Up Close: Fish Farms

Photographer Bernhard Lang on the contradictions between the aesthetic beauty of mass sea farms and their more controversial aspects.

  • Words + Photography: Bernhard Lang

This is an aerial photograph of a series of fish farms that I captured from a helicopter above the coast of Greece in June 2017. I was captivated by how surreal the arrangements of nets and cages looked from the air. To me they appeared like abstract geometric designs.

In actuality, of course, while intensive and sustainable mass animal farming on the sea might be one way to help feed the growing world population, there are issues in fish farming which make it highly controversial. Feeds, diseases and parasites, and the use of antibiotic drugs are all problems that contradict the aesthetic beauty.

Bernhard Lang is an aerial photographer based in Munich.

Article taken from

Issue 07
Articles

Further Reading

View All

Prefab Sprout

Vertical farming gets a conceptual boost in a design that reconnects urban residents with nature.

AI Killed the Radio Star?

Last year Francois Pachet was poached by Spotify as one of the world’s foremost pioneers in applying AI to music. As he pushes computers closer to the Holy Grail of composing their own works, should musicians fear or celebrate him?

Altered State: Micronations

Last May, Eli Avivi, the founder of Akhzivland – a boho country within a country in Israel – died, leaving his wife as the sole inhabitant. As a tribute, we celebrate the phenomenon of the micronation with this guide to the world's smallest countries.

Up Close: Pools

Photographer Stephan Zirwes’ ‘Pool’ series illustrates the incredible waste of potential drinking water – not only in private pools but also in the privatisation of a public asset for commercial reasons.

The Poem Pavilion

British designer’s Stephen Hawking-influenced structure will use artificial intelligence to generate poetry.

Graf Zeppelin

Remembering the last blast of the Jazz Age: an epic round-the-world journey for the German airship, Graf Zeppelin, packed with adventurers, an actress, caviar, booze, jazz and even a cat.
Browse by Category