Words and Imagery by Sami Kimberley / Published January 2024
Photographer and filmmaker Sami Kimberley shares images documenting a field trip to Newlyn’s fish market; one of the UK’s largest fishing ports where up to 40 different species are caught and traded. The series exists in anticipation of a longer term project exploring the complicated relationships between the fishing industry, communities, ocean health, dinner plates and Sami herself.
Part One: A Drop in The Ocean
Growing up in Cornwall, the intricacies of the fishing industry have always been a source of internal conflict for me. I spent my childhood wandering along beaches and visiting coastal towns that relied on fishing as a source of livelihood - surrounded by holidaymakers and locals indulging in seafood. I have been a vegetarian since I was 25, but even before this I never felt good about eating fish. Reflecting on this, I think it’s because the whole body of a fish is often displayed so the connection between sentient being and food was more obvious.
When I returned to Cornwall two years ago and moved to Newlyn, a village close to Penzance with a long history of fishing, my feelings sharpened. On one hand, I see up close how the industry fuels local economies and supplies food both locally and globally. But my love and concern for animals and the oceans, mixed with the looming climate crisis created an undeniable sense of discomfort.
In 2024, as part of my studies in Sustainable Development, I visited Newlyn Fish Market, and it became a starting point to explore the gritty reality of fishing practices and their impact on ocean life and humanity. Cornwall’s seas provide around 66 commercially valuable seafood species, and Newlyn is one of the most ‘sucessful’ ports.
I documented a single morning at the market—a snapshot of beautiful, lifeless bodies marking the start of a global distribution chain and the livelihoods of countless Cornish families, whilst also showing the destruction to life and the ocean that come along with it.
The effects of the global fishing industry on our oceans and the planet are alarming, with systems that benefit short-sighted mega-fleets and corporations. Industrial waste from fishing makes up 46% of the infamous Pacific Garbage Patch. Alongside overfishing, declining species and numbers, bycatch, and the destructive impact of trawling and dredging, point to deep, reprehensible flaws. Bottom trawling alone not only devastates marine habitats - violently disrupting essential envionrments for species’ survival - but also releases carbon emissions on par with the aviation industry.
This series is the beginning of exploring the entangled lives of humans and marine ecosystems. To be continued...
Growing up in Cornwall, the intricacies of the fishing industry have always been a source of internal conflict for me. I spent my childhood wandering along beaches and visiting coastal towns that relied on fishing as a source of livelihood - surrounded by holidaymakers and locals indulging in seafood. I have been a vegetarian since I was 25, but even before this I never felt good about eating fish. Reflecting on this, I think it’s because the whole body of a fish is often displayed so the connection between sentient being and food was more obvious.
When I returned to Cornwall two years ago and moved to Newlyn, a village close to Penzance with a long history of fishing, my feelings sharpened. On one hand, I see up close how the industry fuels local economies and supplies food both locally and globally. But my love and concern for animals and the oceans, mixed with the looming climate crisis created an undeniable sense of discomfort.
In 2024, as part of my studies in Sustainable Development, I visited Newlyn Fish Market, and it became a starting point to explore the gritty reality of fishing practices and their impact on ocean life and humanity. Cornwall’s seas provide around 66 commercially valuable seafood species, and Newlyn is one of the most ‘sucessful’ ports.
I documented a single morning at the market—a snapshot of beautiful, lifeless bodies marking the start of a global distribution chain and the livelihoods of countless Cornish families, whilst also showing the destruction to life and the ocean that come along with it.
The effects of the global fishing industry on our oceans and the planet are alarming, with systems that benefit short-sighted mega-fleets and corporations. Industrial waste from fishing makes up 46% of the infamous Pacific Garbage Patch. Alongside overfishing, declining species and numbers, bycatch, and the destructive impact of trawling and dredging, point to deep, reprehensible flaws. Bottom trawling alone not only devastates marine habitats - violently disrupting essential envionrments for species’ survival - but also releases carbon emissions on par with the aviation industry.
This series is the beginning of exploring the entangled lives of humans and marine ecosystems. To be continued...