If you have been following State of the Bay for awhile now, you will know that we have spent a lot of time talking about invasive zebra and quagga mussels, and with good reason. Since their introduction in the late 1980s, these filter-feeding organisms have wreaked havoc on the Great Lakes ecosystem. Despite their small size, the mussels (collectively referred to as Dreissenid mussels) have had an enormous impact on Great Lakes food webs, including in Georgian Bay.
Although we have done our best to share messages about these invasive species, their spread, and the enormous ecosystem changes they have caused, it is challenging to truly grasp the enormity of the issue when you can’t really see it.
Think about it for a minute. How much have you actually seen below the surface of Georgian Bay? Maybe you have snorkeled along the shoreline and, no doubt seen some really neat stuff, but beyond that, most people have never seen the underwater world of Georgian Bay. For this reason we are excited for the upcoming world premiere of the documentary film All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes.
This exciting new documentary produced by Inspired Planet Productions and presented by Georgian Bay Forever (GBF) will give viewers an unprecedented look at life under the surface of the Great Lakes. With stunning visuals taken over 150 underwater filming days, it captures the changes that have been brought on by Dreissenid mussels. The huge archive of wildlife footage captured by the filmmakers has had the added benefit of providing scientists with new insights into the spawning, feeding, and schooling behaviours of fish in the Great Lakes, including the first known recording of lake whitefish spawning in the wild.
View the trailer here: www.inspiredplanet.ca/alltooclear
Georgian Bay Biosphere and Georgian Bay Forever are excited to co-host the premiere of All Too Clear at the Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts in Parry Sound on Saturday, August 10. Doors open at 6:00 pm for guests to meet their hosts and enjoy several informative booths, a beverage at the cash bar, and a unique opportunity to see the underwater robots involved in filming the documentary. An Indigenous traditional opening with songs by the Anishinaabek MinWeWe singers to honour the water will begin at 7:00 pm, followed by the feature-length film. The film will be followed by a Q & A period where guests will have the opportunity to ask questions of the filmmakers, several of the scientists featured in the film, as well as David Sweetnam, Executive Director of Georgian Bay Forever, and Katrina Krievins, Aquatic Conservation Programs Manager of the Georgian Bay Biosphere and editor of the 2023 State of the Bay ecosystem health magazine.
Join us in Parry Sound on Saturday, August 10 for this exciting exploration of the underwater world of the Great Lakes! For tickets, visit: www.stockeycentre.com/event/all-too-clear
