October 3, 2016 — The Woods Hole Film Festival will launch its 2016-2017 “Dinner & A Movie” series on Sunday, October 9, with a sea-themed dinner at Coonamessett Farm featuring the film “Sustaining Sea Scallops,” a short documentary by Woods Hole filmmakers Elise Hugus and Daniel Cojanu. The dinner will begin at 6 PM.

“Sustaining Sea Scallops” is a 35-minute film featuring the history and resurgence of the Atlantic sea scallop as told through the lens of local fisherman and researchers invested in keeping the scallop industry alive through sustainable fishing. In 1999, facing fisheries closures and bankruptcy, the scallop industry began funding a research program to minimize impacts on the marine environment. Fifteen years later, the Atlantic sea scallop is hailed as one of the most sustainable and lucrative fisheries in the world. From New Bedford to Seaford, Virginia, the film also highlights how cooperative research can serve as a new way to unite not only the fisheries, but also entire communities.