OF WATER AND WILL (2025)

As our oceans undergo rapid and unprecedented change, fishermen must constantly adapt; harnessing new techniques, targeting new species, and exploring fresh fishing grounds to sustain their livelihood. Marine resource management agencies must also adapt to these complexities, perhaps with very limited knowledge of these novel species, often making decisions that both protect ecosystems and impact those dependent on them. This is one such story - a tale of creativity, discovery, resilience, and setbacks - when one man discovers how to successfully fish an elusive crab in the depths off Santa Barbara, initiating a web of drama around establishing a new fishery, competition, disappointment and the race to unlock secrets of a million dollar industry. Questions of deep sea exploration, the rights of securing food, and respecting the ocean surface as whale entanglement and ethics on the high sea roil, challenging the accepted rules of governance and jurisdiction over a realm that does not conform to ownership.