HOPE IN THE WATER, a new three-part character driven series from the award-winning and multi-talented David E. Kelley and Andrew Zimmern, offers insight into the groundbreaking work of aquaculture. (For a sneak peek, feel free to preview the trailer.)
Debuting on Wednesday, June 19 at 9 p.m. ET – on PBS, celebrated environmental enthusiasts Shailene Woodley, Martha Stewart and Baratunde Thurston, connect with fishers, aqua farmers, and scientists who are harvesting aquatic species to feed our growing planet while saving our oceans.
In Episode 1 “The Fish in the Sea” (June 19, 9 p.m. ET), journalist Baratunde Thurston (AMERICA OUTDOORS) shares his experience with a sustainable diamondback squid fishery in Puerto Rico that was born from the wreckage of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. José Andrés, a renowned chef and humanitarian, recounts the aftermath of the hurricane, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. He founded and volunteers with World Central Kitchen and prepared more than four million meals to feed hungry survivors. Importantly, World Central Kitchen also provided grants to fishers to repair boats, buy new engines, and rebuild their fishery. Marine conservationist Raimundo Espinoza assisted that effort and is now helping these fishers pivot to a new and sustainable species: 60-lb., diamondback squid.
The episode also features Hiʻilei Kawelo, an Indigenous fisherwoman and founder and executive director of Paepae o He ‘eia in Oahu, Hawaii), who has made it her life’s work to restore an ancient fishpond filled with wild fish. And on the Scottish Isle of Arran, two villagers, Howard Wood and Don McNeish, beat the odds to establish the country’s only no-take zone – an area closed to fishing and now filled with abundance.
