Take a look at our video projects and see recommended films from our partners.
A short film on commercial fish traps told from the unique perspective of a young progressive fisher with over a decade of commercial fishing experience. In the video, commercial fisherman Billie Delaney operates Oregon’s first commercial fish trap in the lower Columbia River in over 73 years. Billie assisted Wild Fish Conservancy with the design, construction, and operation of the new passive fish trap; hear why she thinks this form of selective, alternative gear fishing offers enormous promise for the future of wild fish, coastal fishing communities, and consumers alike.
This short film describes the mixed-stock harvest problem and documents Wild Fish Conservancy’s research of fish traps for selective harvest of hatchery-origin fishes and reduction of wild salmon bycatch mortality.
Wild Fish Conservancy’s peer-reviewed and published research has proven commercial fish traps can passively target specific fish populations for harvest while fish from threatened or endangered populations with 100% survival rates.
This short video straight from the Wild Fish Conservancy’s new experimental Oregon fish trap on the Columbia River shows the fish trap’s passive capture technique in action. The implementation of this innovative new commercial harvest technique paired with underwater video technology allows fish trap operators to passively capture steelhead and salmon and then quickly identify their species and whether they are from a harvestable population or one in need of recovery without any human-handling the fish or air exposure.
Conventional fishing practices in mixed-stock commercial salmon fisheries often result in bycatch mortality, impeding wild salmon recovery, altering ecosystem dynamics, and constraining coastal fisheries.
Bycatch mortality from gillnets and other conventional harvest techniques impedes the recovery of Endangered Species Act -listed salmonids and commercial fishing opportunities when take limits are exceeded. WFC and local fishers conducted a post-release survival study in the Lower Columbia River to evaluate the potential of a new gear.
A video by our friends at Neighbors of Fish Farming in Tasmanian on the impact of open water net pens to the Palawa/ Pakana, the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania.
In this short film, Palawa/Pakana woman Fiona Maher of Cape Barren Island talks about the potential impact of industrialization and aquaculture on waterways important to cultural survival. Film by Mike Sampey Produced by Kirsten Bacon
The first in a series of “Toxic Truth” videos by our colleagues at Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) in Tasmania alerting mainland consumers to the health and environmental threats created by the Tasmanian Atlantic salmon industry.
The first, narrated by eminent British/Australian actor, Miriam Margolyes (or Harry Potter’s Professor Sprout), warns about the health implications for people eating cage-reared salmon, for the state’s waters and for the caged fish.
The hard-hitting video is destined for wide circulation to consumers, consumer groups and health professionals on the mainland. It is backed by independent scientific research.
Artifishal is a film about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them. It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature.
The Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxwissue an evection notice to the salmon farming industry for infringing on their way of life.
In 1974, Montana did something that stunned anglers across the state and the nation: it stopped stocking trout in streams and rivers that supported wild trout populations. After decades of use and millions of dollars invested, hatchery production was not helping, and in fact was the leading cause of the collapse of the fishery.
Fisherman, and Patagonia ambassador, Dylan Tomine shares his concerns about restocking the Elwha River with non-native, hatchery-raised fish at the Elwha River Science Symposium. The Symposium was held in conjunction with the historic Elwha River dam removal project. Video: Travis Rummel
Director Shane Anderson made a pilgrimage to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state to the rivers he once fished as a boy. His relationship with the wild steelhead and the rivers in which they met upon taught him just how precious life can be. What was once a childhood fishing trip has evolved into a journey to find answers why his favorite fish is disappearing from the rivers and appearing on the Endangered Species list. How could this wild and beautiful creature slip toward the abyss of extinction?
This film explores the evolution of our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of wild rivers.
Follow 11-year-old, Keyona, into a wondrous world of trees, water, and friendly fish… and find the spirit of Salmon Watch, a program that connects Oregon youth to their backyard river ecosystems.
Unbroken Ground explains the critical role food will play in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis. It explores four areas of agriculture that aim to change our relationship to the land and oceans. Most of our food is produced using methods that reduce biodiversity, decimate soil and contribute to climate change. We believe our food can and should be a part of the solution to the environmental crisis – grown, harvested and produced in ways that restore our land, water and wildlife. The film tells the story of four groups that are pioneers in the fields of regenerative agriculture, regenerative grazing, diversified crop development and restorative fishing.
At every stage of their lives from eggs to adults, sockeye salmon of Bristol Bay, Alaska have endured being hunted by a long list of predators including birds, fish, marine mammals, and people. Nearing the end of their long migration at a precise location where they emerged several years ago, the salmon gather to spawn but first they must escape the last chase.
Water typing is a process to identify and classify stream, lakes, and wetlands into types, depending on their physical, biological, and human-use characteristics. This process was originally intended to regulate forest practices that impact Washington’s surface waters. This basic inventory is the most fundamental step in conserving wild-fish habitats. Unfortunately, many of the current records and maps are inaccurate and underestimate the actual miles of fish-bearing waters. Since 1994, WFC has been surveying streams throughout Washington to correct their misclassification and qualify them for the protection warranted under existing laws. Through specific, ongoing water-typing projects, we have corrected the classification of nearly 7000 stream reaches statewide. This incredible new video takes a close look at this statewide issue and explains just how important water typing is to the future of wild fish, our watersheds, and our communities.
WFC director, Kurt Beardslee, speaks out against the Cypress Island net pen disaster following the Cypress Island net pen collapse in August 2017. Over 300,000 non-native farmed Atlantic salmon were released from this event and were later observed 40 miles up some Puget sound Rivers and as far north as the Canadian border.
The Snoqualmie Watershed Forum has been working since 1998 with partners to address salmon recovery, water quality, and flooding. Nowhere is this more evident than in Cherry Valley, where the partners are working to revive the landscape.
Are you a landowner with a fish-bearing stream on your property? Do you have a derelict culvert that’s impeding fish passage or in need of repair? The Washington State Family Forest Fish Passage Program is a cost-share program that helps small forest landowners correct fish passage barriers on their forest lands.
In this video footage captured by Bainbridge Island residents, a group of transient orca whales swam are seen swimming in dangerous proximity to one of Cooke Aquaculture’s net pens where the industry was operating their harvesting vessel.
From the Gikumi research vessel, the UBC Marine Mammal Research Unit and the Hakai Institute headed out on the Salish Sea and off the Central Coast of British Columbia to study the foraging behaviours of resident killer whales.
