The Dark Hobby (2021)

One might think that keeping a home salt water aquarium is a harmless way to enjoy the beauty of the sea. Paula Fouce’s documentary, The Dark Hobby, reveals how the fish that stock hobbyist aquariums are obtained and the negative impact that their unregulated collection has on the oceans. It documents the methods that the divers use to catch the fish, including the use of cyanide and dynamite, and the destruction caused to coral reefs as a result.

Although the film talks about aquarium collection practices around the world, the majority of the subject matter is centered around Hawaii. The indigenous people of Hawaii took care of the ocean in order to prevent damaging the natural balance. But once the islands became a tourist destination, the state government gradually allowed the exploitation of certain natural resources. While it is illegal to remove rocks or sand from the beaches of Hawaii, the removal of fish from the reefs remains completely legal.

I admit that, before watching The Dark Hobby, I really never thought about where the fish in my dentist’s office aquarium came from. And I never thought to ask my local pet store, “Hey, where do you get your fish?” Yet, I’m very aware of the damaging effects of puppy mills and will not support a pet store that uses breeders to obtain their dogs. Humans don’t tend to value fish in the same way as dogs since we’ve long been told that they don’t have feelings or act only on instinct. Fouce shows us that fish are definitely more complex than we have previously thought. They not only feel pain but also communicate with one another and exhibit pleasure as well as fear.

Sadly, though, The Dark Hobby shows that most aquarium owners believe that if a fish dies, it can easily be replaced. However, a fish in captivity may only live weeks or months due to the trauma involved in its collection and transportation to the pet store. In the wild, that same fish could live years or even decades. When one multiplies that “easily replaced” fish by the number of aquariums in the United States alone, the devastating impact to wild fish populations becomes much clearer.

Most documentaries that point out negative human impact on nature usually give the viewer steps to take to lessen that impact. If there is one major complaint about The Dark Hobby, it is that it doesn’t give viewers guidance as to what individuals can do to help the situation. Nor does it direct us to where we can learn more. It just paints a rather unflattering view of the current legality of aquarium collection methods in Hawaii and ends.

The Dark Hobby stops short of asking people to stop keeping aquariums. Rather, it vaguely suggests that if a species can’t be captive-bred, it shouldn’t be in an aquarium. I believe that most of the allegations in the film are directed specifically at the collection of wild fish for salt water aquariums since most fresh water aquarium fish are captive-bred.

While the film does a spectacular job of shedding light on something that most people never think much about, it drops the ball when it comes to motivating them to do something about it. Hopefully, awareness is enough.