“This series began 12 years ago when one of our producers sent me a salmon,” Hope in the Water executive producer Andrew Zimmern revealed at PBS’ portion of the TCA Winter Press Tour. This new documentary series, premiering Wednesday, June 19th, at 9:00 pm, takes celebrity environmentalists on a journey to learn more about innovative and sustainable aqua farming practices to inspire viewers to broaden their seafood horizons to make a better impact on one of Earth’s most precious resources, our oceans. “[The salmon] wasn't that great. And the problem with a lot of ocean farming of fin fish was that the feed model was wrong, as much as twelve to one pounds to yield a pound, that’s not sustainable. There were too many fish in too small a pen. [It was] harmful to fish, not sustainable. There was copper in the netting, there were leavings from the fish themselves. All things that were damaging the water. Now, we have solutions for all those.”
(Rahoul Ghose/PBS)
“I was focused heavily on squid fishing in Puerto Rico,” featured explorer Baratunde Thurston explained about his episode of Hope in the Water. “In terms of cordoning off certain areas, we need to give nature a chance to heal itself. And if we get out of the way in part, it will. We live in a lot of false binaries of all kinds in our world right now. Everything is on a spectrum, so when it comes to how we protect the ocean and protect ourselves, there is a balance in between, that if we turn ourselves off in little parts, it activates to such a degree and we end up benefitting. In Scotland, with the protected areas there, in Hawaii with the protected areas there, what looked to be pulling humans out of the way and reducing our take ended up with higher outputs on the other side within just a few years. And so there is something magical about the natural technology that’s all around us, and being able to manage that’s a part of stewarding and sustaining is really, really important.”
A Southern California childhood filled with oceanside camping trips and surfing allowed Shailene Woodley the opportunity to see a downward trend in the health of one of the world’s most famous shorelines. “I want to be a mom, I want to have a thriving family and I believe that it's possible to give my kids a future that looks brighter and has more opportunity than this current reality has,” the actress shared. “If we can start looking and relating to our emotional responsibility, how we treat one another, how we relate emotionally to one another, are we living lives that have integrity and are kind and have a lot of compassion, a lot of empathy? The more that we lean in to that, I do think that our relationship with nature will change because you can't have apathy when you're living from your heart. That, to me, is where I really try to focus my attention in this conversation as it relates to our beautiful earth because it should be a synergetic exchange of energy. That’s why Hope in the Water feels really meaningful to me, and I believe is very meaningful and very important for young kids to watch all around the world because it's showing us that when we do take action, and we do live from a place of consciousness and awareness, and we decide to do something about it, things can change. Not just for something that’s external, but for human beings and the communities and the way that we relate to one another because of our ability to thrive in an economical and a social way because of how we’re relating to nature.”
Not only does Hope in the Water spark conversations about responsible ocean consumption, but it also comes from one of television’s most prolific producers. “David E. Kelley is my production partner on this series,” said Andrew Zimmern. “This is his first foray in to unscripted, which I think is very special… He is also one of the most committed proponents of aquaculture that I've ever met. We've been together on five or six different occasions at South by Southwest talking about aquaculture as something that we need to be investing in more if we are going to feed our planet. And he has put his money where his mouth is. He raises what, in my opinion, is the finest trout in the world out of Idaho, a company called Riverence, that I think makes him the largest fish farmer in the continental United States, if I remember my data correctly. And nobody knows it. I think that he would describe himself first and foremost as a fisherman and a TV guy second.”
“From the PBS perspective, why we were so excited about the project when it was presented to us is that it comes with all this engagement, outreach, and education,” Hope in the Water’s editorial executive Bill Gardner concluded. “There is going to be cookbooks, and Andrew is a professional chef. You can trust him when he says there’s 25,000 species of fish to eat. We’ll teach you how to do that. The organization, Fed by Blue, that Jennifer Bushman runs that brought us the project, is getting this fish into supermarkets and labeling things the right way. So it's not just telling these stories, but it’s empowering our audiences to know how to actually participate in a way that’s meaningful for them, and it allows them to do it. There’s ways to make a difference that you can do in your daily life, which is a big thing for us as PBS. Present the opportunities to our audience members to participate and not just be talked at.”
Hope in the Water airs on Wednesdays beginning June 19th through July 3rd at 9:00 PM on PBS, and streaming in the PBS app.