March 8, 2016 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:
The scallop industry and its scientific partners have been hard at work producing a movie about Cooperative Research and its role in “Sustaining Sea Scallops”
The sea scallop fishery is one of the most lucrative wild-harvest fisheries in the United States. But just 15 short years ago this key fishery was facing closures and on the verge of bankruptcy. SUSTAINING SEA SCALLOPS chronicles the dramatic rebound of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery highlighting the unique partnership that supports this sustainable fishery.
You can find the link for the movie trailer at www.cfarm.org and a list of venues where the full movie can be viewed. The 35-minute documentary follows fishermen and researchers from New Bedford, Massachusetts to Seaford, Virginia, as they collaborate on studies of gear design, deep sea habitats, and threatened sea turtles. Capturing in-depth footage of the offshore and onshore processes involved in the scalloping industry. Including unprecedented footage of the marine environment using new underwater technologies that provides a breathtaking mosaic of sea scallops on the ocean floor and a close-up of a loggerhead sea turtle feeding on scallops.
With input from researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and Coonamessett Farm Foundation the film explores a new method of fisheries management that focuses on gear innovations and improved survey strategies to maintain a healthy fishery.
A rare tale of renewal, SUSTAINING SEA SCALLOPS, illuminates a message of hope for other beleaguered fisheries offering cooperative research as a new model for sustainable fisheries.
Watch the video from the Coonamessett Farm Foundation and their partners