DIVING NEWS
Sea Invaders highlights shark plight
An animation based on the old arcade game Space Invaders has been released by Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation, replacing aliens with sharks to “highlight the speed and ferocity of industrial shark-fishing, and the urgent need to support shark-conservation efforts”.
In the 60 seconds it takes to watch Sea Invaders, 120 sharks will be killed around the world, says the charity. This is reflected on screen as the film plays out in real time, with two sharks killed by a fishing-boat every second and exploding to leave only the fin used in shark-fin soup.
8 November 2018
“In the 40 years since Space Invaders appeared in arcades, many shark populations have shifted closer towards extinction,” says Bite-Back’s Campaign Director Graham Buckingham. “It’s no longer enough for a small section of the public to be concerned about the unsustainable fishing of global shark populations. We need everyone to understand that the lions and leopards of the ocean are being wiped out.
“We’re not going to let it be game over for sharks, and hope that people who watch this will feel compelled to stand up for sharks and join forces with Bite-Back.”
Every year around 73 million sharks are killed, says the organisation, with one in four species now listed as threatened, including great whites, hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and threshers.
Underlining the extent of the problem, the film ends with a “hi-scores” table of the world’s top 10 shark-fishing nations, which is headed by Indonesia followed by India and Spain.
London-based graphic design and animation agency Studio La Troupe created the film for Bite-Back for no fee.
“In the beginning the viewer is helpless to stop the onslaught of the fishing-boat but Bite-Back gives them a chance to pull the plug on this killing spree,” says the agency’s Danny Barnes.
“We hope the film is widely shared and more people are inspired to support Bite-Back’s hard-hitting and vital campaigns.”
Bite-Back says it has prompted Asda, Iceland Foods and MAKRO to end the sale of shark-meat and inspired an 82% fall in the number of UK restaurants serving shark-fin soup.
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