- Two Women and Their Communities Battle Against a Coalition of National Environmental Groups - Angela Sanfilippo of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Shareen Davis of Chatham, Massachusetts, were born into fishing families and married men who continue to make a living from the sea. Fishing defines who they are and has sustained their communities for generations. But their way of life is threatened when a powerful coalition of national environmental groups files a lawsuit that could put hundreds of fishermen out of business. Three hundred years of fishing tradition and the health of the ocean hang in the balance. INDEPENDENT LENS "A Fish Story" airs Tuesday, January 2, 2007, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS. Terrence Howard hosts the Emmy Award-winning series. In the 1970s, enormous international fishing fleets ravaged the waters off New England, leaving local fishermen struggling to survive in the wake of this environmental disaster. Decades later, New England fishermen and environmentalists remain locked in an intense battle over the current health and future management of the ocean. With the success of a broad sweeping lawsuit filed in 2000, environmentalists are demanding radical new conservation measures that could spell disaster for New England fishermen and their communities. Angela and Shareen find themselves at the center of this political storm as they struggle to save both fish and fishermen. Delving into the behind-the-scenes world of politicians, environmentalists, journalists and fishermen, "A Fish Story" confronts the hard choices we face when human needs and those of the environment collide. Filmmaker Courtney Hayes, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, began her career in filmmaking at FRONTLINE, WGBH Boston. Since then, she has produced and directed documentaries for PBS, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Hayes is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was a Fulbright scholar in Varanasi, India. As a young girl in Gloucester, she spent many hours at sea on her father's tuna fishing boat. Tim Gallagher, a filmmaker from Boston, Massachusetts, began his career in filmmaking at WGBH Boston. Since then, he has contributed to the research and development of documentaries for PBS, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Gallagher is a graduate of the University of Scranton and was a Fulbright scholar to Wellington, New Zealand. Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS.
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