November 26, 2012 — The Garbers didn't get the fishing gene, filmmaker Tom Garber admitted sheepishly. But that did nothing to diminish the Hampton Bays resident's love of the sea. He's lensed 10 acclaimed documentaries with maritime themes.
His latest, Salt of the Sea, was shown recently at the Montauk Movie Theater and will be screened at 12:15 PM at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor on December 1 during the Hamptons Take 2 Film Festival.
Shot over the course of 18 months on a handful of independently owned and operated commercial fishing boats, including vessels out of Montauk, Shinnecock and Greenport; Salt of the Sea tells the harrowing and tragic story of a vanishing breed of Americans.
Using a waterproof camera attached to a long pole for some shots, Garber captured the excitement, the danger, but most of all, the beauty of life on the water. Stunning images are interspersed with footage of bureaucrats with the power to determine fishermen's fates.
Garber reports that of all the jobs in America, commercial fishermen suffer five times the death rate of any other profession. But it's not the danger that's killing the industry. Footage of the New England Fishery Management Council and congressional hearings on abuses of power juxtapose with magnificent sea scenes.
Some staggering stats: Thanks to catch limits imposed by the feds, 80 percent of seafood consumed in America is imported from other countries, where regulations regarding testing for toxic chemicals are much less stringent. According to an Inspector General's report, $5.5 million in fines were assessed in the Northeast between 2004 and 2009. That's two times higher than any other region. Some $96 million in proceeds over five years were used for travel, and the purchase of cars and luxury boats. There were $4.8 million in undocumented transactions and the chief of law enforcement supposedly had "shredding parties" to destroy documents when an investigation commenced.
Read the full review at The Independent