Not Illegal Fishing Competition
El Llobregat, Barcelona Metropolitana
From 11 – 14 July 2024, the Embassy of the North Sea is organising the Not Illegal Fishing Competition in the river Llobregat, as part of Manifesta 15.
About half of the inhabitants of the metropolis of Barcelona have daily intimate contact with the Llobregat, as they drink its waters. Yet most of them do not know the river well. The city does not face the Llobregat. The river is virtually nowhere to be seen from the city, and is also difficult to access. To take care of a river, it has to start living in people’s imagination.
invasive species
Invited to take part in the pre-biennial research process, the Embassy studied the impact of desalination and the presence of non-native species in the wetlands and rivers of Barcelona. Subsequently, from the 11th to the 14th of July 2024, Sheng-Wen Lo, Leon Lapa Pereira and Harpo ‘t Hart organised the Not Illegal Fishing Competition in the Llobregat River.
With the Not Illegal Fishing Competition, the Embassy of the North Sea addresses issues of care and responsibility for non-humans with whom we live entangled in our urban ecosystem. The competition confronts us with a conflict that is ubiquitous in the environmental movement, which pits ecological system thinkers against animal rights activists. This conflict is reflected in Catalan law. On the one hand, there is a law that obliges fishermen to kill any invasive species that they catch. On the other, there are laws prohibiting cruelty and violence against animals. The Not Illegal Fishing Competition opens this messy and enmeshed world of negotiations between human and more-than-human interests.
The Embassy of the North Seas research on the Llobregat Delta will be on display at Disseny Hub and at Casa Gomez in Barcelona this autumn as part of Manifesta 15.
About Manifesta 15
Spanning across over 3000 km2, the 15th edition of Manifesta (8.09.2024 – 24.11.2024) is set to bring fresh perspectives to Barcelona and the wider metropolitan region. Each of the 12 cities of the biennial will be grouped into one of three clusters, which will be linked to an overarching theme and geographical location. This will be the foundation of the biennial programme for Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana in 2024. Read more here..
Drawings: Wieger Windhorst
