The Bonackers, www.thebonackers.com, produced and directed by Joanne Friedland Roberts, and sponsored by the New York Foundation of the Arts, is the ongoing survival story of the long- time locals who’ve fished and farmed the land and seas on the east end of Long Island for almost 400 years.  Struggling to hold onto their traditions in the midst of the mansion filled Hamptons, these fiercely independent men and women may well be the last of their kind.

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 The lucky ones are still able to eke out a living fishing, farming and harvesting shellfish. But life is getting harder every year. Government regulations limit their annual catch. Greedy developers are squeezing them out, buying up surrounding tracts of land for mega-millions, and their bays are being destroyed by their neighbor’s overfertilized lawns and climate change. Few of their children can afford to follow in their footsteps, reluctantly pulling up stakes and heading elsewhere.

 

The Bonackers, shares perspectives and knowledge passed down through generations, sprinkled with the Bonac dialect, and seasoned with the sounds of the sea. Their powerful commitment to holding onto their traditions in spite of ever-increasing obstacles comes to life through a series of interviews and video stories.

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 But can the Bonackers continue to survive the escalating hardships they endure year after year? And is ‘hope’ really enough? You'll find out firsthand, as one story leads to the next and family sagas unfold when we head onto their boats, bays and farms, and into their pick-up trucks, homes, and community gatherings.

 

While our story is about one rural community on the east end of Long Island, the Bonackers survival story is being replicated in small towns across the nation. Our aim is to inspire people to think more deeply about what we lose as a country if these centuries old cultures disappear and all that’s left of them is housed in museums and archives.

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The Bonackers premiered in primetime on PBS station WLIW. It's available for viewing now on PBS Passport and Kanopy.com

​and will be broadcast on PBS stations across the country in January, 2026