Bet you thought the day could never come. All this blarney about fish running out is just part of the whole green thing, people are just over-reacting, as usual... right?

Wrong. The prediction is that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.

Imagine, for a moment, an ocean without fish. Your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This if the future if we do not stop, think and act.

The End of the Line is a film that reveals the impact of overfishing on our oceans and our global love affair with fish as food.

The major feature doccie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, is screening overseas at the moment, and is due in South Africa in September at a cinema near you.

It examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.

Filmed over two years, The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans.

Filmed across the world – from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world.

The film lays the responsibility squarely on consumers who innocently buy endangered fish, politicians who ignore the advice and pleas of scientists, fishermen who break quotas and fish illegally, and the global fishing industry that is slow to react to an impending disaster.

The End of the Line points to solutions that are simple and doable, but political will and activism are crucial to solve this international problem. The aim of the film is not to stop people eating fish but rather to continue enjoying seafood in a responsible manner.

It is no different in SA. According to SASSI , our fish stocks have endured their share of abuse and exploitation over the past century. The most valuable local resource is hake, which consists of two species, the deep-water (Merluccius paradoxus) and shallow-water hake (Merluccius capensis).

Both the hake fishery and the one for small pelagic fish (sardines and anchovies) have experienced dramatic collapses and recoveries over the years. Some fishing sectors, however, are considered to be in a state of crisis.

The South African abalone or perlemoen (Haliotis midae) fishery is one such example. This once valuable resource has suffered at the hand of unregulated and illegal fishing (or poaching) to the point of an almost complete collapse. Another fishery that is considered to be in a state of crisis is the traditional line fishery.

To give you an idea of the impact of The End of the Line, after seeing the film UK retailers Waitrose and Marks and Spencer stopped selling bluefin tuna, swordfish and skate, Pret a Manger chief, Julian Metcalfe, took unsustainable tuna out of his sandwiches and sushi, and Jamie Oliver took bluefin tuna out of his recipes.

Go and see the film. And tell everyone about it.

Read more about The End of the Line
Read some fishy facts
Find out how to be sussed and sassi about your fish
And join the campaign

And when next you buy fish, sms the name of the fish to 079 499 8795 for a response from SASSI. They will tell you whether it is Red, Orange or Green.

As a consumer, you have the power to 'vote with your wallet'. Ask at restaurants where they buy their fish and whether they're SASSIfied, and insist that your fish comes from sustainable sources.

Want to know more about The End of the Line screenings in SA? Contact Joy Sapieka – joyls@mweb.co.za/073 212 5492 or Helene Turvey – heleneturvey@gmail.com/076 024 2993