The Fish on My Plate on DVD from PBS

PBS Distribution announced it will release “FRONTLINE: The Fish on My Plate” on DVD. Paul Greenberg (Four Fish; American Catch) sets out to answer. As part of his quest to investigate the health of the ocean — and his own — Greenberg spends a year eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a journey that’s brought to life in this documentary produced by Neil Docherty, David Fanning and Sarah Spinks.

 “FRONTLINE: The Fish on My Plate” will be available on DVD July 4, 2017. The run time of the program is approximately 60 minutes and the SRP is $24.99.

“What fish should I eat that’s good for me and good for the planet?” That’s the question bestselling author and lifelong fisherman

The program chronicles Greenberg as he works on his upcoming book, The Omega Principle — and consumes over 700 fish meals in hopes of improving his health through a dramatic increase in his Omega-3 levels.


With people worldwide consuming more seafood than ever, Greenberg also explores questions of sustainability and overfishing, traveling to Norway, where modern fish farming was invented; Peru to witness the world’s largest wild fishery; Alaska, where 200 million salmon can be caught each year; and Connecticut to visit a sustainable ocean farming pioneer who is trying to transform the fishing industry.

 On the wild side, Greenberg finds that not everything is as it seems: At America's largest seafood trade show, American wild salmon is labeled as a product of China. Why? Alaskan salmon is shipped frozen to China, thawed there to be deboned and filleted, and then refrozen to be shipped back to American supermarkets.

 When it comes to farmed fish, things aren’t much more clear-cut: In Norway, the world center for farming America’s favorite fish, the Atlantic salmon, Greenberg finds a “salmon war.” The country’s fjords are festooned with farms, profits are huge, and growth expectations are high — but there is fierce criticism from environmentalists who complain the farms create more sewage than the entire human population of the country, that they spread disease, and that escaped farmed salmon are polluting the genetics of dwindling wild stocks.

Plus, a parasite, the sea louse — which feeds off the blood of the salmon — multiplies exponentially in the farms, and then infects entire fjords. This has led the government to halt the industry’s growth until the louse can be restrained.

In the program, Greenberg charts the industry’s efforts to accommodate its critics and search for solutions — visiting a “green” fish farm just south of the Arctic Circle, and discussing proposals for a genetically modified salmon that will be grown in tanks out of the ocean.

 All told, “The Fish on My Plate” isn’t just the story of one man’s journey. It’s a must-watch documentary for any consumer who cares about both his or her own health, and the health of the planet.

“Frontline The Fish on My Plate” is a FRONTLINE Production with Spin Free Productions, Inc. The producers are Neil Docherty, David Fanning and Sarah Spinks. The writers are Paul Greenberg & David Fanning & Neil Docherty. The correspondent is Paul Greenberg. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.