The
anadromous fishery of New England is threatened
by urban pollution, over fishing, weather and
damming. The connection between damming and the
collapse of these migratory fish stocks was immediate
and undeniable and continues to this day. In
order to bring attention to the decline and commercial
extinction of the fishery, environmental advocacy
is proposed.
Working with inner-city schools, a watershed
and the Division of Marine Fisheries, we propose
a celebratory installation of hand-made anadromous
fish set
at critical nodes along the migration route
from
salt to
fresh water, from harbor to tidal river during
the spawning season. The anadromous fish are
made of salt marsh fibers gathered along the
migratory
route
of
the smelt,
herring
and
shad. The fish will be made by the school children
and will include lectures on anadromous fish
by the Division of Marine Fisheries to place
the art work in context with the long-term threats
to the species. The
installation of anadromous, hand-made, cast
paper fish,
marks a historic and ecological phenomena
that few see in the urban setting. The installation
will coincide with an exhibition.
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