The End of the Line (2008)

78% of critics liked it
(46 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(3,645 ratings)

As the world's demand for fish and other seafood increases and the technology available to commercial fisherman becomes more sophisticated, the annual harvest from global seaports has grown tremendously in recent years. However, the rise of industrialized fishing has not come without consequences,… More As the world's demand for fish and other seafood increases and the technology available to commercial fisherman becomes more sophisticated, the annual harvest from global seaports has grown tremendously in recent years. However, the rise of industrialized fishing has not come without consequences, and many environmentalists and oceanographers believe that the current demand for fish and the methods used to fulfill it are taking an irreparable toll on the world's oceans, with some speculating that the seas could be literally fished-out by 2048 if current trends do not change. Filmmaker Rupert Murray offers an in-depth look at the crisis in the world's oceans in the documentary End of the Line, in which experts discuss some of the key factors behind the looming shortage -- increased demand for endangered species, irresponsible methods employed by major fishing lines, lax enforcement of current regulations -- and what can be done to head off the famine before it's too late. End of the Line was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Rupert Murray
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jun 19, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Feb 23, 2010
Studio: The Fish Film

Critic Reviews

Desson Thomson, Washington Post
If the tone is occasionally off-putting, the message -- at least, the facts about the fish -- is harder to shrug off.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
With commendable clarity, it lays out the data.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
This movie wants to cover every base without thinking very deeply about them. So while a lot of ground is covered in 80 brisk minutes, the information presented is only abstractly useful.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
It's hard not to feel that the vital information in The End of the Line may have been more effectively relayed by Clover's original book or by a movie whose methods were less pedantic and pedestrian.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Another day, another film about environmental collapse.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The End of the Line documents what threatens to become an irreversible decline in aquatic populations within 40 years.
Narelle Towie, Sunday Times (Australia)
This is a documentary that will change the way you think about seafood and give you the power of knowledge to make a change.
Jason Di Rosso, MovieTime, ABC Radio National
As the final credits roll you feel like you've been on an emotional rollercoaster -- the same as you might if you'd just watched a moderately successful Hollywood disaster movie.
Simon Foster, sbs.com.au
Revelations about the tonnes of wasted sealife caught and discarded annually and the destructive effects of practices such as bottom-trawling, are head-spinning in their immensity.
Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia)
There are an irritating number of fish and ocean montages with plaintive music which makes the film longer than it need be, but there's no denying the impact of its content.
Annette Basile, FILMINK (Australia)
It's compelling viewing, and outlines the problem -- and the solution -- in minute detail.
Leigh Paatsch, Courier Mail (Australia)
Forget 2012. 2012. According to The End of the Line, the year right-minded folk should be dreading is 2048.
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper
Informative and alarming, if a little dry in its singular message and barrage of statistics.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
A gorgeously filmed cautionary tale about how industrial fishing is depriving little guys of their livelihood and depleting the once-vast supply.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
Plenty of fish in the sea? Time to learn a new adage.
Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
As if we didn't already have enough signs of the impending apocalypse with which to contend.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
..."Food, Inc." for fish.
Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine
The exercise feels mass-produced and makes you think some books shouldn't be adapted unless given a new and fervent second wind.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
An illuminating, provocative and important wake-up call for everyone young and old.