: Jaws?

Oh, that's from
a great white.

Oh.

That's a great white
shark fin.

These are all fin, right?

Man: Yeah.

Wow.

This is the closest
I've ever gotten to
a great white shark.

It's here.
It is not for sale.

It is displayed, because,
as our friend told us,

great whites are illegal.

But it is completely
untraceable.

People with permits or not
brought them in.

Stokes: Do you know
what type of shark, or?

Tiger shark.

And how much is it? 13--

some are hammerhead,
some are tiger.

So what is that one?

Oh.

These are the small hammerheads
and big hammerheads.

Stokes: Blue shark?Blue shark?

What are these?

This is like, uh,
a kind of blue shark.

Blue shark.
And this is also blue shark?

Yeah, blue shark.Stokes: They're all blue.

They're all blue.Blue shark.

Roth: Ok, what
just happened?

So what happened was,
that second guy said,

no, no, no, these are blue.
These are blue.

Blue shark's not protected.

And that's why he
changed the narrative,

he heard us talking
about hammerhead.

Yeah. Who called him?

Who told him?
Who tipped him off
we were in there?

You've got a western film crew
in one of these shops,

they're all looking in
through the doorway.

The second guy has
seen me a lot.

Is he now gonna call
every other one of
his trader friends

and say, "these
guys are coming?"

That already happened.

When we were in there filming
with the first guy,

that guy got called.
That's why he came in.

He's actually with the
shark fin association.

He's trying to get their
side of the story over,

which is why I played along a
little bit with him and tried--

well, should we try
and talk to those guys?

Why not?

Man: He just called back.

They can talk now.
Can we do that?

Yes.
Yes. Yes, let's go.

Yes.
Where?

Man: Go to ivas hotel.

Oh, this could make
some good footage.

Have you ever
talked to these guys?

They refuse.

This is the first time
they're speaking to you?
Yeah.

Why do you think they're
suddenly doing this?

They want to get their
side of the story over.

That's what they want to do.

Let's do this.

[Indistinct chatter]

Thank you.

[Speaking Chinese]

Is there one
misconception
about China

and the shark industry

that he would like
people around
the world to know?

[Speaking Chinese]

[Speaking Chinese]

What you're saying is,
we're just using the fin,

but the sharks
are still in danger.

Right? So forget
the demand for shark fin.

Are all the other
market, the meat,

the cartilage,
the liver oil,

do you think that
shark's population

will still continue
going down

if we remove
the shark fin element?

If we stop the soup,
are the sharks still
going to get killed?

Roth: I don't know if i'm
drinking the kool-aid,

but I listened
to those guys,

and everything they said
was perfectly reasonable.

This is actually something
that I've been hearing,

and we've all been hearing
for a long time.

We need to look at all of the
products, not just shark fin.

So long as everything else is
still carrying on as normal,

what they're saying
is 100% true.

They are just using
and utilizing the
off-cut, technically.

Even though we know the shark
fin's the driving force.

Finning, as it was known,

which is the practice of
chopping off a fin at sea

and throwing
the carcass overboard,

literally still alive.

That was on the long
line tuna boats,

because they didn't want
to fill the hold

with a big carcass
of little value.

They knew that
the regulations would come in

when people started seeing
the barbaric images.

They were already
one step ahead,

which was why the marketeers
of the shark fin industry

went around and started really
peddling those other industries,

to give value so
that the fishermen

would actually land
the whole shark.

Now the whole shark had value.

Roth: Wow.

It's a big problem.

Worm: Banning shark finning
was an important step

in reducing mortality of sharks
and eliminating the cruel

and wasteful practice of
cutting off the shark's fins

and then discarding
the bodies.

What we found, though, is that
this hasn't eliminated

the total mortality of sharks.

[Indistinct chatter]

Now they're sold
for their meat,

for their liver oil,

which also goes into cosmetics
and food supplements,

for their shark cartilage,
which goes into health products.

"Sharks don't get cancer."

That's the title of
a controversial book
by Dr. William Lane

who holds a phd
in biochemistry.

Bill Lane believes
there's something in
the cartilage of a shark

that stops cancer tumors
from growing.

Woman: Shark cartilage
got first promoted as
an anti-cancer therapy,

and then it kind of exploded
because it was profitable.

It created a mythology that said
that sharks don't get cancer.

That really is a just
a myth that's propagated

by folks that are interested
in making the shark products.

Did you know that sharks
don't get cancer?

Sharks don't get cancer.

Merly: We know from many cases
that have been documented

of sharks both in captivity
and in the wild

showing that they had
in fact developed tumors.

It's sold as a dietary
supplement.

People that are building
muscle are told

that it can help them
protect their joints.

We tested it on human cells,

and those human cells
actually responded

by producing
inflammatory mediators,

things that would be entirely
counter indicated,

where the underlying
pathology is actually
inflammation.

You can get a lot of cartilage
out of a single shark

because the entire body of the
shark is made out of cartilage.

Sharks have really
large livers.

You're gonna get an enormous
amount of that oil

from a single shark.

So they'll land that shark

even though it's not what
they were going after

because they can make some money
off of that shark,

whether that's liver oil
or cartilage, meat, or fins.

They're incentivizing
retaining those sharks.

This is a big issue because it's
problematic to consume

large amounts
of these animals.

Hammerschlag: The argument for
sustainable shark fishing

is that people get
to eat the meat and
get nutrition from it.

The problem with those arguments
is our science is showing

that shark meat and shark fins
are not healthy.

Samples taken of
shark meat shows

that they have very high
levels of Mercury.

That's a neurotoxin
to humans

that can result in
reproductive failure

or in an extreme level, death.

The fins of sharks actually
contain neurotoxins

that are linked with
the development of
Alzheimer's in humans.

The high levels of Mercury
is not coming naturally.

Most of the Mercury is coming
from coal fire burning plants.

They're putting the Mercury
into the atmosphere,

it's settling in the ocean.

Bacteria take that
inorganic form of Mercury,

they convert it to
an organic form,

and then small organisms
eat that bacteria,

and it gets more concentrated
and starts working

its way up the food web
to the sharks,

and then we eat sharks,
and that's how we get Mercury.

And there's nobody
testing this?

There's no--there's
no, like, labels or
warning--warning,

this contains--
there's nothing?

No. But the thing is,

shark parts sometimes
get mislabeled.

They're called other things.

A lot of the meat in
the U.S. gets sent

to places like Europe
and Canada

and called fish and chips,
and it gets fried up.

Fish and chips in Canada?

Or--and in Europe.

Nobody knows this.

Nobody's talking
about it.

If you don't
care about sharks,

what about the humans
that are eating them?

Most sharks can't
sustain any level

of reasonable
commercial fishing

because they have such
a low reproductive output.

People who consume shark
parts like meat and fins

are at a health risk.

Building a business based on
commercial shark fishing

is like betting on a horse

that you know is
gonna lose the race.

One of the things that really
does sort of, you know,

it gets me up a bit, is
everybody does blame China.

The demand for
fins is China.

But it's not the Chinese
that are necessarily
killing all the sharks.

It's happening
everywhere.

Most people don't
realize that.

Spain and Indonesia flip

and change the number
one spot each year,

but the interesting
thing is,

the U.S. is about the
seventh biggest exporter

of fins to Hong Kong.

In the U.S. we're killing sharks
and sending them here?

Absolutely.

What is it gonna take
to stop it?

We need to target the
illegal fishing first.
Yeah.

There are so many other
fishing boats out there

that are just
ghost ships.

They're operating
under the radar.

These guys are going
into people's countries,

they're fishing illegally,
and running out.

So they are raping
and pillaging.

I want to get on one of
those industrial boats.

How difficult is that?Uh, very.

Most of these
fishing boats,

they're going out
on the high seas,

these huge, big
industrial
fishing boats.

They're crewed by basically
third world slaves.

Some of these boats
are going out there,

and they're staying out on
the sea for years on end.

And that's where the
illegality really rolls
into a human impact.

I mean, we are talking
human slavery at sea.

One, I don't think
you'd be very welcome
in the first place.

Two, safety.

You know,
fisheries inspectors

that have been placed
on these vessels,

they've met with accidents
and just disappeared.

We had one famous case
just off the west coast
of South America.

And it was
a U.S. inspector.

Disappeared.

Nobody knows
where he went.

And the boat didn't get busted,
nothing happened to them?

Accidents happen at sea.

There's an accident or
he had a heart attack.

And, well, where's
the body? Well--

he fell over--fell overboard.

This is a huge business,

and when you start
meddling with it,

accidents happen.

I want to get on
one of those boats.

Two pieces of dried
bonefish will cost you

almost $3.00 or $2.00.

Most of our tunas
and all the best fish

in the world is
taken to Europe.

They make millions
of dollars.

The country's not benefiting
from any of that.

We're not.

They're stealing from Liberia
and taking your best resource,

and the people of Liberia
are the ones suffering

while Europeans are
getting wealthy from it.

Roth: A lot of people
around the world

don't know about
illegal fishing

and the decimation of
the shark population,

unless you're living in
a country like Liberia

where it's directly
affecting you.

Hi.
Man: Hi.

Eli.welcome aboard.

It's very nice
to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you for having us.

Roth: So tell me
about this boat.

Man: Built in 1951.

It was built as
a whaling boat.

And then we acquired it

thanks to the generosity
of Mr. Bob barker,

who bought
the vessel for us.

Welcome to
"the price is right."

Hammarstedt: Bob barker's
a big philanthropist.

He's a person who has been very
supportive of animal causes.

Have your pets
spayed or neutered.

Good-bye, everybody.

Hammarstedt: Mr. Barker
likes results.

Sea Shepherd is a results-driven
organization.

We measure our success

by the number of criminal
operations we shut down.

We sail into harm's way.

We do what no other
organization does.

The high seas are kind
of the last frontier.

It's still the wild
west out there.

It's largely unregulated.

And for unscrupulous
operators,

there's a lot of
opportunity to get away
with very serious crime.

Illegal, unreported,
and unregulated fishing

is a focus for
sea Shepherd

because overfishing is
such a massive problem.

Hammarstedt: We're losing
sharks very rapidly.

We're absolutely critical.

And if you take sharks
out of the equation,

it affects everything below.

And that's why we are running
out of time very, very quickly.

Hammarstedt:
About 4 years ago,

this vessel found
the most notorious

poaching vessel
in the world,

a ship called
"the thunder."

Good afternoon, "thunder."

This is "Bob barker."

You are fishing illegally.

Hammarstedt: Chased it
across 3 oceans.

10,000 miles.

Hammarstedt: They're
abandoning ship right now.

Say we're standing by
to assist in any way.

We're putting a boat in
the water to recover them.

Man: It's going down.

Hammarstedt: I believe that
the ship was intentionally sunk

to destroy evidence
of illegal fishing.

We try to see where
there are areas of need

where we stand our ground

and use our resources
to help countries

fight back against poachers

who have plundered those
places for way too long.

That's why we're in Liberia,

because it's organized
criminal syndicates

that are profiting from this.

[Indistinct chatter]

Roth: So you represent
the cooperative

of the union
of fishermen.
Yeah.

What was it like before?Like before...

At one point your canoe was hit
by one of these boats?

Yeah.

You were in your boat,
like a canoe like that?

Huge boat just comes
right in front.

Yeah, yeah.

Wow.

So you know which company
did it, or which company--

[indistinct]

What happened to them?
Nothing?

And they would just
run into your boat.

Just run into your boat.

And would you try
and talk to them?

Oh, yes.

So the vessels, you guys
get close up there,

and they're burning you.

Are there sharks
in the water here?

And now there's
just nothing.

And what about today, when
they're getting catches?

And now it's just small.

How long do they
think to regrow?

But it's all been
wiped out now.

Wow.

Hammarstedt: When the trawlers
steal from Liberia,

they're stealing from
people in a place like
robertsport.

You've got wealthy
fishing boats

from some of the wealthiest
parts of the world

stealing from people
in some of the poorest
parts of the world.

Roth: Tell me about
the "labiko 2."

The "labiko 2" is
a notorious poacher.

It's on 3 international
blacklists.

It was part of a fleet
of about 50 ships

that absolutely plundered
the north Atlantic.

In just a matter of years,

the deep-sea shark
populations there
fell to about 10%.

The fishing vessels
then went to India,

wiped out the deep-sea
sharks there,

went to east Africa, did
the same thing there.

And then since then
nobody's seen these boats.

They disappeared.

Until we assisted
the Liberian coast guard

to arrest the "labiko 2."

Roth: The coast guard
are going on first.

They're gonna secure
the boat.

They've had some
very hostile fishermen.

[Indistinct chatter on ship]

Are they screaming
at the coast guard?

Medan: I don't want you
by yourself, though.

Roth: Wow.

So this is it.

Fucking hell.

So take me through
how this works.

The net would
come up here.

They take the fins of
these deep-sea sharks.

The livers would be
put into this big tank.

The liver of a shark is
like 42% of its body weight.

Roth: They throw
the livers in there,
but where's it processed?

It actually just kind of
melts inside this tank.

And then it's run through
a system of lines

down into a holding
tank that's below deck.

The lines
come down here,

and this is where the shark
liver oil is discharged.

In a 15- to 18-day trip,

they would produce
about 50 tons
of shark liver oil.

Translates to 66,000
dead sharks.

This is--one of
the most vulnerable

shark species in the world
is being wiped out for

is this bucket of oil that
you're holding in your hand.

And what shark is
this mainly?

It's predominantly
leaf scale gulper shark,

which is one of the most
vulnerable sharks.

They're one of the
oldest living sharks.

They live till
they're about 70.

They're very late to
reach sexual maturity,

and that makes them
very vulnerable
to overfishing.

Roth: So this hole gets filled
with shark liver oil.

That's overflowing.

You read on these
websites that are like,

we're clean, traceable,
eco-friendly, sustainable.

And you come down here,
and it's literally a dungeon

where they're being
ground into oil,

thrown in the basement,

and then people rub it
in their face.

Is this common
on a lot of boats

to have a plant like
this with the tanks?

Nobody knows. And
that's because people

haven't really known
what to look for.

A ship like this
produces shark liver oil

that's used in
omega-3 capsules.

It produces shark liver oil

that's used in cosmetics,
face creams, moisturizers.

By buying these products,
you're contributing
to labor situations

where you've got guys
from very vulnerable
countries economically

who are being paid
$150 a month,

they're usually indentured
to crewing agencies

that keep a lot
of that money.

They have to fulfill
their contract

or else they lose
everything.

Hammarstedt: The living
conditions have been abhorrent.

It looks like a refugee camp.

The officers who are
from European countries
or who are from China,

they live in air-conditioned
indoor accommodation.

The crew who are predominantly
from African countries

sleep out on deck
in makeshift tents.

A boat like this,
had it not been boarded

by the Liberian coast guard
assisted by us,

it would have gone on
killing sharks for
shark liver oil

into all perpetuity
until the sharks here

were completely wiped out.

How is this allowed?

Nobody really had eyes
on the ships.

The ships weren't
really reporting back.

They operate under
shrouds of secrecy.

Where are the sharks
now on this boat?

There's shark meat
in the ship's freezers.

[Indistinct chatter]

Gah. Fuck.

Medan: It's way below zero.

Yeah, let's go fast.

So this is the storage.

Roth: Shit.

Holy shit.

Dead hammerheads.

You see they are finned also?

Look at all this.

They were harvesting
about 1,500 of these a day.

[Grunts]
Fucking shit.

Medan: There's no reasoning
for this shit.

Not for medicine,
not for nothing.

For nonsense.

For people to rub
in their face.

[Indistinct chatter]

Fucking hell.

If it's getting
dangerous up there,

let's get the fuck
out of here.

Wow.

That was some shit.

Never seen anything like that.

Hammarstedt: Vessels
like the "labiko 2"

are owned by
European interests.

So that they don't have
to abide by European law,

they flag to a third party.

So that's why the "labiko 2"
is a ship flagged to Liberia,

owned by a company
in Senegal.

But the documents seized
on board show

that the real ownership
is in the north of Spain

to the region of galicia,

which is a hotbed of
illegal fishing activity.

So does the e.U. Know this?
Do they go after them?

The e.U. Subsidizes
these vessels.

A tremendous amount
of e.U. Money goes

to European flagged ships
fishing overseas.

The European Union
that's writing the laws
protecting the sharks

are also giving money
to the ships that are
stealing the sharks?

They subsidize fuel,
they subsidize new builds,

uh, constructions of
new ships,

and they subsidize
the licensing fees,

because without
the subsidies, it just
couldn't go on at all.

Is anyone fighting this?

Has anyone pointed out
this conflict of interest?

There are groups that are
working to point it out,

but the powers behind it
are so great.

This is fucking crazy.

Man: Sharks don't
deliberately eat people.

When we bring in these
great species

and we show them to you,

we are demystifying them.

We are showing you that they
are great animals.

And that's what this
tournament represents.

Phillips: The scientists are
going to cut the shark open.

That's what we do
in new bedford.

And so if this is
bothersome to some,

don't watch.

These things are
beautiful creatures.

We gotta make sure
that generations and
generations of people

can enjoy the generations
and generations

of these great
pelagic species.

Woman: When we come
to the tournaments,

we're basically
here to sample fish.

It gives us samples
from larger fish

that we normally
wouldn't see.

And while we're trying as
a scientific community

to get a lot of nonlethal
techniques for doing
these studies,

we're not getting the data.

So in a lot of cases,

for our studies
to be accomplished,

we have to have
dead animals.

You want to put
that in a bag?

We do a dissection
internally

to look for
reproductive condition.

We take the
stomach contents

so we know what
they're eating.

69 for right.

Phillips: She's measuring
the gonads.

No, I'm not.
This isn't a gonad.

Phillips: Another big word.

This is gonna happen
with us or without us,

and we feel we might
as well take advantage
of the samples.

Phillips: Now remember,
this is a competition,

so we're weighing it
a third time.

Wait till you see this.
Wait till you see this shark.

Wait till--
you're gonna love it.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.
Fish for dinner.

Natanson: Boy,
that's skinny.

No, no.

Phillips: Remember we talked
about the circle hooks.

See that?
See how it's a circle?

That always ends up
in the mouth.

Doesn't end up in
the belly.

Natanson: There's something
wrong with this fish.

Did you see the color of it?

I think there is or was
a foreign body in here.

See? See that hole right there?

It might have come
through there.

Oh, here we go.
Ok. Found it.

What did you find?

A hook.
See this hook?

Right here.

Roth: So do you think that's
the source of the infection?

Yeah.

It's only offset at
that side.

Roth: What kind of
hook is it?

It's a circle hook, which is--
which is a legal hook.

Any way you can get a kid
exposed to sharks,

it's a little bit of
them that's actually
participating in nature.

I think of the impact
that that made.

You look at the teeth here,

you can see all
the rows of teeth.

He's dead.

Phillips: These
kids touched sharks

that they've never
even heard about

and that most people
in the world will never see.

And they've actually
touched it.

Roth: They're saying,
oh, it's great

because these kids will never
get close to a shark.

Now they can get close
to a shark.

But is this really how
you want them getting close?

Parading around these
dead, bloody animals to kids

and handing out shark teeth
for trivia,

it's fucking nuts.

Phillips: That is awesome.
That's a beautiful fish.

[Applause]

Look at that.
It's a beautiful organism.

337! We have a new
first place.

Give them a hand!

[Applause]

Roth: This is
something that goes on

up and down
the entire east coast,

and to me it's barbaric
and insane.

These weren't starving
fishermen.

These are doctors, lawyers,
businessmen

that are doing this for fun.

They're doing this
for bragging rights

on their Facebook page.

Roth: Hacking up dead sharks
with saws and machetes

and talking about how it's for
science and conservation.

We're processing the fish,

like we do in new bedford.

This is what we do here.

This is--it's a commercial
fishing port.

We're not finning the fish.

We're just processing.

Roth: No, I want people--
people are gonna know,

it's going to fertilizer.

Phillips: Finning is horrific.

You have a live fish,
you cut their fins off,

and you throw
the rest of the fish away.

And I'm pretty sure
that some of the fish
that they're finning,

some of the sharks
they're finning,

you don't really eat anything
on the shark except the fin.

Woman: In 2011,
The Bahamas officially

became a shark sanctuary.

About 10% of our
marine environment is
currently protected,

and that's about
12.5 million acres.

When we decided to pass
the shark sanctuary act,

it was just a matter
of simply amending our
fisheries regulation,

because there was
nothing in it at the time
that addressed sharks.

Tell me about the benefit
of protecting sharks,

what it did for your economy,
what it did for tourism here.

People started coming
here specifically

to do shark-related
activities.

So we've actually seen
a little over, in 20 years,

about $800 million
generated

through shark-related tourism,
which is great.

You know, one reef shark
over its lifetime

can be worth about $250,000,

just on that one reef alive.

That's how popular it is
to come here.

So our reef sharks
are very valuable. So.

We tend to like them alive
more than not.

More than dead.

Roth: How long have
you been taking people
shark diving?

Over 10 years now.

How many dives roughly?

Thousands. Thousands.

Has a shark ever
attacked a customer?

No. No, a shark
has never gone

and intentionally tried
to get someone.

They don't hold vendettas.
They don't get angry.

Has anyone lost
a limb or an arm

or anything
crazy like that?

Not in shark diving, no.
Not that I know of, no.

But it's just one of
those animals, man.

So much tolerance for us.
No tolerance for them.

Nothing. It's crazy.

Romeiro: 10 years ago,
people thought this was nuts.

Well, the truth is,

sharks are not really
going after us,

and we've been able to
keep people safe.

Roth, narrating: Being under
water after all that death

felt like a celebration of life.

I was so happy that
they were alive.

And I just kept thinking,

"don't leave The Bahamas,
please stay here.

You're protected here."

Roth: How difficult is it to
protect what is protected?

Bahamians are very on board
for marine protection.

The one concern
that usually comes up

is that they don't want
their livelihoods affected.

We had to kind of
explain to them,

it's all about ensuring
that the fisheries you have

are being managed
sustainably

so that you do have them
for years to come.

I think the number-one
thing that really connected

with the people was the
education and awareness

about why sharks
are important

and why finning
and fishing

for sharks
is not a good idea.

You understand that what
they're doing for the ocean

and for us ultimately is
actually really good.

I just feel like
everyone in the world

should look at this model
and imitate it.

For sure.

Roth, narrating: On this
journey, I got to meet

a number of amazing activists,

people fighting hard
to protect sharks.

Woman: Myself and my team
of marine biologists,

we go out to collect data
on shark behavior,

and we bring the general
public along with us

and then dive in without a cage
and meet sharks eye to eye

to see just how incredible
they really are.

Sharks swim past
surfers, swimmers,

and divers all day every day,
and it's so rare

that they ever make
a mistaken identity bite.

And it's really a unique thing

because there's not
too many predators

that you can just kind of
cruise along with.

Man: My goal was to
undo what "jaws" did

and show the personalities
of these sharks.

So I had a company that
makes all the movie posters

make me this 6-foot, 4x4
smiling shark, not teeth,

and me and a couple other people

went all over the world
and we put 'em up.

People would be driving
and sort of like,

"what is that?"
Until I got arrested.

For doing it.

Muller: I do a lot of work
with children's hospitals.

These kids that are
in bed that are never
gonna see the ocean,

and they're in so much pain.

When you put the vr
goggles on them,

it hacks their brain.

They're not only
out of pain,

they're experiencing something
that they're never, ever

gonna get the opportunity
to experience.

Worm: We know that this
environment is very rapidly

changing due to change
in climate.

So we wan to keep on top of
what the sharks are doing,

and we do that by tagging
them with a small pinger.

And then we close it up
and the shark goes back in.

It gives us signals
every couple seconds,

and we can find out
about their movements.

Roth, narrating: Thanks
to advanced technology,

conservation ngos
are innovating new ways

to protect our oceans
and marine life

from the threats of
illegal fishing.

Oceana and the Leonardo
DiCaprio foundation

have partnered with Google
and skytruth

to launch global
fishing watch,

a free app that uses

advanced satellite technology
and data collection

to track commercial fishing
boats all over the globe.

Pirate fishing vessels
will now have a tougher time

hiding in the shadows,

thanks to these high-tech
conservation efforts.

And local governments
across the globe

will be able to use
this resource

to fight back against
illegal fishing

and cultivate healthy,
abundant oceans.

These efforts are
just starting to pay off.

Woman: When
the buying stops...

Crowd: When
the buying stops.

Woman: The killing
will, too.

Roth, narrating: People
all over the world

are joining the fight.

Crowd: Rights.
Rights for great whites.

Leave the sharks alone.

Roth, narrating:
But it's not enough.

So much more needs to be done.

Because sharks are being killed
at an unsustainable rate.

Stokes: An ocean without
sharks is a very, very
scary thought.

Once you remove
all those sharks,

everything else
will go into anarchy.

Roth, narrating: Since you
started watching this film,

an estimated 30,000 sharks
have been killed.

But this is not over.
The fight has just begun.

Roth, narrating: There's
no one villain or solution.

Everyone has to recognize
their part in the problem

and work together
to change the behavior

before it's too late.

Imagine this ocean
without sharks.

What would it be?

How's the diving here?Amazing.

Stokes: February 3, 2020,
Hong Kong.

We're in the height
of the coronavirus.

The shark fin traders are drying
shark fins on the streets

for everybody to cough, sneeze,
and do whatever else on it.

Unbelievable.

Roth: Have you been
threatened by any
of the mafia triads,

organized crime?

No, I've just had some
funny phone calls, you know.

But, you know, whatever,
who cares.

They're just losers.
Not scared of them.

Hofford: Maxim's,
stop shark fin!

Crowd: Maxim's,
stop shark fin!

When the buying stops,
the killing will, too.

Roth: One thing
that struck me

about the "Bob barker,"
I felt old.

No, really fucking old.

I mean, these kids are
like, 18, 20, 22, 24.

I feel very
under-tattooed.

I feel like that's one
of the qualifications.

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