Salmon Fishing on the Yemen (2011)

It's a great movie but kind of a cheesy love story; it was too cute for Scottish fly fishing and Environmental scientist Dr. Jones to name a newly created fly the Chetwood-Tolbot; the girl he's infatuated with in the movie. The narrative of introducing salmon to the Yemen River after a dam is complete was interesting. The movie discusses whether the environmental conditions would be feasible for native salmon to survive on the Yemen River; the answer being yes hinging upon the presence of the dam. Salmon need a water temperature that is only allowed in a hot region of the world with the presence of a dam. This movie evaluates whether an established scientist can be a man of faith. The Shiek calls out Dr. Jones at dinner. Although Dr. Jones isn't publicly participatory in a religion the Shiek highlights that he is a man of faith because he will spend so much of his time at one end of a fishing line hoping that he will get a strike on the other side. The only thing that draws him back to the river after a day of being skunked is faith. An Islamic Shiek brought up the discussion attributing fishing to religion but it is a connnection that is very common in the Christian faith. Whether you reference Jesus Christ telling Peter that he will retire his career in fishing on the Galilee and follow Jesus for the rest of his life being "the fisher of men." Or in 1990's movie "A River Runs Through It" when the Presbyterian Minister father tells his sons that the water has shaped the river for thousands of years and underneath the water inside the rocks is the word of God. And if you listen carefully enough you will be able to hear it. What draws fly fisherman to spend their entire lives at the end of a fishing line picking up the rhythms of God might be similar to the benefits of the practice of Yoga. It's soothing, it's rhythmic, and it makes the participant feel better afterwards. Some can say that those characteristics are the same in organized religion. The movie also covered whether or not farmed salmon would have the know how to be able to survive in the wild; struggling incubation genetics and lack of learned behavior. The movie highlights that through technology mankind is able to achieve magnificent things such as allowing a rich Shiek to catch bigger fish than trout near his home. But it also shows that through man's stretch for the magnificent there are trials and tribulations such as fundamentalists Islamic Jihadists blowing up the very expensive dam. Overall it was a very enjoyable movie to watch and covered an area of the world that might be hostile to the West but also has a peaceful beauty that can be found and universally relatable in nature. So this movie covers an Environmental issue from an ethical standpoint as well as a feasability standpoint. First, is it scientifically possible to fish for salmon on the Yemen River? Then the next question the movie poses is should we. The protagonists are basically introducing an animal species to an environment in an unnatural way and the existence of the animal, given their water temperature requirements is precedent on the creation of a man-made dam.