URBAN FISHING | FILSON

Photographer, Chris Callaway, explores New York City’s fishing community through a mix of gritty portraiture and mystical landscapes by visually investigating the relationship between an industrious city and its waterways that delivers one of the most diverse wildlife refuges in the United States with a long history of fishing.

The Lenape Indians responsibly fished the area for thousands of years until the Dutch and English settled in the 1600’s. Shellfish was so abundant and important to the Lenape people that they used the clam shells as currency. By the 19th Century, NYC became overfished and polluted as the industrial revolution raged on.

Now waterways are much cleaner with environmental regulations and upgraded water treatment facilities. Many species such as Striped Bass, Bluefish, Fluke, Porgy, etc. have returned in great numbers. As a result, you will find people fishing from piers, bridges, and beaches on any given day. If you look closely, they are poetic silhouettes nestled in the foreground of New York City’s impressive skyline carrying on a rich tradition.