In Focus: Giacomo Cosua
Meet the creatives using their talents for the oceans. First in our ‘In Focus’ series: documentary photographer Giacomo Cosua.
In 2012, one of the first Parley projects involved an expedition to Antarctica, where Giacomo Cosua dived into the world of ocean activism by documenting the work of Sea Shepherd as they followed a Japanese whaling fleet operating on the guise of “scientific research” in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Below, he shares moments from the trip, alongside images from Parley missions across Southeast Asia, as reflects on a decade of Parley from his perspective behind the lens.
Operation Zero Tolerance, Antarctica, 2012. These photos were taken on board a Sea Shepherd vessel following whale hunters in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, an area of 50 million square kilometers where commercial whaling has been banned. The remoteness and lack of international law enforcement leaves these waters vulnerable to exploitation.
“Thus it has been left to a small band of international volunteers to protect and defend the whale sanctuary, despite being marginalised and given labels ranging from extremists to eco-terrorists.”
CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) Moratorium went into effect in 1986. Three countries continue hunting whales commercially today: Iceland, which plans to stop in 2024, Norway and Japan. Other threats to whales include fishing nets, industrial and illegal fishing activity, plastic pollution, noise from seismic blasting and shipping traffic, and climate change.
Sea Shepherd crews have worked for years defending marine life from poachers and enforcing what few laws protect remote and under-patrolled international waters.
Keliling Bali. Six young activists from Make A Change World circumnavigated Bali on a raft powered by nature.
Big wave surfer Greg Long on a polluted beach in Bali, Indonesia
Scenes from shorelines across South Asia, where Parley is working to stop plastic flowing through major rivers systems to the sea
“When I’m away and on any ocean, I always feel home somehow. But I also feel the freedom.”
GIACOMO COSUA
From Giacomo Cosua:
“‘Do you want to go to Antarctica?’ In 2012, when Parley was still an idea in a developing phase, I received a call from Cyrill Gutsch with an unusual job request. I said yes, then was on the other side of the world in Auckland, with my bags and my cameras, waiting to jump on board a Sea Shepherd vessel. I spent the next four months at sea, living on board the M/Y Steve Irwin with 43 people all working to save whales from a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. Parley had asked me to document, to spread the word and get more eyes on remote waters and the work of those who defend sea life. It was the most incredible, adventurous assignment I’d ever received, and the beginning of my Parley journey.
I’m from Venice, Italy, a city with a special connection to water. But when I’m away and traveling on the ocean, any ocean, I always feel home somehow. I also feel the freedom. Working with Parley — from following whale hunters in Antarctica to meeting the communities most impacted by plastic pollution — has shown me the realities of ocean threats, while allowing me to dream with open eyes.”
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