Infographic on which parts of the whale can be eaten.

Vending machines for whalemeat. Gravestones for whales.

One of the few fishing boats still in regular use.

Looking for a tribe of anarchistic women, I find firefly squid.

Hokusai`s Noboto Shimosa from the series Chie no Umi

A beach that has become a harbour. A shrine that has become two shrines. Australian sands fill the void.

Fishing in the Miyato River/ 宮戸川長縄 Miyatogawa Nagawa, ca. 1832 - 1834 by Hokusai

Rivers that have disappeared. Cities that recall the swaying grasses.

Fishing in the Miyato River/ 宮戸川長縄 Miyatogawa Nagawa, ca. 1832 - 1834 by Hokusai

Die Nature Writing Autorin Michaela Vieser ist Wave Writer Stipendiatin der Okeanos Stiftung für das Meer. Im Zentrum ihrer Arbeit steht der Blick auf unseren menschlichen Umgang mit den Gewässern unseres Planeten.

`The Vaka is a floating vessel on the sea and so much more than that. Her space becomes alive by all the doings she asks for’, realizes Okeanos wave writer Michaela Vieser who sailed in the Mediterranean Sea aboard Vaka Okeanos. She captured her experiences and impressions of what life is like on board and how the Vaka is “alive”, in an impressive report.

A unique opportunity was offered by Okeanos to young committed people when participating in the summer camps of our youth initiative “waves of action” in Southern France where they developed their own environmental project ideas under experienced workshop-leaders and spend an incredible time on the Vaka Okeanos, with magic days and nights surrounded by whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea. Two participants share insights into their eye-opening experiences and why they decided to take action for ocean awareness.

Alice Mason is captain of Vaka Okeanos in the Mediterranean Sea. This year, she had the lifetime chance to learn from the world’s best Traditional Navigators in the Pacific, sailing Okeanos Waa’Qab to her new home in the Cook Islands.

Darmstadt based artist Kim Rathnau has a passion for local forests and for oceans alike. In her latest work ‘Jellyfih Invasion’, she builds a bridge between these seemingly distant ecosystems and invites us to understand connections we tend to forget.

Since July 2021, visitors of the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt can marvel at one of the most productive ecosystems of our planet: In an artificial Indo-Pacific coral reef, more than 3000 organisms cavort, which taxidermists in cooperation with scientists have depicted true to life. A mind-changing experience that is not only fun, but also thought-provoking.

Image sources

  • Travelogue#5 Bild4: Michaela Vieser
  • Travelogue#3 Bild3b: Michaela Vieser
  • Travelogue#2 Bild1: Michaela Vieser
  • Fishing_in_the_Miyato_River_–_Hokusai: Michaela Vieser
  • Fishing_in_the_Miyato_River_–_Hokusai: Michaela Vieser
  • Tonya Listens to hydrophone: Okeanos waves of action
  • Alice on Vaka Waa’Qab: Alice Sarah Mason / Okeanos
  • Jellyfish Invasion Darmstadt: Okeanos
  • Riff-Senckenberg-1: Senckenberg/Traenkner