BLUE Ocean Film Festival: The Cove, shark discussion

Well, once again I have been derelict in my duties, but it has been a very busy week here in Savannah, GA at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival. A lot of great ocean-related films and the opportunity to meet with many ocean conservation colleagues (Boy, do I have a lot of emails to get out!).

Of particular note at the festival was the screening of "The Cove." This is an incredibly powerful film and a righteous indictment of Japan's slaughter of dolphins. Not your cup of tea? Ah, but that's the point; this is not something to be swept under the rug. Check out their web site to learn more and where you can see it. It is a MUST SEE.

On Saturday, I moderated/participated in a shark conservation panel discussion. My fellow panelists were Melanie Marks, CEO of Shark Trust Wines, and Dr. Greg Stone, SVP of Ocean Projects for Conservation International, providing a consumer/commerce and scientific perspective respectively, along with my perspective as a filmmaker. It was a lively discussion with much input from the receptive audience, different ideas, and some healthy differences in opinion. But in the end, we were all united in the same goal: to make the public and the decision makers aware of the consequences of losing top predators like sharks through large-scale commercial shark fishing. Afterwards, festival staff congratulated me on a panel discussion that held the audience's interest - even as we ran late and made some folks late for their next event.