Eckhard Panz

Herr Panz is one of the last 5 Elbe fishermen still fishing today. In 1597 his great grandfather was issued the fishing rights of the Elbe, from Geesthacht to shortly after Lauenburg, and his family has been fishing this part of the river for over 400 years now. At the age of 6, he set out his first eel traps to make some extra pocket money. Now, he fishes for everything the river has to offer but mainly pike, pike perch, eel, crabs and the occasional catfish. Over the years he has seen and physically experienced the ecological changes that the river has been going through. Even today, he still fishes in the same manner his ancestors did; by putting out nets in the water and collecting whatever got trapped into the nets overnight. We therefore regard him as a living ecological archive of sorts. A custodian of traditional ecological knowledge, a Speaker for the Living.