Pierre
Vanneste

DREMMWEL

[2020]

For four consecutive years, I met with various fishermen across several fishing zones in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Through these encounters, testimonies, and time spent aboard different types of vessels, I set out to portray a world — one that, to me, best reflects the current relationship between humans and their environment.

Since 1960, the world population has doubled, and dietary habits have shifted significantly. As a result, the amount of fish extracted from the oceans for human consumption has dramatically increased, reaching over 171 million tonnes in 2017. To supply large-scale retail, fishing vessels travel across various zones depending on the target species. In its modern industrial form, fishing prioritizes the most commercially valuable species on the global market, weakening key links in the food chain.

The Northeast Atlantic is the fourth largest fishing zone in the world. Mainly exploited by European shipowners, this area accounts for over seventy percent of Europe’s fish catches. In the West of Scotland, aboard large factory trawlers, life follows the rhythm of the trawl hauls, partly driven by fishing bonuses. Tonnes and boxes are counted as they come out of the onboard factory to determine how much each person will earn at the end of the trip. Further south, in the Bay of Biscay, small-scale fishers sometimes use techniques just as industrial as those of the large trawlers, such as bottom trawling or purse seining — a reflection of the production and distribution systems they are forced to adapt to.

In Senegal (Eastern Central Atlantic), coastal communities have watched their seas gradually empty over the past few decades, profoundly impacting the future of their trade. In addition to climate change, marine pollution, and the ever-growing number of local pirogues and Senegalese boats, Chinese — and until 2023, European — vessels (licensed or not) have increasingly entered these waters, targeting tuna, hake, and small pelagic fish. These are often destined for fishmeal production, used in aquaculture and poultry farming.

While in Europe, the independence and sustainability of the fishing profession are threatened by industrialization and the lobbying of trade organizations, in West Africa, resource depletion is pushing many fishers to emigrate. This scarcity is caused by both the industrialization of the sector and its methods, as well as climate change — all of which increasingly endanger the delicate balance of marine flora and fauna, hinting at a looming social and ecological disaster.

Through these images and stories, the goal is not so much to speak about fishing itself, but rather to spark a broader reflection — one that applies to other economic sectors as well. Where the market stalls promote the image of (false) abundance, perhaps the real question is not where our food comes from, but what truth lies hidden between the product and the story we are being sold.

With every haul, every cast of the net, it’s as if we’re slowly wearing ourselves down in a final act of subsistence. At sea, everyone — in their own way — fishes or overfishes to survive economically. But were ecosystems ever meant to be profitable?

DREMMWEL is a transmedia documentary project to be discovered through a book connected to augmented video content (Yellow Now Editions, in partnership with Blinkl technology).