What’s the prospect of a region built on cod having no cod left to fish? Beginning August 23rd the Camden International Film Festival and Working Films are partnering with the Down to Earth Storytelling Project, The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and many local organizations to launch a screening tour of Sacred Cod along the eastern seaboard of Maine to find out. The film focuses on the collapse of the historic cod population throughout New England, delving into the role of overfishing, impact of climate change, the effect of government policies placed on fishermen.

This effort follows a summit Working Films facilitated during the 2016 Camden International Film Festival that brought together stakeholders around this issue to discuss how the film could be support economic and environmental sustainability and education throughout the region. This tour is designed to support the goals that came out of that summit, including making community members more aware of the plight of Maine and New England coast fisherman and building public understanding of the challenge and complexity involved in managing a public resource.

Check out the full schedule of film screenings being held in Brunswick, Portland, Boothbay Harbor, Belfast and Stonington below. Each screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with local experts and individuals affected. All screenings are free and open to the public.

Wednesday August 23rd at 6:30pm – Portland
Portland Public Library
5 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
Hosted by: Coastal Enterprises Inc., Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, The Nature Conservancy, and Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative.

Friday August 25th at 8pm – Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library
4 Oak Street
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
Hosted by: Down to Earth Storytelling Project.

Wednesday September 6th at 7pm – Stonington
The Stonington Opera House
1 Opera House Ln.
Stonington, ME 04681
Hosted by: The Stonington Opera House and Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries.

Thursday September 7th at 7pm – Brunswick
Curtis Memorial Library
23 Pleasant St.
Brunswick, ME 04011
Hosted by: Coastal Enterprises Inc., Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and The Nature Conservancy.

Friday September 8th at 7pm – Belfast
Hutchinson Center
80 Belmont Ave
Belfast, ME 04915
Hosted by: Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition, Hutchinson Center, and The Penobscot Marine Museum.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.