Scott Renyard’s Must-Watch Environmental Films on The Green Channel
Over a career spanning four decades, Scott Renyard has made films that uncovered how a baby killer whale really died, connected fish farm diseases to the collapse of wild fish populations across two oceans, and recorded the only video archive of a landmark Canadian federal inquiry.
We asked Scott to tell us, in his own words, why these films matter and what makes each one worth watching on The Green Channel.
Who Killed Miracle?
This well researched documentary retraces the journey of an injured baby killer whale at a time when humans feared and indiscriminately killed them. Miracle, as she would later be named, was found in Menzies Bay near Campbell River, B.C., injured and starving.
A local sport fisherman, Bill Davis, found the baby killer whale and offered up some of his herring bait to the little whale. She took the food, and that started a friendship that would last the rest of her life.
The rescue of little Miracle was itself an almost impossible feat, but the staff from an Oceanarium located in Victoria, B.C., took the chance to try and save her. The rescue was successful, but Miracle would have to endure many challenges before she reached full health.
This story was also entangled in the issues of captivity and whether the baby whale should have been freed. There seemed to be no real answer as to whether she should be released or kept under the watchful eye of the oceanarium’s staff.
Unique things about this film’s story:
- First time a baby killer whale was befriended by a human in the wild;
- First time a killer whale was moved by helicopter in a sling;
- First time, and maybe the only time, a killer whale was shot by a rifle, was rescued, and survived the injury.
Discoveries made by the Director:
- Determined the likely reason Miracle ended up in Menzies Bay;
- Discovered, using DNA of her skull in the museum, that she was a Resident Killer Whale and not a Transient or Biggs Killer whale;
- Proved that the reason she died was not at the hands of environmentalists but from an accident.
The Pristine Coast
The decline of Pacific Salmon populations began in the late 1970’s, and the Canadian Government began to spend millions on salmon enhancement, hatcheries, and different harvesting strategies to counter what looked to be a sure extinction of all Pacific salmon stocks. Everyone was confused as to the cause.
On the east coast of Canada, the same thing was happening to the iconic Northern cod populations and many other species like haddock and Atlantic salmon. And it turns out fish populations were crashing right across the north Atlantic.
Over the years, many theories have been floated. Was it overfishing? Was it climate change? Was it a trophic cascade? But there were clues as to the real cause. Many people missed it. You don’t want to miss finding out how this tragedy came about.
Unique things about this Film’s story:
- First film to link the collapse of multiple fish species to diseases from fish farms;
- First film to link the collapse of the Northern cod in the Atlantic Ocean to the diseases carried by sea lice.
Discoveries made by the Director:
- Explained the likely reason why some runs of fish did well before collapsing and how its related to the decline of a neighbouring run;
- Put to rest the fact that the debate about how many farms was too much was reframed to say that the number of farms only needed to contain one fish, in one farm, with one virus, to spread a damaging disease. The more farms and more fish would just change the rate of infection hitting wild fish populations;
- Revealed that the loss of wild fish was a contributing cause of global warming.
The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton
During the filming of the Cohen Inquiry hearings, the main whistleblower, Alexandra Morton, was scheduled to appear for two days. The legal council for the Federal and Provincial governments refused to accept her testimony as an expert and challenged her credentials during her time on the stand. Instead, she would appear on an opinion panel that also featured panelists from the fish farms and an environmental non-profit organization.
Her supporters came out in droves. They protested outside the courtroom building and filled the gallery.
From the start, it looked like the focus of these two days would be to challenge and try to intimidate the outspoken fish farm critic. It was clear that orders had been given from above to do whatever they could to shut her up. This may be one of the most compelling two days in Canadian Inquiry history.
Unique things about this story:
- Showed how a whistleblower was treated on the stand of an Inquiry in Canada during the Harper government.
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