“THE FISH THIEF: A Great Lakes Mystery” Screening

Join the Wisconsin Maritime on August 18th at 6:30 pm for a screening of The FISH THIEF: A Great Lakes Mystery. Following the documentary, a panel of experts will be available to answer any questions you may have.

“THE FISH THIEF,” narrated by Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons, delves into the extraordinary effort to uncover the cause of a devastating environmental crisis. Was it overfishing, pollutants, or something else? Scientists on both sides of the border worked tirelessly to solve the mystery. In a dramatic eleventh-hour breakthrough, they discovered the true culprit: the invasive sea lamprey. This notorious predator arrived in the Great Lakes in the early twentieth century, triggering an ecological crisis of unprecedented severity and nearly wiping out populations of lake trout, whitefish, and other cornerstone species. The impact reverberated across the region, ruining local industries, damaging small town economies and Indigenous communities, and destroying the livelihoods of people on both sides of the U.S. and Canadian border. A dedicated group of international scientists, policymakers, and conservationists banded together in a race against time to address this ecological invasion. While their efforts continue, their work to date has had a dramatic impact on the region’s environmental and economic future, underscoring an urgent message: protecting natural resources is essential not only to local prosperity but also to global well-being.

Tickets can be purchased at http://bit.ly/3TU3CoG