San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, January 20-21, 2007

By Linda Hunter
Published: January 2007

Dr. Richard Nemeth tagging a yellow fin grouper.

Join us at the fourth annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, January 20-21, 2007. 

The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival celebrates the sea with inspirational films that increase our appreciation of the oceans and the marine environment. Among this year’s offerings:

SEAS OF CHANGE (USA)

No fish, no fishery, but how can a fisherman resist a gathering of fish so dense that a good catch is guaranteed? In the Virgin Islands, a few years back, not many did.  The result: Nassau grouper disappeared.  Other species were headed for the same fate, until the government, scientists, and fishermen together decided a little TLC would be a good idea.

The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association’s Executive Director, Linda Hunter, sat down with one of the filmmakers, Perry Pickert to find out more about his amazing film, Seas of Change.

LH: Tell us how Seas of Change came about:

Perry: When people ask what I do, I tell them I make fish porn. No really. My production company www.fridaysfilms.com has made a few films that focus on Spawning Aggregations of fish like the Nassau grouper that gather each year during one or more winter full moons. Every year, literally thousands of fish gather at one spot in the ocean to have group sex! It’s an amazing thing to witness. Fish come from as far as 300 miles away. During this orgy, they change colors and may even change sex!

This stage in the lifecycle of the Nassau grouper is particularly important since the entire annual reproduction for a region is concentrated at a few particular spots where aggregations occur, for only a few days each year.

Because these aggregations are so predictable and fish gather together so closely they are extremely vulnerable to fishing pressure at these times. In many instances, entire regional stocks have been wiped out due to intense fishing pressure on spawning aggregations. Our film explores the relationship between the aggregating fish (not just Nassau) and the people whose livelihoods depend on the those fish.

LH: How did you become an ocean filmmaker?

Perry: I studied film for a year at the University of Bristol in England, and after working for a few years in the internet world wanted to do something more creative. Tim Kelly, my current business partner at Friday's Films, showed me underwater footage from The Bahamas, which turned into our first film, Hanging in the Balance: The Future of Fishing in The Bahamas. Here was an opportunity to combine my artistic skills with my passion for the ocean and the marine environment and to hopefully do a project that could make a difference. The film was well received and we have been doing similar projects ever since.

LH:  What are the important lessons that we can learn from the collaborative efforts of the government, scientists and fishermen in the Virgin Islands?

Perry: For me, the most important lesson is doing what it takes to work together. No one group can have all of the information. It is tempting to discredit the opinions you don't agree with and try and reinforce your own views but giving a little to keep a number different stakeholders involved will make the overall effort much more powerful.  Secondly, there is hope that with careful action resources can rebuild and actually produce more fish for fishermen to catch. 

LH: Describe some of the interesting characters in your film.

Perry: Bob Vente is one of my favorite characters in the film. He grew up in the Virgin Islands, fished his whole life and has a first hand experience of the changes on the water in the Virgin Islands. Tom Dailey is a fisherman on Saint Croix who had the main area he fishes proposed to be closed during the process of the film. Finally, I would say the tiger grouper who fights pretty aggressively during the spawning times very interesting see them spar with each other.

LH:  What is the current status of Nassau grouper? Other species?

Perry: Not to give away the ending of the film but while we were filming we saw for the first time Nassau grouper returning to a spawning aggregation that is considered fished out.