The Story

The Baymen Story

Tom Kuhner admits to a selfish motivation behind his hope that people will watch " Baymen," a documentary about men (and one women) who work in the traditional fisheries on the South Shore of Long Island, New York.
"Maybe if people watched," the bayman said, "they'd think twice before pulling your pots or wrecking your traps."
The conflict between people who use the Great South Bay for pleasure and the dwindling number of baymen who eke out incomes by claming, crabbing and eeling is one of the central issues explored in this one hour formated television documentary.
Film-maker Glenn Gebhard, who grew up in Merrick and now teaches television at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, consider the baymen "heroes."
"I think the message is that these guys have a place here, and that people should protect their traditional lifestyles," Gebhard said. "If you don't protect your traditions, you lose your soul,really."
While much of the documentary labors under an elegiac tone, viewers who have never dropped a trap in shallow water have the chance to become educated about how this work is actually done.