From the deepest point in the Great Lakes to underwater sinkholes to zombie fish and beyond, a new documentary project explores one of North America’s last frontiers.
Words :: Ned Morgan
What’s left to explore here on earth? More than you might think—especially in our watery backyard. The Great Lakes comprise the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem, providing drinking water for roughly 40 million people. Beyond keeping us hydrated, the lakes offer a wealth of “blue space” that improves our physical and mental health. When we’re navigating Georgian Bay’s well-mapped channels and islands, we may feel we know it well. But beneath the surface is an underexplored universe.
Underwater explorers and Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick bring the deep blue realm into view with Hidden Below: The Great Lakes, a documentary project slated for release in 2028. The couple, who live on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula and collectively form the core of Inspired Planet Productions, are in the thick of filming with their cinema-grade Boxfish Luna remotely operated vehicle (ROV). I caught up with them when they were aboard their research vessel the day after their “Superior Maximus” livestream from the deepest point in the Great Lakes.
Located far offshore on the U.S. side of Lake Superior, the glacier-carved, sunless basin bottoms out at more than 400 metres (1300 feet). While Zach piloted the ROV, Michigan DNR biologist Shawn Sitar sat nearby as Yvonne and the Hidden Below team managed the tether from the deck. Throughout the livestream, Zach, Shawn and Yvonne fielded questions from viewers.
Mountain Life: Yesterday lined up well.
Yvonne Drebert: The weather was perfect, and I’m so glad we waited, because the day before [the scheduled livestream date] was pretty rough. It would have been miserable and people watching might have gotten seasick too!
ML: How did it go from a mission perspective?
Zach Melnick: Trying to get down there and do this kind of work is one thing; trying to do it live in a way that we can interact with people is a whole other level of technology, and everything has to go right with the weather. So that went perfectly. And the Michigan DNR had a large support boat for us. When we’re operating that far offshore, we do like having some support… So it was interesting that we saw a lot of deep water sculpin, maybe 100 or so. I don’t think anyone knew there was such a high density of these fish down there. And then there were the mysis [native shrimp-like crustaceans] interacting in this benthic ecosystem. There’s quite a bit of life down there.
Photo: Inspired Planet Productions
ML: How did you decide where exactly to dive?
ZM: We had to make a choice between the actual deepest spot and areas nearby with more interesting geology and fish habitat. It was a trade-off: Do we go where it’s deepest, or where there’s a lot more geology? We decided on the deepest spot because that’s what we told folks we’d do, but there’s a lot of environment out there to explore. The challenge is that
the livestream is only an hour [due to the ROV battery power]. We’re out there day after day, but you don’t always find the magic within that one hour.
ML: Did you see any “zombie fish”?
YD: We didn’t see them during the livestream, but one reason we’ll be out there every day this week is that we want to find them. [“Zombie fish” are deepwater siscowet lake trout with mysteriously large heads and emaciated bodies.] We’re hoping to help our scientific partners better understand their behaviour—whether they’re acting like normal fish, hanging out with other fish or eating different things than expected.
ML: You did spot one plastic bag and one beer can.
YD: In these offshore environments, it’s less likely that we find a ton of garbage. These areas are less visited.
“We’re hoping to help our scientific partners better understand [‘zombie fish’] behaviour—whether they’re acting like normal fish, hanging out with other fish or eating different things than expected.”
ZM: We see human junk sometimes, and we don’t like it when we do. We’ve also seen a few ghost nets [on other explorations]. So that is a problem, and maybe in the future we can coordinate getting those things out of there.
ML: Yvonne said during the livestream that your ROV isn’t equipped with an arm, so…
YD: We’re getting more robotics attachments put on it next month, so we should actually have the tools necessary to pull off and drop off. But it depends on how big it is and how much of a mess it is. If you imagine a ghost net a few hundred feet long…it is challenging. But we will be able to do a little bit, like pick up that can or garbage bag or whatever.
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ML: Could you talk about the last two livestreams, “Freshwater Everest” and “Fish City”?
ZM: Last September was our first attempt at a livestream. Superior Shoal, which we call the Freshwater Everest, is the biggest underwater mountain in the Great Lakes and quite possibly in the freshwater world. [The site is in the middle of Lake Superior near the international border.] And we were just dipping our toe into it. We saw many different lake trout morphs around these mountains, and they were very friendly with the camera. And it looked like they were exhibiting spawning behaviour.
For “Fish City” we wanted to do a livestream in a more human-impacted landscape, so that’s why we went to Bruce Power [nuclear facility], to the outflow [in Lake Huron]. It does bring in an abundance of fish, for good or bad. The water clarity wasn’t as good that day but we did see a lot of different species, including bigmouth buffalo. They regularly live to over 100. So we were able to share that with viewers and allow them to ask questions about what they’re seeing.
YD: Often, we’re just alone on the boat, looking at fish. During the livestreams, it is so fun for us to hear how people are engaging with what we’re all seeing.
ML: When can we expect another livestream?
YD: In September we’re going to explore the Lake Huron sinkholes near Alpena, Michigan. There are rare freshwater vents here, with cool purple and white mats, and filamentous growth around them. The kind of life you would have seen at the beginning of the planet starts here at these sinkholes.
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