IMAX film crew and Biologists James Boase and Jim McFee from Alpena FRO lifting the IMAX underwater camera. - FWS photo by Adam Lintz

Lake sturgeon spawning under the Blue Water Bridge in the St. Clair River During May 2007. - FWS photo by Adam Lintz

It has been five years since researchers from the Alpena FRO, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, USGS, DTE Energy, and Purdy Fisheries met with IMAX Film Producer David Lickley of Science North to discuss the idea of a Great Lakes Documentary.  David Lickley first came to the Port Huron/Sarnia area after reading in the Toronto Star Newspaper about the lake sturgeon research that had been taking place there in 2002.  At that time Alpena FRO was working with the listed partners above on a number of lake sturgeon projects including identifying adult spawning and juvenile nursery habitats located in the St. Clair River.  David’s interest was to capture some of our findings on film for his documentary “Wonders of the Great Lakes” which is scheduled to be released in May 2008.

David described the clarity of the waters at Port Huron as “perfect for capturing this type of footage”.  The filming took place in two phases in the upper St. Clair River in the Port Huron/Sarnia area.  The goal during the first phase was to capture the act of lake sturgeon spawning in the St. Clair River.  Lake sturgeon spawning in this area generally takes place over just one or two days so timing was critical.  As the days approached correspondence with local diver/underwater film makers Greg and Kathy Lashbrook was critical in providing feedback on when the sturgeon would be spawning this year.  As temperatures were approaching optimum for lake sturgeon spawning the underwater film crew from Science North arrived in Sarnia on May 29^th.  The crew was lead by Filmmaker/Underwater

Cameraman Nick Caloyianis.  Filming began on May 29^th and took place in the narrows below the Blue Water Bridge of the St Clair River.  At that location hundreds of lake sturgeon come each year to spawn.  The site is know for its fast flowing clear waters, rock covered bottom, and is littered with shipwrecks which provide refuge from the current for lake sturgeon during spawning.  The site also happens to be in the center of the shipping lane for Great Lakes freighter traffic.

The camera used for the underwater portion of the film weighs almost 300 pounds at the surface but when submerged is almost neutrally buoyant.  Film canisters for the underwater IMAX Camera each holds 1,000 feet of film which produces only about 5 minutes of film time, thus requiring many trips in and out of the water.  Alpena FRO provided use of their research vessel Sentinel that has a cabled trawling winch to assist with moving the camera in and out of the water during the filming.  Spawning took place on May 31 and the crew was able to capture some great footage of the spawning activity.  The second phase of filming took place on June 25 and focused on operations requiring capturing and implanting lake sturgeon for telemetry work that the Alpena FRO has been leading in this region of the Great Lakes.

The project was funded through the Services Coastal Grant Program and was highlighted in the local news paper and can be seen at: http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070601/NEWS01/706010310/1002