‘Fish City’: Filmmakers taking viewers underwater off shores of Bruce Power nuclear plant

Bruce County filmmakers have been given special permission to document underwater life near Bruce Power. CTV London’s Scott Miller explains.

Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick are getting ready to take people to a place very few have seen. Under the waters off the shores of the World’s Largest Nuclear Plant.

“It just so happens that the slightly warmer water coming out of those plants, the water has been warmed in that process of making power. That attracts fish and the water is crystal clear,” said Melnick, who hails from the Bruce Peninsula.

On Wednesday to mark Earth Day, Drebert and Melnick will be taking their underwater robot camera to Lake Huron for an underwater livestream to document the plethora of marine life off the shores of Bruce Power.

“We’re calling it Fish City, because really, there are just so many fish and so many different species. You’ll have these incredible fish called the Big Mouth Buffalo, which, believe it or not, have lived over 100 years. They’re one of the longest living freshwater fish in the world. And these things, they just like this warmer water. They filter zooplankton just like a whale does,” said Melnick, who with his wife, Drebert, founded Inspiring Planet Productions over two decades ago.

The Bruce Peninsula-based filmmakers are shooting closer to home after spending September and October in Lake Superior, taking never before seen footage of spawning Coaster Brook Trout, who were nearly overfished into extinction before a recent return to prominence.

“It’s an uplifting story, because it means that the waters in these places are in good enough shape that these fish can do their thing. So, we have been doing something right as humans over the last couple of decades to help bring these fish back,” said Drebert.

Drebert and Melnick have travelled the world documenting underwater worlds but have more recently made it their mission to try and shine a light on the largely undiscovered but amazing world under the Great Lakes, which holds 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater, and is also home to over 175 species of fish.

“We’ve all seen all this footage of sharks and whales and coral reefs, but there’s 40 million of us living on the shores of the Great Lakes. So, we want to show people that these are active living systems with lots of cool stuff too. And we finally got a chance to do that with our new show Hidden Below, and with our fun robot,” said Drebert.

“We all value the Great Lakes because they’re this clean source of drinking water, which of course is amazing. But they have this other value too, as a great source of life, and this new technology allows us to see that, and bring it to an audience that hasn’t been possible before,” said Melnick.

More on the duo’s “Hidden Below-The Great Lakes” documentary and “Bruce Power – Fish City” livestream happening this week can be found at Hidden Below LIVE – Inspired Planet Productions.

“Don’t just show up at Bruce Power with an underwater robot. It’s not going to work out well for you, but we’re working with them to have special permission to be there. So, it’s kind of exciting because they get to see what’s down there too,” said Drebert.