As the global demand for fish continues to rise at an unprecedented rate, the history of fish management provides an important perspective to help us understand how to maintain sustainable fishing practices. This historical films compilation demonstrates how far fisheries management and perceptions about fish and fisheries has evolved over the past century. You will never believe the primitiveness of many of the ideas expressed by the old-time fishermen, as science, at this time, had not even established that dolphins were mammals.
Included Films:
Deep Fish from Hell
Deep Fish from Hell
Produced: 1945
Length: 27 Minutes
Animal lovers and Ichthyologists alike will be revolted by the appalling violence shown to fishes, sharks, and whales in, “Deep Fish From Hell.” A fishing trawler in search of tuna encounters a shark who is also in search for a yummy morsel. The shark eats some of their tuna and what follows is a gratuitous display of indifferent fishing practices and questionable ethics. They start killing everything within reach including a whale, a shark, a swordfish shark, and a stingray. Life is not valued as even Dolphins are referred to as, not living creatures, but good for lubrication and leather. Proof that understanding has created less senseless death, the narrator’s exclamations of certain animals being “from hell” and “devil fish” in light of what we know now about marine life is, in retrospect, ghastly.
A Day at the River: A Film Lesson in Nature Study
A Day at the River: A Film Lesson in Nature Study
Produced: 1928
Length: 9 Minutes
This 1928 Devry School film is about a young boy learning about the variety of interesting biological life thriving at a river. It includes footage of a fish hatchery, fisherman catching fish in the river, and microscope footage of fish eggs (roe) developing and hatching. There is footage of salmon and trout swimming up river to spawn and the movie includes a detailed look at the anatomy of a crawfish. The distinctive anatomical characteristics of a fish are discussed in detail, including the structure of the fins and tail, which help the creatures swim.
Pennsylvania Fish Commission
Pennsylvania Fish Commission
Produced: 1953
Length: 13 Minutes
Fishing without conservation results in exploitation of resources and an end to a much loved American past time. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission attempts to explain in their self titled “Pennsylvania Fish Commission” what they are doing to make fishing enjoyable and profitable. We are told why having a fishing license is necessary, why there are certain seasons for fishing certain fishes, and the breeding process so that the fish population remains high. This truly informative gem from the 1950s fishing world includes actual stock footage of actual fish fertilization being preformed.
