Turning point" exhibition at the Warin Nature Park Center

Times have changed in fisheries, whether at sea, near the coast or in inland waters. Similar to the insect world, research is recording dramatic losses of biomass and species in the waters. What is assumed for insects on land also applies to the fish fauna of our lakes and seas. These ecosystems are barely intact. Quotas, scrapping premiums, stocking measures, mesh sizes, closed seasons - the list of reactions to these developments is long.

It is no coincidence that photographer and author Holger Rüdel titled his 2021 photo book "Zeitenwende - Die Fischer vom Holm in Schleswig an der Schlei". Through the power of excellent and meaningful black and white photographs, Rüdel succeeded in portraying a dwindling profession that for centuries fed countless families on a branch of the Baltic Sea.

Volker Janke is a folklorist at the Schwerin-Mueß open-air museum. He was inspired by the work of his colleague Holger Rüdel, went on a fishing expedition with the Mueß fishermen as a photographer and created this visually stunning documentation of the local fishing trade,

Anyone who has been able to experience how the Mueß fisherman Andreas Kühl heads to his nets full of expectation, or who has smelled when master smoker Uli Marchewsky hangs his freshly scalded eels in the beech smoke, will have a say when it comes to a profession worthy of protection and regional identity. However, the apparent romance of fishing should not obscure the fact that fishermen have not been able to keep the business going with their catches for a long time. A high percentage of the coveted supply has to be bought in from fish farms or Atlantic catches. Inland waters can no longer meet the demand for fresh fish.

Visit the exhibition, which will be on display at the Warin Nature Park Center during regular opening hours until 8 June 2024.