Last of the Giants (2022-…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Off the Hook - full transcript

Get him, get him,
get him, get him.

I think...

There you go, buddy.

And he almost pulled
me into the water, this fish.

- Is he still on?
- Yeah, he's on.

Coming up, coming up.
Oh my God. Oh my God.

It's a giant.

Cyril Chauquet
spends his life

traveling the world...

Easy, big guy.

In search
of massive fish...



Ah!
Look at the size of that thing!

No matter the danger.

Look at the amount
of venom on that barb.

Careful.

He'll do whatever it takes
to see these giants up close...

He
could almost swallow me whole.

But many of these
animals are also in danger.

They're facing a lot
of challenges, these fish.

From habitat
destruction, pollution,

and commercial overfishing.

Now, Cyril and his team of
adventure filmmakers are on

a grueling mission
across the globe...

- Look out!
- Unbelievable.

Whoa, oh yeah!



To help
scientists study these

fantastic creatures
and protect them.

We have the choice,

whether we preserve those
fish or we let them go extinct.

Together, they'll fight to save
the last of the giants.

Previously...

Ah, oh my God, it's huge!

Cyril and the
team worked with scientist

Colin Schwindt to
tag giant white sturgeon on

the Fraser River
in British Columbia.

But bad weather forced them to
put their quest on hold

before they caught the true
giant Colin is looking for.

They then headed far north to study the
sturgeon's main food source,

the Pacific salmon.

Yes coho, that's one
of the fish that we need.

Salmon
populations are in decline.

And if it continues,
the sturgeon will starve.

So the team is deep
in the wilderness...

We're about to get
into this massive rapid there.

Searching for them by raft.

Okay, we're starting to get into
some serious stuff here.

Careful, Chris.

Watch out, guys!
Some pretty epic stuff here!

- You okay?
- Yeah.

The crew is deep in the northern
wilderness of British Columbia heading

towards some remote fishing
spots only accessible by river.

Out here, they hope to find the elusive
migrating salmon they're after.

They're collecting samples for one of the
world's leading salmon experts in order to

learn how to better
protect them in the future.

So far, they've caught two of
the three species they're after

But the chum salmon
still eludes them.

The samples are
kept in the dry shipper.

But it has just three days'
worth of coolant left before

all the samples are ruined.

Hang on, Chris, hang on.

In that time,
they must find, catch,

and sample a chum salmon.

And then make their way
out of the wilderness to get

the samples back to the lab.

It's getting
really rough here.

But right now,

they need to worry about
what's right in front of them.

Oh, man, there's
a big rapid coming up.

I don't know if I can
slow down in time now.

We're turning around, stay back!

Go to shore! Big rapids!

Hang on, guys.
I'm going to beach the raft.

Cyril's
warning gives Geoff

just enough time
to get to shore.

But for Cyril and Chris,
it's too late.

Current
is way too strong.

I can't get to shore.
Bail out, man. Bail out.

You can still make it to shore.

Yeah, Cyril.

Give me the gear.
Give me the gear.

Chris
uses the rocky bottom to

pull himself to shore.

I can't stop.

But the
current is way too strong

for Cyril to handle.

Oh, man, huge rapids.

This is crazy.

Just lost my oar,
I'm going to go over.

Cyril, Cyril!

Cyril, Are you all right?

I'm all right,
guys, I'm all right!

Chris joins up
with an exhausted Cyril at

the bottom of the rapids.

- It's all right?
- Yeah.

I lost an oar
in the middle there.

I got bounced
around like a rag doll.

We saved the camera.

Yeah, you
saved the camera.

That's why I said
bail out, bail out.

There was still time for
you to swim back to shore,

to make it to shore.

Oh, man.

All right, what a ride.

What a ride,
yeah, for sure,

that was a hell of a ride.

The team has just
experienced firsthand a section

of the river that the locals
had warned them about.

And now below them
there's a big canyon,

which is only navigable if the
water level is just right.

I think that's the stretch
that Jeroen told us about.

And I'd say, let's
take a minute here.

We could kill ourselves here.

We don't really know what's
around the corner there.

For all I know, it might be
something even worse than

Chris and I just went through.

So let's fly the drone first.

Let's go over to
those rapids and see what's

down there before we go.

- Yeah, I agree 100%.
- Okay, so let's go scout.

Chris sends
their improvised drone scout

to see what's ahead.

The problem, guys,
is you know, from the air,

we can't really tell how
big the, the rapids are.

The river changes so
much with the rains.

All of that
could be dangerous. Huh?

The rock right there.

Yeah,
there's a big rock there.

Yeah, this
is gnarly, man.

Conditions really
don't look good right now.

The water levels
have to be just right to

navigate this next section.

It has a fast, sharp bend

where the entire river
funnels over hidden rocks and

heavy rain can easily raise
the water level 30 to 40 feet,

slamming full size
trees around like twigs.

No one thinks, "do it."

You know, to avoid a set of rapids like
this is normally they...

You carry the boat, you
port-side the boat on the shore.

But the problem is that
the canyon is really steep.

It's like there's cliffs
on each side of the river,

so there's no access.

We can't do it.

And the thing just
goes on forever.

The team will have
to wait for better water levels

before attempting the canyon.

But that could take days,
so it's time for a new plan.

Well, let's
find somewhere to fish.

Check out Terry.
What is he doing?

Is he checking something in the raft
or is he just taking forever to get out?

I think he's just
taking forever to get out.

Yeah!

Better safe than,

uh, falling in the river
and floating down, you know?

Yeah, better
safe than sorry, man.

Using
the drone again...

Kind of looks like a
good river on the left there.

Yeah.

The team sports
a network of nearby rivers.

That looks good too.

That look like
they would be great for fish.

So they head out to find them.

There we go.
This is the river.

After 40 minutes,

they come across a wide,
slow-moving river,

the perfect place to
find migrating salmon.

Here we go.
Fish, fish, fish.

Cyril
finally gets a hit.

I hope it's a chum.

Oh. Whoa, man,
that's a big fish.

That's a big one.

Oh, no, it's a coho.
It's a coho. But we'll take it.

Tanya needs more
samples from coho.

Look at this fish.
Step back, step back.

Come on. Whoo!
Big coho, so much power.

Unreal. Beautiful coho.

Salmon toxicologist
Dr. Tanya Brown has tasked the

team with collecting samples
from three species of Pacific salmon:

coho, pink, and chum salmon.

We're going to
start with the, uh, scales.

- The, the scales?
- Yeah.

They
already have samples from

pink salmon
and coho, like this fish.

But the more samples they get,

the more data Tanya can extract

We got one more guys.

But they still
need a chum salmon.

- Good work.
- Good job.

- Good work, man.
- Good job. Good job, man.

I would feel bad
normally, keeping this fish,

but at least we took samples
on it and it's not a female,

so that means it's less
harmful for the species.

'Cause the female would be,

would have a lot of eggs
and we're going to eat it.

So this fish is definitely
not going to waste.

Sashimi?

Really?

Look at the
quality of the flesh,

it's so beautiful.

Raw fish.

Raw fish?
All right, let's do it.

Guys, I think
you're going to like this.

Don't worry, I wiped
off all the sand.

- Mm.
- Terry?

- I'm good.
- Come on.

- Fish.
- Oh, you don't eat fish.

Yeah.

What are
you going to eat?

- Plants.
- Plants?

There's no plants left.
You smoked them all, man.

It's B.C.,
you eat the plants.

Oh yeah, this fish
was swimming 20 minutes ago.

The team takes a moment to
savor a little victory.

Mmm.

And build up the energy
to catch the final species they need,

the chum salmon.

The coho came pretty quickly,
but for whatever reason,

Cyril doesn't get any
other bites in this spot.

Hey, man,
any sign of chum?

Okay, well, maybe we
should try some of the other

rivers we saw with the drone.

As their search
for the chum salmon continues,

the team battles
the difficult terrain.

I think the
river is up ahead.

There it is.

Oh man, I think
we've got a problem here.

I see a spot that looks really
good for salmon down there.

It's a point that juts out.

If they want to
catch the chum salmon they need

their best option happens
to be Cyril's worst nightmare.

There's definitely
a rappel involved.

And you know how I am
with rappelling, right?

Yeah, he's
afraid of heights.

Hate it. I hate it.

It's one thing I'm
afraid of, it's, it's heights.

Cliffs.

Are you guys keen?

I mean, if you
think it's worth fishing,

then we should
figure out how to get down.

Yeah, it's worth it.

All along the edge
down there is good.

And I just saw salmon
come up to the surface.

Might be a chum.

- All right, let's do it.
- I don't know.

I'm looking down and look at all the big
chunks that are down there.

Yeah well,
look at that rock there.

I mean, it's about to come out.

That's what
I'm looking at...

That one there.

Someone's going to get hurt
and it's going to be whoever's down there.

Who's going to
get a slab on his face?

Well, I mean,
there's a...

Hey man, I'm just, you
said it was a good spot.

No, no, I know, no, no.
You're right, I'll just go.

I'll just go first, and
I will avoid the slab.

Climbing down
this rocky cliff is dangerous.

I was really hoping
I wouldn't need this.

But if
they catch a chum salmon,

they can collect the final
samples for their mission.

And the data from them
could help protect the species.

So it's worth the risk.

Really got to be careful,

there's a lot of rocks that
are totally unstable here.

- Be careful, man.
- Yeah.

♪ ♪

Got to be really
careful when you go down guys,

there's a lot of rocks here.

Okay?
All this stuff here is unstable.

Totally unstable.

This is deadly.

Whoo!

- You good?
- Yeah, made it.

It feels good to be down
here closer to the water,

I can tell you that.

Geoff will have the added
weight of the dry shipper.

Thank you.

Watch the
falling rocks, okay?

- Yeah.
- No rush, man.

Take your time, take your time.

All right bud, you did it.

Hey.

And Manu will face
the stress of his first rappel.

Good job, Manu, good job.
You're doing pretty good.

- I'm okay.
- Yeah, there you go.

Bravo, all right.

Three out
of the five are down,

but the danger
is not over yet.

Coming Chris?
Take it easy.

- Yeah.
- Watch out, rock!

All right, Geoff, Geoff.

You okay?!

Manu, Manu,
you all right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I
was scared for Geoff, though.

- Wow.
- Yeah.

- Sorry, man.
- It's okay, man.

I was, I shouldn't have
been right beneath him.

All right, good job, buddy.

Terry stays
up to get wider shots

and Cyril gets to work.

Let's get fishing,
let's get some samples.

All right, let's do it.

This looks like a
pretty good spot here,

because you see the main
river current is over there

and is broken by this
point here that I'm sitting

at and what it does in
point creates a break into the

current because you see,
like, look at my rod tip.

I follow the current there
and then it comes back here and

back to the river
into what we call an eddy.

So on their migration upriver,

they need breaks and this provides
a break so they can rest.

So what I'll do is I'll
cast the spoon into the current,

because don't
forget that salmon,

although they might not
eat when they migrate upriver,

they're very
aggressive predators.

So what I'll try to do with
the spoon is trigger their,

their predatory instinct.

Yeah, fish on.

Immediately,
Cyril sees the challenge

he'll have in landing this fish

from the cliffside:
finding room to move around.

Its a big fish.

There's no stopping
this fish, it's huge.

Look, look, getting spooled,
getting spooled.

Oh, okay, stop here.

I'm bringing some line
back in to this reel.

It's coming up.

It's a chum.
That's exactly the fish we need.

And it's a giant.

It's coming up
the current fast,

I can't even
keep up with the fish.

It's still on.

Is he still on?
I think it might be off.

Oh, he's off.

- What happened?
- Got off the hook.

I'm using a
single hook and no barb,

you know, because
it's better for the fish,

but at the same time,
you lose more fish,

especially in this case
because the fish were swimming

right up towards me.

So I lost the
pressure in the line and

usually they shake
their head and they can get off.

And I'm so limited here,
there's nothing I can do.

Did you see that from up there?

Yeah, crazy.

Yeah?
Crazy fight, man.

- Yeah.
- Big Fish.

It's, it's
like a tough spot.

You were right, though.

They're here and it was a chum.

So that means we're
on the right track, right?

Yeah, but it's really
hard to fish from here.

I say we make a move.

Terry,
you were smart, man.

You stayed up there.

I'll follow this ridge
line and see what I can find.

Okay.

Even
though they lost it,

just seeing the chum
salmon was encouraging.

So the team hurries along the
shoreline to meet up with Terry

- Hey, Terry.
- Hey, buddy.

- Found a way down?
- I did.

Better than falling
down a rockslide.

- Good job, man.
- Thanks, buddy.

Time is running out,

so they hike to a nearby
tributary river to see if they

can find more chum
and they're finally rewarded

for their hard work.

Oh wow, I see a
bunch of salmon here,

and I think they're chum.

The guys have
found a large concentration of

what appears from
shore to be chum salmon,

the last fish they need to sample
in order to finish their salmon mission.

All right, let's get
a line in the water fast.

♪ ♪

Here we go, fish on, ah!

Man, I really hope it's a chum.

Yeah, I really
think it's a chum.

This fish is powerful.

Look at that.

Ah, it's a chum, yeah, for sure.

I just saw the vertical bars that this
fish has on the flanks.

We're finally going to
get all our samples.

Beautiful chum.

Look at the size of
this fish and the teeth.

Look at the teeth it's got,

especially on
the lower jaw there.

They grow those huge teeth
during spawning season to pro...

to fight off other
males from the nest.

Oh man.

Sorry, buddy, but
Tanya needs you.

We got a chum.

Now that Cyril has
caught the final salmon needed,

the team goes through
all the sampling protocols.

Over the course of 11 days,

they have collected
samples from coho, pink,

and chum salmon.

All the samples required from
remote areas by Dr. Tanya Brown

- All right.
- All right.

- We got it.
- All right, man.

Many animals and
ecosystems across this wild

territory depend on the salmon,
including the white sturgeon.

All right, let's go
back to civilization, guys.

They just need
to raft through the canyon,

around a mountain to where
Jeroen has left their truck

and then drive
to the local airport to

ship the samples to
Tanya's lab in Vancouver.

With three days of coolant
still left in the dry shipper,

there's plenty of time to
complete their mission.

But on the hike back
to the rafts,

Mother Nature throws
them another curveball.

Man, look
at all this water.

My god, look at that.

The water level
is going up so fast.

Look at, at this creek is filling up as
I'm walking through it.

So much water is coming from
the mountains everywhere,

and this creek
eventually will end up

in the river and the
rivers will swell so fast.

This kind of
water accumulation does

not bode well for the team.

I feel like I'm being
chased by a river, you know?

During heavy rain,

the water level in the canyon
that they have to raft through

can quickly rise 30 to 40 feet.

And with all the samples
finally in the dry shipper,

the team wants to get in
their rafts as soon as possible

Oh, guys,
this isn't good.

Water has already risen to
where the rafts are parked.

Just get him out of
the water for now.

Hey, I hear a
chopper over there.

Right there.

I'm on it.

I think that's
Search and Rescue.

- Is it?
- Yeah.

Oh, coming back.
It's coming back.

He's coming for us.

The guys are in
an extremely remote area,

so the appearance of
a rescue helicopter is

a little worrying.

Let's go.

Hi, how you doing?

Yeah,
it's all good, yeah.

We had a call from
the RCMP saying that there

were people stranded upriver.

Is that you guys?

No, no, uh, no.
As far as I know, we're good.

- You're okay?
- No, no, we're good.

Okay,
there's a landslide.

We're worried about
debris and water coming up,

going to be coming up fast.

Yeah, all right?

Lots of debris,
be careful.

Lots of debris
and lots of water?

- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.

Hey, we'll, we'll notify
the RCMP that you guys are

okay and that
you're located here.

- Okay, sounds good.
- Okay, good?

All right, all right.
Hey, thanks for letting us know.

Good luck with the, uh, good
luck with the rescue up there.

Okay.

This would have
been the perfect opportunity

to get the samples
airlifted back to civilization.

We should move stuff because
the water is coming up really fast.

Yeah.

But with the
floods and landslides,

the Search and Rescue
team has their hands full.

The first order of business is to get
the rafts to higher ground.

Unless the situation changes,

it seems that the team
is stuck here indefinitely.

All right.

Within an hour,
the water rises dramatically.

There are landslides upstream and
the river is littered with large debris.

Rafting is out of the question
for the next few days.

Can't even go downriver.

- We can't move.
- We're stranded.

And the dry shipper is going
to be running out, right?

Yeah, but maybe,
maybe we can move.

I see where
you're going with this.

- Yeah.
- Mountain ridge?

Yeah.

Aside from rafting,

the team has a daunting second option to
get to the truck Jeroen left for them...

Hiking over a mountain pass.

If they make it, they can
ship the samples to Tanya,

then come back to get the raft.

You know the exit strategy that we
looked at the other day?

- I do, yeah. Yeah.
- Over the Mountain Ridge?

I mean, we can go around,

but I think it would be shorter
if we went over the mountain.

It's a pretty hard hike,
though, but it's doable.

I think it's doable.

Chris,
you're cool with that?

- Yup. Yup.
- Yeah?

Chris is
always motivated.

What about you, Terry?
You okay with the hike?

Nope. I'm not "yay"
but I'm like, "it is what it is.

You got to do
what you got to do.

Yeah, exactly.

I think we need to
get some sleep tonight then,

'cause that's a big hike.

Yeah, let's go
get some sleep and

we'll come back and, uh, get
the rafts in a couple of days.

In a couple of days.

With only two
days' worth of coolant

left in the dry shipper,

the team takes a high-risk
gamble in order to get the

samples back to Dr. Brown's lab

Look what's ahead.

To reach
their parked truck,

they have to trek for
at least a full day and push

themselves at a
breakneck pace through

some unforgiving territory.

The dry shipper
is going to expire soon.

If we don't get it back
to the lab, we're screwed.

We've got to keep moving.

After hours of hiking

they make it to the last river crossing
before the mountain pass.

Okay, guys doesn't
look too deep here.

But the pass holds
a massive surprise obstacle

for the team, a glacier.

On their map,

the glacier didn't look
like such a big obstacle and

the team thought they could
thread their way along its side

But they didn't realize
the sheer size of what

they're dealing with.

What the
heck are we doing here?

I really don't think we're going to make
it over this mountain.

So how are we going to get
the samples to Tanya in time then?

Uh, let's go to the
ridge up there and we'll see.

If we trek along its edge,
it might be doable.

Let's go check it out.

Hey, Geoff, how's it going
with the dry shipper?

You want me to carry
it a little bit?

I'm okay for now,
but thanks.

The team
makes a last push to

get to the base
of the glacier.

Forget it, we're never going to
make it over the mountain.

Let's go around it.
We can make it, uh, on the side.

If we climbed, uh, up there.

You see that?
What's that?

- What's on the other side?
- Yeah.

- Well, that's... We don't know.
- Yeah.

I'm seeing a
big white cap up there and

I don't think we want to
get stuck up there tonight.

No, no,
tonight is no option.

It's getting dark.

So the truck is what?

It's kind of like, there,

on the other side of
this beast right here?

Yeah, yeah.
That's it.

The plan was to
thread their way along the side

of the glacier and
over the mountain.

But instead, the
team is forced to hike

all the way around,

which will take
a whole extra day.

All right.

Right, we're
losing light so let's, uh...

- Let's move on.
- Yeah, let's go.

Even with
their climbing gear,

going over a mountain
ridge would be tough.

Watch the rocks,
some of them are super slippery.

But this glacier makes
it nearly impossible.

Grab the camera.

Yeah.

And the long,

dangerous detour definitely
throws a wrench in their plans.

Oh man, this is freezing!

It's all good here.

Welcome, man.
But we gotta keep moving.

They keep
pushing on until they can't

see a foot in front of them.

We should be able
to set up camp there.

If they can manage to get to
their truck by tomorrow afternoon,

they might just be able
to save this mission.

Oh, what the...

Yeah, I knew we'd get
some cold weather, but this?

No.

Hey, Manu?

- Hey.
- How'd you sleep?

Good, but cold.
How 'bout you?

Yeah, yeah,
a little bit cold, but not too bad.

The team breaks
out the last of their food.

Guys, I made some chili.

They'll need all the energy
they can get for the long descent.

- Terry up yet?
- I think he's sleeping.

Terry!

- What?
- Are you asleep?

I didn't, freezing.

Wake up, man.
I got some warm chili for you.

I don't need
any warm chili, thank you.

Hey, did you, did
you take off your jacket?

No, I slept like this.

I'm freezing my ass off,
at least it's keeping me warm.

If I took it off,
it would just be wet.

All right,
guys, we gotta move.

The conditions
will be more than just cold,

they'll be
downright treacherous.

Let's go that way.
Watch out.

Slippery here, perfect
conditions to break a leg.

Yeah.

They're now
down to just a day's worth

of coolant in the dry shipper..

And they are still
far from civilization.

- Hey, Geoff.
- Yeah?

Let me, uh, let me
help you with the dry shipper.

Um, thanks man,
thanks man.

You're welcome, man.

Damn!

Watch out, it's pretty
sketchy around here.

The team finally
descends below the snow line,

but they have to
keep pushing hard.

Man, I've
already done a ton of shoots,

but this one is
by far the toughest.

They make it back
to the river on the far side

of the mountain
and cut through the last sectio

of brush towards the spot
where Jeroen left their truck.

According to the GPS,
we should be getting close now.

Yeah, there it is.

I've never been so
happy to see a vehicle.

The guys jump in and
speed off towards the airport.

Oh man,
it's going to be tight.

The only way to
get the samples to Dr. Brown

in time is to fly them out.

And the only flight today
leaves in less than two hours.

Okay, Manu, pass
me the dry shipper, man.

Yes, yes, yeah, did it!

- Good, man.
- Done.

- We got it.
- Made it.

- Just on time.
- Good work, man.

- Just on time.
- All right!

- That's cool.
- Hey man, nice. Excellent.

- Good job.
- Good job, guys.

- It was close, all right.
- Let's party.

The past two weeks
have revealed something

unexpected and very worrying.

The fishing has
been so much harder than, uh, we thought.

These wild
remote rivers should be

overflowing with fish,

but the salmon were really
hard to find,

and the team witnessed
the problem everywhere.

From the Pacific Ocean...

It's beginning to look a
little bit like a dry hole here.

To the northern mountains to the
Fraser Valley in the south.

There
used to be so many,

you used to be
able to walk on them.

Hopefully,
research like Tanya's can help

reverse the decline
of the salmon population

because so many
species depend on salmon.

Everything is connected.

And none more
so than the white sturgeon.

Now, the guys are heading
back to the Fraser River

to finish their
original mission:

catch and tag a
truly giant white sturgeon

for scientist Colin Schwindt.

Hey, Colin!

He's using
acoustic tags to study mature

white sturgeon in order to
find their spawning grounds

and protect them.

Minimum size for
me is about two meters.

That's, that's
seven feet, right?

Last time out,

they managed to
tag a nice sized fish.

Good job.

But it was still short
of the true giant Colin's after

Oh, you want
an even bigger fish?

For me,
bigger, the better.

So to give
themselves the best chance

of success this time,

they're heading out with local sturgeon
fishing specialist Matt.

- Hey, Matt.
- Morning, Cyril.

How are you today?

He's been
fishing the Fraser River and

sturgeon specifically
for over 20 years.

There we go.

So how big a fish
do we need again?

Two meters,
200 centimeters,

which is close to seven feet.

Okay, yeah, you
never know what's down there.

Sometimes you hook big fish,

you never see them, and
you lose them and you're

left wondering, like,
how big was that?

Yeah, that's the one
that keeps you going back.

Exactly.

With
giant fish like these,

there's no room for error.

One little mistake
and it's gone.

Oh, you got a big head in there?

Yeah.

As bait, they're using big and
juicy salmon scraps.

Any scent that will be
carried downstream from that

piece of bait will
be picked up by the sturgeon

that will work
slowly towards the bait.

And once they get to it,

then they use their little barbels that
they have underneath the

snout to actually taste...

Gills, what it is that it found and then
it will suck it right up

with their vacuum-like mouth.

What's the biggest
you've seen personally?

My biggest personally,

I've ever laid hands
on is 10'2.

I've seen fish that were bigger.

I've hooked fish that were
bigger, but they're smart.

They find trees,
they find snags, they...

Find a way to
break your line or get off.

Yeah, oh yeah.

They don't get that big and
live that long for no reason.

- Yeah.
- They're smart.

You've got
it all figured out.

Oh yeah, that's why I'm so careful
about how I do everything.

Have to be.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

- Rod one.
- Yeah, yeah, he's on.

Got it, there we go.

Oh, yeah,
that's a solid fish.

I'm getting some nice
head shakes here.

I think this fish is definitely
the size that we need.

Feels like at least
a seven-footer.

Yeah, I'm gonna
call Colin right now.

Yeah.

Only
20 minutes upriver,

Colin is waiting for
their call to come tag the fish

Hey, Colin,
we got one on the line.

I'll text you our GPS
coordinates in a minute.

Okay, see you soon.

Not too soon, though,

because I mean, I'm, uh,

still going to be on
this fish for a little bit.

I think
he'll be okay to wait.

Yeah, yeah, he
doesn't care about waiting.

He just cares about
tagging this fish.

Come on big guy,
help us out here.

That almost sounds
really angry there.

Haven't seen this one yet.

Fin down, that's a good sign that
it's the giant we need.

It's staying down,
doesn't want to come up.

It doesn't, it doesn't seem
to like the sight of the sun.

Coming up,
coming up, coming up.

It's about to get
to the surface right here.

Ooh, hoo-ooh!

Here we go.
Oh, my gosh.

- That's a huge one.
- Nice fish.

Coming up, coming up, coming up.
Whoa, whoa!

Oh. Whoo!

- Ooh.
- It's fighting hard.

Matt preps the cradle
so they can measure the fish.

Oh, yeah, look
at the head on this thing.

And bring
it to shore to tag it.

All right, man.

I'm gonna pass you the rod,
and I'll grab the fish. Okay?

Okay.

Right, this is it, guys.
All right, fish coming in.

Aw, aw man, ah!
Oh no, he got off.

He got off right here.
I can't believe it.

You know, I had this fish's
head all the way here.

He was pretty much done,
you know?

And then the fish started
shaking its head and, and,

and shook its way
out of the, uh, out of the

sling and he got
off the hook right here.

Next time.

Sorry about that, man.
All this work.

It happens.

Oh, Geoff.
Just call Colin off.

Sorry, man.

All right,
I'll let him know.

Well, at least we
know they're here, right?

Yeah, exactly.

The team heads
to one more spot upriver.

Hopefully, they'll be able to
find a giant sturgeon for Colin

to tag in order to track their
spawning patterns.

The future of the species
could be riding on

this critical research.

So Cyril and the team are
not about to give up yet.

♪ ♪

Go get him, Cyril.

He's on. Easy.

Get him, get him, get him!

Get him!

- I think...
- There you go, buddy.

He almost pulled me
into the water, this fish.

Is he still on?

Yeah, he's on.
He's a solid fish, for sure.

When you can't pull it
up that says a lot usually.

Look at the
bend in that rod.

Yeah, it's unreal.

He's coming up.
He's about to surface here.

- There he is, oh!
- Oh, that's a tank man.

That's a tank.
Oh, look at that over there.

Way over two meters,
way over seven feet.

Colin needs to tag a fish
that's over seven feet long

as there's a much
higher chance of recording

multiple spawning events
over the tag's lifetime.

So Geoff calls in the
GPS location for him

to come meet them.

It's taking off.

It's a giant.

What's up with you fish?

You know, trying to help
you and you punishing me,

trying to help
your species here.

Cyril works hard to get back
the line that he lost on the fish's run.

Nice job, Cyril.

Thank you, bud.
He's a solid fish.

Just about to break the surface.
Look at the swirl there.

Coming up, coming up.
Oh my god.

Oh, my Lord.

Look at the size of this fish.
Look at that. It's scary.

This fish is scary.

That's the giant
that we've been looking for.

Like, the one.

You're giving
her 110%, that's for sure.

Yeah, but I
don't know for how long.

Geoff, where's Colin?

He's on his way, man.

Amazing, the
power of those rods, eh?

You mean the power in me?
My arms?

That too.

This fish is going
to give me a heart attack.

I got to use the
gunwale to, to rest my, my,

especially my forearms.

Oh yeah.

They're
burning right now.

Just as the fish
and Cyril begin to tire.

It's Colin.

It's Colin?
Okay, all right.

Colin, big one!
We got a big one.

All right, he's here.
All right, here he is.

It's a giant, it's a true giant.

But it's not over yet

Right, I'll tow him in.
That's a big one, boys.

We're slowly bringing
this fish to shore so we

can perform the
operation with Colin.

This fish is way too big.

Look at the head on this thing.

I mean, I've definitely never
caught a sturgeon this big.

Whoo.

Look at that.
Oh! Oh my god.

Look at the size of this fish.
Oh, oh, unreal.

This fish is way,
way above two meters.

I'm telling you.
Let's get a measurement on it.

Okay.

While Cyril and
Geoff check to confirm that

the fish is well
over seven feet long,

Colin and his assistant Garrett prep their
equipment for surgery.

- This fish is?
- 98 inches.

98 inches.

Oh man, that's a giant,
that's the fish we need.

It's 8'2
or close to 2.5 meters.

Perfect for tagging.

Talk about a dinosaur.
I got one right here.

This is a true giant fish.
I can't believe it.

One of the last
giant fish right there.

- That's a big fish, Cyril.
- That's what you wanted?

- That's what I want.
- All right.

All right, so we're
gonna do his fin real quick.

Turning the
fish on its back creates a

state of tonic immobility,

Put his head
underneath that flap there.

A sleep-like trance
that will keep the fish from

thrashing around or feeling
pain during the procedure.

Whoo!

I'm going to try
to assist you guys.

Gonna put a mask.

Once Colin
makes the incision,

he only has one minute
to insert the tag and

sew the fish up.

Any longer could be
dangerous for the animal.

All right, let's do this.

Hold as
still as possible.

- Thick skinned.
- Thick, very thick.

The only way to
determine a sturgeon's sex

is by looking
inside its body.

No, we got a female.

So Colin
takes advantage of the surgery to do so.

Suture ready,
tag's going in.

Tag's in. Suture.

All right, the tag's in.
We're almost there.

Keeping that head down
in the water for me back there.

Yeah, she's breathing,
she's looking good.

The last thing
left for Colin to do

is to suture the wound,

and he only has twenty
seconds left to do it.

And cut, yeah.

It's a success.

The fish has been tagged
within the safe time limit.

Way to go, guys.

Well done, guys.
That went perfectly.

I'm proud of you, man.

They double
checked the length at 8'2.

93.

Officially the
largest sturgeon they've caught

- Okay guys.
- Oh, he's waking up.

But before they can celebrate,
she must be safely released.

Cyril, you got that?

- Yeah.
- Get her head?

- Yeah.
- Keep that head nice and low.

Guys, this fish is so big,

it has the best chance during the ten
year lifespan of this tag.

So we're going to be able to track this
fish to have a successful spawning event.

That's great.

Imagine those fish have been around for
150-plus million years.

And yet in the last 100 years,

we've almost brought
this fish to extinction.

So if nothing is done,
it might go extinct.

There it goes.
I can feel it already kicking.

Oh yeah.
Oh, he's gone, he's gone.

She's gone.

Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.

Good job guys,
that was a big fish.

Nice job.
GARRETT Good job.

Good job, guys.
GARRETT This guy.

- Right! Right on.
- Yes.

- We did it guys, yes!
- Yes.

- Great job, guys.
- Way to go, guys.

Cyril and the team
came to British Columbia on

a mission to help protect
the colossal white sturgeon.

Oh my god!
Grab it, grab it.

It was way
harder than they expected.

- Damn, oh!
- Careful man!

And took them further into the
wilderness than they've ever been before.

What the heck
are we doing here?

Along the way,

they discovered that
the quest to save the

white sturgeon is
also the quest to save the

Pacific salmon,
its main food source.

In this vast territory,

a multitude of
other predators depend

on the salmon all the way
to the top of the food web,

including the people
that depend on them for their

way of life.

We've survived
a long time because we had

fish to eat year-round.

But now we do not, you know?

After toiling for weeks with
scientists who have devoted their lives

to protecting these animals,

the team managed to get
all the samples they needed

and finally catch and tag
a giant white sturgeon.

All right,
we got a signal.

2-1-0-5-6.

Uh, yeah,
that's our fish.

Yes, the tag's working.

It's really satisfying to be
able to help these scientists.

Good job for all your effort.

Yeah.

Helping those fish.
Good job, Matt.

- Yeah.
- Thanks to them,

we're going to be
able to better protect

the last of the giant fish.