New film about fish farming
Much money and effort has been expended by to opponents of salmon farming in British Columbia over the years, but few- if any- of those film makers actually made it to a salmon farm, a not surprising fact given the obvious intent of the producers. Any situation or facility can be made to look bad or good, depending on the motive behind the film in the first place. The producers of this new film, although paid for by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, claim to have full creative control of the final product, as Stefania Secciaof the Westerly News explains;
Ever wonder what those fish farmers are up to? One Ucluelet local set up his camera intending to find out. A new 30-minute documentary called Silver Harvest, produced by Lance Blackwell along with writer/narrator David W. Griffith is set to air on TV this week. "This has been a great experience-talking to the entrepreneurs of the industry and watching a good story about the development of this industry come to light," Blackwell said.
In January Blackwell, producer of Make Waves Productions, was anticipating a new project and had the idea to compose one about the advances in fish farming. "I've always believed that salmon farming gets a really bad wrap," he told the Westerly. Blackwell dove on fish farms back in the late 1980s and again in the late 1990s and still kept in touch with industry insiders. "I'm aware of the constant upgrades that the fish farm industry is taking and moving in good, positive directions," he added. "Much of the touted public info from the opposition in many cases is 10 to 15 years old. I thought, 'Hey, we need to do something positive’. Shortly after he had the idea Blackwell approached the BC Salmon Farmers Association and asked for funding. "I asked if they wanted to have a look at the script and idea and they agreed to fund the film," he explained. "We have 100 per cent creative control of the script and the only thing the BCSFA insisted checking the script for was technical accuracy."
Then he and Griffith, who has more than 20 scripts in TV and documentary writing under his belt, set out to visit fish farms, labs, offices and homes to investigate where the industry came from to where it was going. "We were amazed to see how hard all the companies are working at upgrading and bettering their practices," Blackwell said. "A lot of issues are covered in the film, including sea lice." Blackwell was also given the opportunity to fly overhead the Fraser River and be shown how there's many other pollutants contributing to the decline of salmon. "We flew over log booms, sulphur, chemical plants," he said. "I'm really hoping [the documentary] is a way for people to realize the fish farming industry is working towards getting better." "Twenty-five years ago we were all smoking in our staff meetings and wearing fur. All industries change and certainly the salmon farming industry is at the forefront of what they're doing."
Blackwell noted that his documentary asks the question why can't there be both wild fisheries and fish farming. "We hope this story really opens the doors to the public about the industry and helps to answer many of the tough environmental issues brought forth by the industry's opposition," Blackwell said. "I think people will see salmon farming in B.C. in a whole new positive light." www.silverharvest.ca
