Nature Movie Club - Inquire Within

[PineSong]

Thanks to FishFolk's initiative, I was able to enjoy the film tonight--a great way to kick off the weekend. Wow. I especially appreciate the photography and was so impressed with the dedication of the scientists working day and night to raise the native fry and mussels. I loved the footage of chubs and darters moving stones around--behavior I did not know about, for sure.

I shiver in horror at the idea of encountering an adult sturgeon in the water but boy, those babies coming up the sides of the tank and begging for food were awfully cute. I would volunteer to feed them!

I live next door to Tennessee, in Kentucky. Our river is dammed and locked across the state to create recreational lakes and reservoirs. This is handy for me ( flat water kayaker) and all the folks in bass boats but I learned from the film that it's obviously not handy for our native species of fish who need migration paths to their historic breeding areas left in peace. 

I don't know if I'll ever don a wetsuit and stick my face in the water, but I will certainly be more aware of the native species who are the rightful inhabitants of the water I spend time on. Great pick, @AquaHobbyist123.

 

[Fish Folk]

I've got to say, I had the same experience all over again watching this film: what an undervalued TREASURE we have with our own native wildlife in the USA! How awesome to be introduced to everyday, ordinary folks who are helping to save these glorious creatures.

Here's my film review with quotes...

"A story about America's richest waters and some of the people who have found them..." the life in the waters, the environment the rivers and streams run through, and the people involved in caring for them were all so unique and fascinating. Casper has to be one of the more interesting human beings you'd ever meet 😂

PART 1: FINDING LIFE

The discovery of native life -- wherever you live -- is so awesome. And if you're into fish, discovering native fish is a double joy. We found a unique species of Sculpin that lives very locally (in our backyard creek!). It was taxonomically named by a guy teaching at the university 15 mins away: "Blue Ridge Sculpin" (Cottus caeruleomentum) 

"Rivers radiate out from the southern Appalachians..." indeed -- they do wherever you get interesting combinations of hills and small mountains. We live in the northern Appalachians. It's not quite as special, but . . . it's great fun to explore!

While I was watching, I kept observing how awesome the music was. Humming House did the music. Worth checking out:

Back to the film, I was mesmerized by the Sturgeon. Maybe the most adorable fry . . . so hard to believe they become 6-7 foot, 100-yr old prehistoric gentle monsters! Totally impressed by the rescue operation. Got to say, that shot of mixing Sturgeon eggs with milt using a long hawk feather was classic!

One thing that came up over and over was the danger posed by damming up rivers. How important it is to rescue the available routes from getting blocked and destroyed.

Mussels were a revelation (all over again). So interesting! "The biggest and most wide-spread change that has led to the demise of mussels is the damming of our rivers." These creatures are so helpless. So important to help.

I will say that Darters are an absolute favorite species of mine. They are hard to keep in aquariums well, but we enjoy catching them in our backyard creek as well...

"These little non-game fish are the canaries in the coal mine." Very true! Makes me glad to see them healthy in our local waters. I do order some in from NANF aquarist suppliers to keep in home aquaria. The Banded Darter is my all-time favorite...

I'll say that the ones we saw on our visit to Conservation Fisheries last March were unbelievable. They do such an amazing job of caring for them there. We should all go for a visit 🤩

PART 2: TAKING SHELTER

Very key insights about erosion. "When mud gets washed into a stream . . . it just smothers life . . ." I had never properly thought that through. So sad!

The Hellbender was fascinating. That's something I'd love to watch closely underwater.

I thought it was fascinating at Warm Springs Fish Hatchery (Georgia) that he said it takes 16 hours of daily work to care for the fish. Two full shifts daily. Lots of work!

"It's really stressful when you're holding the last individuals of a population under one roof..."  "This is kind of a 'Hail Mary' of conservation... this is a last-ditch effort to save a species..."  That really stood out. I cannot imagine.

PART 3: RETURNING HOME

"We all live downstream..." I'll be quoting this forever now. I loved watching the Tennessee River Rescue annual River trash clean up. So encouraging! But sad state to things too...

Great insights on the filtered water through forests. That makes a lot of sense why the water is so special.

Go to say that the closing clip, with the kids, "Woah! Did you see that??!!" was mint. I definitely am enjoying getting my boys out into the creeks around us. Got to teach them from the start...

[PineSong]

@Fish Folk, I agree that Casper seems like a fascinating person to get to know. I loved the footage of him just laying down face under water, observing.

Re: pollution, a person posts regularly on local FB kayaking groups the number of bags of trash s/he removes every time they go kayaking. They have gotten more than 3600 bags of trash out of Kentucky waterways this year alone, I believe. That's an amazing reminder of what a person can do, but also that obviously there is WAY too much trash out there if one person can find that much!

Your fish photos are great, too!

 

[nabokovfan87]

@DaniV Just a heads up, you're on deck for the next one! 🙂

Looking forward to what you choose for us. No rush at all. (let us know the first week of October)

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:31 PM, Fish Folk said:

I purchased a Virtual Presentation access to "Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia" for us.

Bravo!  It was excellent! Thank you @Fish Folk

Gar were briefly featured.  I scuba dive with gar at the state park sometimes. 

Did you guys know that if you click the eyeball in the text editor, a textbox pops up where you can type a spoiler? Let me try it.

Spoiler

Pretend this is a spoiler.

 

I've been avoiding reading most of this thread because I worry people were describing the shows and movies, and I haven't had free much time to watch.  

Edited September 16, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[PineSong]

Did not know we had a spoiler feature, that's funny. I'm looking forward to the October selection. I'm going to try to watch at least 4 scary movies in October and something about fish will be a nice counterpoint.

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/24/2023 at 9:02 AM, PineSong said:

I'm going to try to watch at least 4 scary movies in October and something about fish will be a nice counterpoint.

Watched mirrors last night. Pretty good one.

[AquaHobbyist123]

Glad everyone enjoyed Hidden Rivers, it is easily my favorite documentary and one of my favorite films! Thanks again to @Fish Folk for getting a group membership!

[DaniV]

Happy October everyone!  For my selection, I wanted to delve a little into some spooky territory (if you can call it that), and I found a film that I found to be pretty interesting.  "Giant Sea Serpent, Meet the Myth" is a documentary about recent research on the monster Oarfish, a creature that has rarely been seen in the wild yet we know exist when their corpses wash up on beaches.

It is available on Tubi and I believe Amazon Prime for free.  If that's not an option, it has been uploaded onto Youtube, which can be found here:

The director of the film has also left comments on Youtube answering some questions and explaining the filming process.  Sadly, there's no extensive info on IMDB for a true parental guide, but there are shots of Oarfish corpses.  It's nothing bloody disgusting or anything, just be mindful of fish heads.

Hope you guys enjoy!

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/1/2023 at 8:32 AM, DaniV said:

The director of the film has also left comments on Youtube answering some questions and explaining the filming process.

Very, very cool to see the notes and the "special features." I am definitely going to check them out after watching!

The first comment in the video is the higher quality link to the 4K version. If that helps someone out here it is. (I later found out the narrator isn't in English in this one and no translated subtitles)

 

I'm about 2 minutes in, opening sequence and the music chimes in. Talk about being on the edge of your seat for what is about to come! I love the scenery of the landscape and seeing the fish underwater in that darkness, reminds me of a game I played before on PlayStation called fl0w.  It was a game designed as a college project that was centered around the idea of being lost and stuck in a trance, relaxing. I can only imagine that's what the divers had going on throughout their experiences.

The further scenes in the opening sequence literally looks like creatures and screenshots from the game.

Spoiler

....That map. It's not the first time I've seen it and it was in reference to other Nordic sea creatures. I think it's a bit comedic how that animal was noted to "attack ships".  Following that we have a similar misnomer about sharks appearing around the structure floating in the ocean. It's filled with electronics and vibration noises from cleaning.  I could only imagine a shark swims up due to hearing the noise or sensitivity the EMFs.  I can only picture that oarfish doing the same behavior and the fear in someones eyes from centuries ago as it appeared. This "alien" shows up and because it's near the boat and investigating it *must be* attacking the ship and some creature of legend. 😂

The brush collection, ah yes, every fish keepers nightmare. Ocean BBA cleaning!

The hypothesis as to why they have parts of their body missing or damage... see! I knew it wasn't sharks. It's so funny sometimes how a little thing can just snowball and be taken as a certainty. This even happens with our own fish hobby as well. There's so many opinions and perspectives that it turns into almost a bias or cultural phenomenon as to how regions view different pieces of advice or information. (One example of this is what filter type to use.)

So many scenes feel like you're just viewing CGI at times. What an entrancing movie!

I saw one random video title that said they predict Tsunamis. I wonder if that was just an AI thing and an auto-generated title or something.

Overall, a very fun watch! I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

Edited October 7, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[DaniV]

Ah man, I remember fl0w!  I've got the PS3 collection that had that, Flower, and Journey bundled together, and while Journey was my favorite of the bunch, fl0w was by far the most relaxing.  Short but sweet!

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/8/2023 at 3:26 PM, DaniV said:

Ah man, I remember fl0w!  I've got the PS3 collection that had that, Flower, and Journey bundled together, and while Journey was my favorite of the bunch, fl0w was by far the most relaxing.  Short but sweet!

100%.  I would love to link the actual web version, but when they updated the internet to remove flash and update codecs it was a casualty.  For reference for those who may not have seen it before:
 

 

[PineSong]

I just finished viewing the film. Wow! Thank you, @DaniV for bringing this impressive footage to our attention. I am terrified and mystified by the creatures that live in deep water and the oarfish is no exception. It's like an arowana from the underworld.

The vertical swimming is so fascinating--why? The mirrorlike finish of the fish--why? The oars spread wide--amazing, and why? The feathery accessories flowing from the head--why? Why on earth are they so long? How does that help them? This kind of documentary makes me wish I had stayed a zoology major when I was in university, for sure.

I am just awestruck by all the ways evolutionary processes have solved the problems of living for different creatures so differently. Also, next time I am visiting the French Riviera, I will NOT be getting in the water. 😉

[TheSwissAquarist]

For those cinephiles out there: 😉

[PineSong]

On 10/8/2023 at 6:55 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

100%.  I would love to link the actual web version, but when they updated the internet to remove flash and update codecs it was a casualty.  For reference for those who may not have seen it before:
 

 

Wow, that is oddly graceful and creepy at the same time.

[nabokovfan87]

@Fish Folk do you want to take November? If not I have a pretty fun one in mind!

I would love to give everyone a shot at making a pick. 🙂

[Fish Folk]

Hey all! I apologize for being slow to respond . . . life got busy this past month. I really haven't even been giving the fishroom enough care of late.

For November, if everyone is up for it, here is a short (23-min long) free film published by Freshwaters Illustrated titled "The Lost Fish" (ca. 2014) about the Pacific Lamprey. It is definitely a conservation film. I am reminded of programs like  CARES Priority List that document fish species suitable for aquariums that are endangered or at risk. Hope ya'll enjoy!

 

[PineSong]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:11 PM, Fish Folk said:

Hey all! I apologize for being slow to respond . . . life got busy this past month. I really haven't even been giving the fishroom enough care of late.

For November, if everyone is up for it, here is a short (23-min long) free film published by Freshwaters Illustrated titled "The Lost Fish" (ca. 2014) about the Pacific Lamprey. It is definitely a conservation film. I am reminded of programs like  CARES Priority List that document fish species suitable for aquariums that are endangered or at risk. Hope ya'll enjoy!

 

Wow, that was a nice film. Sweet that Mr. Crow got to see the development of programs to return the lampreys in his lifetime. Another example of what small groups of people can do with determination, and I hope the program will prosper.

The lamprey is not going to win any beauty pageants but is a great example of how one species can play important roles in multiple environments across the lifespan--from being a filter feeder in the river to hanging on to larger fish in the ocean. What a dramatic life system they've had for millions of years, silently going about their business.

[DaniV]

I honestly didn't know that we had a breed of lamprey here in the US.  I always see videos of them in Asia, and they're considered a delicacy there.  I took a quick look on Wikipedia and it says that they've begun to re-establish their numbers on their own and have been able to return to areas they had left 60-70 years ago.  That's great!

[nabokovfan87]

The standout line in the film for me, "I'm working for generations after me."

It's kind of crazy to think a bit big picture on this one and to think of all the damage done during certain decades and how we are still trying to understand and recover some of those species (and their habitats).  The 1960's was specifically mentioned here, and I'm sure it's not the only basin or environment with the story.

One of the cool things is to see the generational work and the pride in that work for doing what feels like good work.  One year they have 5 return, the next near 130.  It's a big of a miracle how useful 4 tubs of water can be and a simple setup in the middle of a desert and it was really cool to see the impact of their setup.

Hopefully there is some sort of a follow up piece in the future or further videos like this that we share as a part of this effort.  I really enjoy stories like this and it's helpful to share what went wrong and the recovery efforts for those issues.

[nabokovfan87]

Hey hey everyone,

I wanted to post a "Thanksgiving special" of sorts here in a few days. I'll grab the details and the link when I can, but....!  It might not be one that everyone has access to, but it was uniquely special for me to enjoy when I saw it.

Please feel free to post up your thoughts on the last selection.  Really an enjoyable and interesting one.

@PineSong you're on deck for December! 😁

[AquaHobbyist123]

I'll have to watch the last one a bit late, been really busy recently.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/16/2023 at 11:36 AM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

I'll have to watch the last one a bit late, been really busy recently.

No worries at all, absolutely no rush!

[nabokovfan87]

Alright this months "bonus clip," that had me thinking a lot but really appreciating the moment is NOT from a documentary, but just an episode of a show that was enjoyable for me and had a really impactful series of moments that a lot of us can relate to.

As most people know I enjoy sharks. This episode was focused on, "we're going to go swim with whale sharks" and that's the premise. There is so much more that goes on and I don't want to say what those moments are!

If you feel intrigued, please be sure to check it out!

Platform: NatGeo (Disney plus)

Show: Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins

Episode: 03 - Swimming with Sharks

Edit: I forgot to mention, this is absolutely a family friendly episode and it's one that I think younger hobbyists would really enjoy. It's targeted towards that type of an audience, but can absolutely hold the interest of someone who isn't still in school!

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/17/2023 at 10:15 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

If you feel intrigued, please be sure to check it out!

Platform: NatGeo (Disney plus)

Show: Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins

Episode: 03 - Swimming with Sharks

Edit: I forgot to mention, this is absolutely a family friendly episode and it's one that I think younger hobbyists would really enjoy. It's targeted towards that type of an audience, but can absolutely hold the interest of someone who isn't still in school!

Just got done with the re-watch.  I can't recommend it enough.  "scene 4" with Diana is about all I can spoil.  I hope everyone enjoys the episode.  As always, I'm happy just to have the opportunity just to share something that is enjoyable to me.  Enjoy the holiday, enjoy the week off, enjoy the family and friends around you. Enjoy so many things...