Filmmaker Tomas Koeck has travelled the world capturing some of nature’s most interesting scenes, from sub-Arctic polar bears to the cloud forests of Costa Rica filming warblers. But Rhode Island stayed on his mind.
Now, the Ocean State is getting a close-up in a new documentary series that shines a spotlight on the state’s diverse marine habitats. Produced and directed by Koeck in partnership with Ocean State Media, Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast premieres Friday night at 8 on Ocean State Media TV and streaming on the PBS Passport app.
Koeck sat down with Ocean State Media’s Luis Hernandez to discuss the series, his love for Rhode Island’s marine life, and what you can expect to see in each episode.
Interview Highlights
On the inspiration behind Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast
Tomas Koeck: I’ll never forget, years ago, back in 2018; I have some family here in Rhode Island and we had scheduled a family trip. I’d been to Rhode Island before, but haven’t spent too much time on the coast. Growing up in Connecticut, I was on the Long Island Sound, and my idea of ocean activity in the Northeast has always been murky water, turd water, you won’t see a lot of life.
My cousin took us out snorkeling and he said, “Hey, you guys want to jump in the water?” I was immediately immersed in this world of striped bass swimming by, flounder underneath us, crabs, lobsters, all sorts of amazing life. I was enthralled. So no kidding, when we were up in the Arctic filming, on my off days, I was going, “Geez, has anyone done a project on Rhode Island and Southern New England’s oceanic ecosystem? This could be really cool.”
On what to expect from the series
Koeck: We’re looking to cover as much as we can. That consists of animals, from sharks to whales, to even smaller things that people might not know about. Things that maybe are more common in people’s eyes, but don’t appreciate, maybe like American eel. We also focus on animals like striped bass to tog. We want to try to make this a love letter to this beautiful, beautiful state; a small state, the smallest in America, and quite often is underappreciated and overlooked.
With this next episode, it’s called Secrets of the Seagrass. We’re focusing on eelgrass meadows and how important these ecosystems are to smaller creatures. But then on other episodes, we might be focusing on megafauna like sharks – mako sharks, blue sharks, white sharks… (We’re) also covering some of the oceanic migrations, like the striped bass moving through; some fish species that many people are familiar with around here.
On the importance of profiling the work of environmental advocates
Koeck: These folks work tirelessly for our natural world, whether it’s conservation, advocacy, research, science. Sometimes it’s a very thankless job where they’re working long hours in tough conditions. They need, in my opinion, some extra light shed on them. So organizations like Save the Bay, the Atlantic Shark Institute, the Mystic Aquarium, the Black Island Maritime Institute, and so many others, are all going to be groups that are featured in these stories. We’ll have a really up-close and personal look of what these scientists (and) advocacy groups do every day to help protect our natural world.
On what surprised him about Rhode Island’s biodiversity
Koeck: I think what surprised me most is these really beautiful areas that you can immerse yourself in. Some of these areas that we filmed in are right in your own backyard. It’s so funny, I’m so used to having to travel so far and so long to get to some of these areas. But in Rhode Island, everything is like right on top of each other. So whether you’re jumping in the water off Fort Weatherall or you’re driving on the beaches along Charlestown or you’re moving through Newport, there’s all these different ecosystems all within a stone’s throw from each other.
And then even farther – you go to Block Island, you’re in a completely different world. So I think that’s what surprises me about Rhode Island. In Connecticut, where I’m from, for example, you have a little bit of that. But in Rhode Island, the coastline is so unique with how jagged it is that you get all these little microcosms of ecosystems. That might not be scientifically correct, but that’s just how I interpret it. You are immersed in all these different worlds that, I think, anyone can appreciate something from.
