Weaving ghost nets. An anthropology of ocean waste.

Ghost nets haunt the oceans. Abandoned or lost, they drift with the currents, continuing to entangle marine life and threaten coral reefs. But their impact goes further: washed up on beaches or carried back out to sea by the tides, they also disrupt cultural ecosystems and the ways of life of coastal communities.

This event will explore the many dimensions of this environmental scourge — ecological, social, and artistic. Through the perspectives of a social anthropologist specialising in ghost nets and a representative engaged in ocean protection, we will examine how marine debris becomes an object of study, action, and creation.

With:

Géraldine Le Roux, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Western Brittany (Université de Bretagne Occidentale/UBO)

Fondation de la Mer (to be confirmed), a key partner for those committed to protecting marine species and ecosystems, combating ocean pollution, supporting scientific research, and raising public awareness.

- - -

At the end of the discussion, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to our guests. The event will conclude with a convivial gathering.

Géraldine Le Roux is a university professor at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale, director of the OSPAPIK European research programme (no. 101088403) and an exhibition curator. She is the author of numerous publications, including Sea Sisters. Un équipage féminin à l'épreuve de la pollution dans le Pacifique (winner of the "Prix du livre engagé pour la planète" 2021) and L’art des ghostnets. Approche anthropologique et esthétique des filets-fantômes (Ouessant Island Book Prize 2023).