Dock-U-Mentaries: “Counting Fish” @ NB Fishing Heritage Center

April 20, 2018 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, 33 William St, New Bedford, MA 02740, USA

Join us for Counting Fish, a film by Don Cuddy.

New England groundfishermen are in trouble. The annual catch limits are now set so low that many boats remain tied to the dock. But controversy abounds. The fishing industry has expressed no confidence in the NOAA trawl survey that provides the raw data for the stock assessment. But counting fish in the ocean is no easy task. While everyone agrees that more and better data is needed NOAA Fisheries says its resources are already overtaxed.

UMass Dartmouth marine scientist Kevin Stokesbury believes he may have found a solution- using cameras to record fish passing through a net that is intentionally left open, allowing them to escape unharmed. The video is then taken ashore and analyzed to obtain an estimate of stock abundance for a variety of species. Don Cuddy documented this new technology in action and the results can be seen in this splendid documentary. He will lead a post-film discussion.

In the Nation Park Center theater located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. Open to the public and presented free of charge.

Dock-u-mentaries is a co-production of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.

More information can be found here.