Artifishal is a film about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them. It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature. Directed by Josh Murphy @joshbonesmurphy.
The film was produced by the founder of Patagonia himself, Yvon Chouinard, and was directed by Josh “Bones” Murphy. It’s around 80 minutes long and entirely free to watch on YouTube. The documentary shines a light on the scale at which American tax dollars are going into hatcheries that hinder the recovery of wild salmon life while polluting rivers. All the way from California to Norway, the film looks into the poor conditions of farms that breed only genetically deficient fish and the underwater wreckage due to open-water farming.
Though Artifishal reveals many bleak facts about the changing ecosystem, the film also reminds us about nature’s resilience, highlighting some events where salmon life sprung out after hatcheries were taken down. Yvon Chouinard mentioned in a statement, “Humans have always thought of themselves as superior to nature and it’s got us into a lot of trouble. We think we can control nature; we can’t. If we value wild salmon, we need to do something now. A life without wild nature and a life without these great, iconic species is an impoverished life. If we lose all wild species, we’re going to lose ourselves.”
Scroll up to watch the full-length documentary Artifishal.