The Fish Market Chronicles

The ocean will outlive us. Endlessly evolving, it doesn’t need saving. It absorbs the excesses of society - carbon, heat, trash, toxins - while remaining the driving force of life on this planet. Seafood is the primary source of protein for 40% of the human population, and represents a livelihood for 200 million people in coastal communities around the globe, but the dominant narrative surrounding seafood today is one of guilt, fear, and oversimplification. The challenge of our time is to strike a balance between preservation and exploitation. Approaching the resource with respect, at all levels, is the only way to begin. As we learn more about the oceans, we inch closer to finding a balance between science-based management, fishing, and conscious consumption.

Fish markets are windows through which one can peer into the ocean, where marine biodiversity is organized, identified and priced. The Fish Market Chronicles is an ongoing interdisciplinary project born from Oriana Poindexter’s graduate work in fisheries economics, where she began surveying seafood markets to document seafood availability in different cultures. Over seven years, Oriana built a database of over 42,000 seafood products and prices, and photographs from markets in nine countries. This work calls upon the viewer to bear witness to the food we take from the ocean, to think critically about the system each fish represents, and to show respect by making the most complete use of every fish it provides.