Sea of Shadows

source: Sea of Shadows

Very moving, compelling and heartbreaking documentary about the vaquita and efforts to save it from extinction. This last quote from the movie summarizes it perfectly for me: "The vaquita is getting extinct. Five hours drive from Los Angeles, in the 21st century. It is the global symbol of how we are destroying this planet and that's why everyone should root for the vaquita right now. Because if we can save the vaquita, then maybe we know how to save the rest of the planet. If we lose the vaquita, in front of our eyes, with all our money, and you know, power...then, we're done. Then it's the beginning of the end. It's the beginning of many other animals going extinct in front of our eyes." I'm already trying to find ways to support this cause as much as possible, even if from a distance.

A powerful film! The vaquita, the world's smallest whale, is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican cartels and Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." (the bladders can bring up to $100,000 each on the Chinese black market!) Environmental activists and undercover investigators are fighting back against this illegal multi-million-dollar business. Many of the naval officers/soldiers, the police, the customs officials, and government officials are bribed to let this happen. It's so horrifying what is happening in San Felipe, Mexico, just about a five hour drive from Los Angeles. The vaquita are going extinct so people can profit from a bladder that has not been proven to provide any medical 'help'. Yet the belief of it, and the fact that so much money can be made, has humans creating a situation that not only is killing the vaquita, but it also destroying sea life in the Sea of Cortez. All of the illegal fishing has polluted the sea with nets and destroyed whales, dolphins, and sea turtles. At the film's end, it said that over 800 illegal nets have been pulled out of those waters. So much needles death of these poor ocean animals. Just terrible.

More of a crude crime expose than a documentary. Reminded me of Geraldo Rivera's The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. ------------------------------ My IMDb ratings 1 Deliberately botched 2 I don't want to see it 3 I FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

Well, despite there being a significant number of people on the military, police and navy payroll, they seem to be largely symbolic standing figurines. When they are finally put under enough pressure from the news, crew, media and conservationists, to finally act, all hell breaks loose! All this over Chinese snake oil that sells for $80,000 a hit. You got more chance of curing your arthritis from snorting a gypsies dandruff, that taking this supposed traditional Chinese medicine. Better watch, there's only 17 of them left, its only a matter of time before they move on to kidneys. I'd sell up shop and declare the war lost while the going is good. It really is desperate. We criticise the police here in the west, but you can see at least one possible alternative here on display, which ain't a pretty option. It really is a lawless, mob rule environment, where if your not bent then you should be. Too bloody dangerous to be a do-gooder. Sure they have to make a living, but its the high stake greed which is the factor in this sort of corruption.

Truly migndblowing movie. I have learned so much about the different processes that go into these rescue missions. There is also a lot of mistakes made that can teach us how to do better at saving our planet. I admire the drive of these organisations, like Sea Shepherds and Earth League International.

An excellent documentary about efforts to save a REALLY endangered species from poachers off the coast of Mexico. It follows investigators, a TV journalist, the Mexican Military; the story is well edited, and fascinating.

This gripping National Geographic doc from Richard Ladkani unfolds like a thriller, investigating how a rare species is being wiped out as a consequence of the quest for profits. In the Gulf of California, off Mexico, fishermen paid by cartels use illegal nets to catch totoaba fish, whose bladders are valuable to Chinese traffickers; these same nets threaten the vaquita porpoise with extinction. Allowing a range of perspectives - journalists, environmental activists, marine biologists, army officers, fishermen - the dynamically assembled Sea Of Shadows possesses a powerful topicality.

Extinct rare whale rescues documentary. It makes us aware the dark side of bad money business and I love the conclusion at the end. It's very true what human being did to end our planet by all means for money. We should treasure our planet and Always - no demand, no supply.

At times you are tempted to forget that It actually IS a documentary, as the intensity of the drama makes you want the film being a fictional story... sadly it's not! let's hope films like this DO have an long-term impact!