Where the Bay Becomes the Sea

This highly informative film is a basic analysis of the ecology of the intertidal zone in British Columbia, that area covered by the highest tides and exposed during the lowest. Many special adaptations to this difficult environment, as well as its life cycles and food chains, are detailed with some stunning visual material.

This film records the journey undertaken by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, marine explorer of international repute, his twenty-four-member team, and an NFB film crew. Working from the Calypso, a converted minesweeper transformed into a sophisticated oceanographic vessel, the team uses a helicopter, a diving saucer, inflatable boats and scuba-diving equipment to explore the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, one of the world's richest fishing areas. They discover shipwrecks, film icebergs, visit wildlife sanctuaries where man is still an alien presence, and observe such endangered species as the beluga whale, humpback whale and harp seal. There is a fascinating sequence showing Calypso divers freeing a calf whale entrapped in a fishing net.

À cause de ses très fortes marées provoquant, au contact des hauts-fonds, un courant ascensionnel qui ramène constamment la nourriture en surface, la baie de Fundy est reconnue comme étant un véritable «garde-manger de la mer». Elle abrite une faune marine et aquatique très diversifiée et il est possible d'y retracer, une à une, les étapes de la chaîne alimentaire.