Babine River Story

This short documentary includes three vignettes about life off the coast of Newfoundland. In Island of Birds, we visit Green Island, a sea bird sanctuary where puffins frolic. In Caplin Harvest, little silvery fish called caplin spawn by washing ashore along the waves, making an easy catch for fishermen. In Outports on the Move, off-shore houses are pried loose from their foundation and floated to the Newfoundland mainland, where schools, hospitals, stores and services are available to the community.

This documentary explores the ecosystems of the intertidal zone in British Columbia. An "intertidal zone" is an area that is covered by the highest tides and exposed during the lowest. The filmmakers study the ecology of this unique environment, including its life cycles and food chains.

This short documentary follows east and west coast salmon from river to sea and back again. Vivid close-ups capture exciting moments of the salmon hatching, jumping rapids and performing their intricate spawning ritual. The film also takes a look at threats posed by high-seas salmon fishing and the Canadian government's attempts to protect the salmon runs.

This short documentary looks at the deep gorge of the Fraser River, shadowed by the mountain ranges of British Columbia. It is a highway for the mysterious migration of the Pacific salmon. The river shallows appear red with the flailing fish as they push up-river to spawn and die. A natural wonder puzzling to the scientist, the fish migration of spring and summer provides renewed activity for fishermen and cannery workers.

Fish Unlimited: The Québec fisheries service restocks lakes with fish raised at the Station de Piscicole de Laurentides in Saint-Faustin. Mermaids of Canada: Members of the Mermaid Swimming Club give a demonstration of synchronized swimming in the University of Toronto's Hart House Pool. Also included is the Private Snafu film Three Brothers, from the American Army-Navy Screen Magazine series.

Learn all about fisheries science in this short documentary that was filmed both at sea and ashore. The film focuses on species survival and examines various projects and research directed towards restoring and protecting marine life.

The NFB's 10th Oscar®-nominated film.

This short sea-faring documentary follows the operations of a herring boat and her crew in the coastal waters of British Columbia. The Western Girl trawler, her skipper, and his men race to get their catch before the quota is taken and the fishing area closed. Teamwork is paramount in an enterprise that has a great element of risk; competition is keen and one man's mistake may mean severe loss, so that a year of plenty may be followed by a year of famine.

This short, downward-gazing documentary presents the soil in a new light. Man's inevitable and invaluable associate, the soil is a veritable thriving community in miniature, populated by living things of the animal, plant and insect worlds. Using highly magnified sequences, the film shows how this complex universe maintains a harmonious balance.

This short documentary examines the special characteristics of the northwest coastal rain forest. Its highly acidic soil results in a specialized plant community and an abundance of amphibians and reptiles. As the camera reveals, it is a place of exquisite beauty, and one that has an important place in the ecology.

Forty miles northwest of Vancouver Island lies Triangle Island, an ecological reserve and home of close to one million birds. Bristol Foster, head of the British Columbia Ecological Reserves Program, guides us across the island through colonies of birds and sea lions. He stresses the need of preserving the ecological balance for the survival of future generations.

This is a documentary about the fragile and complex marine ecosystem in the Bay of Fundy. The film traces relationships within the food chain - from tiny plankton to birds and seals and finally to whales and humans. The film is a plea for careful management of our ocean resource and was first telecast as part of CBC's Nature of Things series.