NH PTV 'Fisheries' Documentary Debuts May 19

DURHAM, NH - For centuries, New England’s ocean waters sustained life, built an economy, and created an iconic culture. "Saving New England Fisheries" is a new documentary that shows how lessons from the past and innovative thinking today can help create a sustainable future for our fisheries.

Host Will Lange travels the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Newfoundland to meet fishermen, government officials and other fishery experts who are deeply involved in developing a sustainable plan for New England’s fisheries.

"Saving New England Fisheries" is a one-hour special hosted by Will Lange premiering at 9 p.m. on May 19, 2016, on New Hampshire Public Television, with multiple re-airings on NHPTV PRIME, NHPTV EXPLORE. It also will be available online and on DVD.

Over the centuries, New England's ocean waters sustained life, built an economy, and created an iconic culture. The Gulf of Maine was once so rich with Atlantic cod that the explorer John Smith reported he simply lowered baskets weighted with rocks into the sea and raised them loaded with fish. But much has changed since then.

Today, regional fisheries and everything connected to the industry are threatened. In a new documentary, produced by New Hampshire Public Television in partnership with New Hampshire Sea Grant, "Saving New England Fisheries" shows how lessons from the past and innovative thinking today can help create a sustainable future for our fisheries.

The Gulf of Maine is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. It stretches from Cape Cod to the southern tip of Nova Scotia and is a haven for groundfish – species that live and migrate along the ocean floor, like cod, halibut, hake, pollock, sea scallops, redfish, monkfish, herring and flounder.

In 1994, the Northeast region supported 1,145 active groundfishing permits. By 2014, the number of permits had dropped to 279. There are many thoughts as to why that happened - overfishing, climate change, technology, regulations – or perhaps all of these factors combined.

"Saving New England Fisheries" traces the history of groundfishing in the region, and shows parallels between coastal New England and Newfoundland where cod stocks appear to be on the rebound. Scientists, government officials, and fishermen from southern Massachusetts to northern Maine talk about the difficulties fisheries face, and how they are working to keep the industry alive by mapping out plans for its sustainable future.

"Saving New England Fisheries" is the sixth in a series of award-winning "Windows to the Wild" specials produced by NHPTV that explore and celebrate New England’s wildlife.

Submitted by New Hampshire Public Television.