Return of Harbor Porpoises to SF Bay

By the end of World War II in 1945, San Francisco Bay had become a dead body of water. Stringing a large net across the Bay to trap Japanese and German submarines also prevented large predators such as porpoises, dolphins, whales, and sharks from entering or leaving the Bay. The dumping of sewage and the tailings from mines in the Sierras killed much of the remaining sea life such as anchovies and herring that had thrived in the Bay for thousands of years. But all this began to change in 1961 with the formation of the Save the Bay Foundation. By reducing the pollutants that fouled the water and destroyed wildlife, one of the primary unexpected consequences was that cleaning the water promoted the return of predators to San Francisco Bay. Five years ago Professor Jonathan Stern, a marine biologist at San Francisco State University, discovered - to his amazement - that harbor porpoises were once again swimming under the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco Bay in large numbers. Two years ago, Dr. Stern and I agreed to join forces and produce a film that would tell the good news story about the environment. To date, we have shot about 15 hours of video. (Tiburon International Film Festival)