My documentary series “Quota” has been featured in the online Zeek Magazine May 2014.

My goal with this documentary series is to bring awareness to the commercial fishing industry on Cape Ann. It’s been the primary industry here for hundreds of years, with many families that have been fishing for generations. It’s a tough business, with considerable challenges on every level, from administrative and regulatory matters to outfitting a fishing vessel and hiring a capable, reliable crew, and getting the fresh fish to market.

Today, quotas and the number of licenses set by federal NOAA regulations each year either boost or deflate the price of fish and the value of a license, making commercial fishing an unpredictable endeavor at best. Fishermen have to continuously adapt to find the balance that makes it worthwhile for them to stay in business. It’s not easy.

I took eight fishing trips during a two- year period aboard a purse- seining vessel fishing for menhaden, a small, oily fish that has many uses, including bait and omega 3 oil. These fish are pelagic schooling fish that migrate inshore during the summer, and offshore in the winter months. Menhaden are a vital link in the food web for fish, marine mammals, and birds.