“It was an amazing experience being a fly-on-the-wall of a Canadian courtroom and watching the drama about the reasons behind the decline of the iconic Fraser River sockeye unfold before my eyes. On many days, I was the only witness, other than the participants, to see critical evidence exposed. Now you can be a witness to it as well.“
Director, Scott Renyard
Science testimony – Virus – Political Gamesmanship- Educational
The Back Story
The mighty Fraser River sockeye run is in trouble. Beginning in the early 1990’s, the sockeye salmon populations began to decline. Millions of fish were disappearing and fisheries scientists and managers were stumped. Was it climate change? Was it poaching on the high seas? Was it a fluke of nature? In a desperate effort to uncover the mystery, the Canadian Government struck the “Cohen Commission of Inquiry: The Uncertain Future of Fraser River Sockeye” and put the decline of the Fraser River sockeye on trial. Dozens of lawyers representing many stakeholders appeared before the Commissioner to present their theories, views, and scientific studies. Would this Commission find a smoking gun?
The Filmmaker
For the first time in Canadian history, an independent filmmaker was given permission to film in a Canadian federal courtroom. Director Scott Renyard, at his own expense, spent a year filming the hearings so there would be a visual recording of the evidence presented at the Inquiry. The Commission, in the end, did not declare a smoking gun, but evidence presented at the inquiry pointed to some disturbing and compelling facts. Renyard presents these facts like a typical courtroom drama, peeling back the evidence layer by layer. In the end, there is a compelling case that diseases are ripping through Fraser sockeye populations.
This is one of two films Renyard made from this critical Inquiry into the future of sockeye salmon on Canada’s pacific coast. The other film, The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton, can also be found in our library.