Bill Molloy is a typical Newfoundland inshore fisherman; Scott Hammond is a classic Alberta Cowboy. Bill and Scott live 6000 kilometres apart – but they share the same problems. Their livelihoods, passed down through generations, are threatened by industrialized agriculture, politics, development, and consumer ideology.
Fishing for Oil: The Future of Food From Land and Sea is an hour-long documentary that follows Bill and Scott as they fight to save their traditional lifestyles.
For years, scientists warned of the dangers of overfishing. But those warnings were ignored
and in 1992 Newfoundland’s cod fishing industry collapsed. To this day, the industry hasn’t recovered.
The result? Newfoundlanders are leaving their families and traditions behind and relocating to Alberta in a desperate search for work. And yet, paradoxically extensive development in Alberta is causing concern amongst scientists and farmers.
Could Canada’s farmlands suffer the same fate as the cod fishery?
Fishing for Oil is distinctly personal, our cameras follow Bill and Scott as they work the land and sea, talk about the importance of their livelihoods, and suggest solutions for the future.
Set in the spectacularly scenic Cowboy Trail in southern Alberta, and the rugged landscape of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Fishing for Oil is image driven, with wide angles, large landscapes and slow edits. Present day visuals contrast with animation – representing the futures ‘worst case scenario.’
Fishing for Oil: The Future of Food From Land and Sea, poses questions about the future while examining past ecological disasters and the consequences of making the same mistakes again. Through Bill and Scott we get a personal account of the value of these livelihoods, and see a frightening glimpse at what could be our future.
