About

[ˈfɪʃəmən] ・fisherman is a worker who has acquired special skills.
A human who, every day, casts for hope and floating
and cresting the waves of new changes.

[ˈɛmpəθɪ] ・empathy is the experience of understanding another
human’s thoughts and condition from his or her point of view, rather
than from one’s own.

For centuries to be a fisherman is a profession filled with uncertainty, but today, more than ever, uncertainty is shaping the route of their future.
The rapid changes in the environment and social conditions will increase this sentiment, leading to inevitable impacts on entire communities of fisherfolk.

Now, Fishermen send their children to school in hopes of them choosing an alternative path, so their children will not struggle as they do. They wish a better life for them which leaves the future of this occupation in question.

Above all for artisanal fishermen, who are still using traditional techniques, fishing is a way of life and they represent a living source of knowledge. All rituals behind this antique craft work have a socio-cultural relevance that needs to be reserved as a valuable and heritage.

As an homage, onfloatinghumans.com has been created and it will be an album of human stories that are going to be hunting hunting among the traditional communities of fishermen. During the travel, not only will a Fujifilm XT-20 and a Canon 7d will be used, or just a microphone and a voice recorder, but the main tool will be the human
one, empathy.

The journey in another human’s feelings becomes an incredible journey when the humans that you come across are wandering souls like yourself. Everything
started months ago from this impulsion, documenting a journey within a journey through thought-provoking real stories.

On Floating Humans is a collaborative project to document and capture the world of Fishermen, floating humans, who are trying to preserve the ancient craft work of fishing against the environmental changes and social conditions.

Following the wakes of their boats to unveil their faces and voices and convey
empathy through dialogues and photographies. Using the art of the
storytelling we will create a lasting record of these humans, who every
morning float on the waves of the modern mare magnum casting for hope.

Onfloatinghumans.com will be a space for readers, travelers, photographers or anyone who wants to discover and emphatize with the real life of these human inhabitants of the sea. Each story and each picture try to impress in our memories the vanishing solemnity of traditional fishing and to raise awareness about the effects of environment and social changes in these vulnerable communities.