Elvers: Ostentatious Darkness

• Photographer
  Laura Vernaza
• Photo Date
  02-2024

Dominican Republic. Winter's new moon. The fishermen go out with a green net and a flashlight. What do they seek? Elvers, a critically endangered baby eel that’s sold for €1000/kg to top European restaurants. This photographic series makes us reflect on the darkness and loneliness surrounding this practice. From a fisherman who tries to provide a better income to his family; to a mother eel that travels hundreds of kilometers to give birth to her babies before dying as part of her natural process. A dance in the dark between the sea and those who seek their own benefit