“Artifishal” Bozeman Film Screening Recap

A huge thank you to everyone that made it out to the Fins & Feathers screening of the Patagonia made documentary “Artifishal”. Attendance surpassed expectations by far with over 150 making it to the film. We were able to raise a good amount of funds to support the Madison-Gallatin Trout Unlimited chapter by raffling off a Sage Foundation package. These funds will go towards ensuring trout will be around Bozeman area rivers for years to come.

The film brought several issues encapsulating hatcheries and fish farms and how these can have negative effects on wild fish populations. Salmon were the main focus of the film but it even included a brief history of stocking rivers in Montana and how we are one of the only states that has gone away from this management method. A case study performed on the Madison River proved that stocking rivers with hatchery fish actually decreased trout numbers and resulted in weaker trout. After the film, Patagonia’s Dylan Tomine answered some well thought questions from the crowd. Overall, this event was a ton of fun. If you missed the film I highly suggest making it to another screening of Artifishal as it brought several over looked issues to the surface and presented these ideas in a understandable method that made the crowd feel like we should all take action. A big thanks to Patagonia for creating the film and making the Bozeman premier happen.