New Zealand longfin eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) are remarkable animals facing an increasingly difficult future. They hatch in the tropical Southwest Pacific as tiny “glass eels,” drifting on ocean currents to Aotearoa before migrating upstream into rivers and lakes, where they spend decades growing and maturing. At the end of their lives, they undertake a final journey back to their ocean birthplace to breed, dying shortly afterward.
These migratory specialists depend on free passage through New Zealand’s wetlands to complete their life cycle. However, human activity has filled these waterways with barriers. Dams, hydroelectric turbines, weirs, culverts, and pumps can block, injure, or kill eels as they move upstream as juveniles or downstream as adults returning to the sea. Although longfin eels have evolved extraordinary abilities—climbing near-vertical rock faces and even travelling briefly over land to bypass natural obstacles—the sheer density of artificial barriers has cut off vast areas of their habitat.
Longfin eels breed only once, at the very end of their long lives, after travelling thousands of kilometres back to the tropical Pacific where they were born. The loss of even a single individual permanently reduces the breeding population, earning them the title as “endangered” in today’s modern world.
The long way home
What do you print your images on?
Ilford Gold Fibre Gloss 310gsm:
Fibre Gloss is a fibre based paper that has the look and feel of traditional darkroom paper, with a gentle warm tone.
Traditional Baryta-like surface with excellent sharpness is ideal for high quality black and white printing and offers an exceptional wide gamut for colour, detail and tonality. All elements have been taken into account of what makes the perfect traditional photo paper, as this option is reminiscent of papers produced for the darkroom."
OR
Hemp 290 gsm, 60% hemp fibre, 40% cotton, white
Hahnemühle Hemp uses one of the oldest and most diverse natural fibres in the world and is made of 60% hemp fibre. The FineArt inkjet paper’s base impresses with its bright white natural tone, and thanks to the bright white colour of the hemp fibres, no optical brighteners are required. The lightly textured surface gives the paper a pleasant, silky feel.
Combined with the matt premium inkjet coating, this is a truly versatile FineArt inkjet paper. Colours and details are brilliantly reproduced, the depth of the black truly stands out and contrasts are reproduced with stunning effect. The acid- and lignin-free FineArt inkjet paper meets the most exacting requirements for age resistance.
Hemp was an essential part of paper production for centuries, and due to its extremely robust fibres, it has often been used for long-lasting historical documents, such as the Gutenberg Bible and the US Declaration of Independence.
Each print comes with a 50mm border.
Each photograph is printed to order, so please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.