The sea between us. The beginning.

On a Mission

Few years ago, I worked on a project about the Baltic sea through a public organization. It gave me insight into how environmental efforts happen within the EU. It was a truly valuable experience that I continue to apply in my work, because I learned how the public sector, policies, and frameworks are developed and work.

But as the work continued, I started noticing a pattern. The sea was present in technical terms—nutrients, pollution, sustainability, but somehow absent in a more human sense. As a result, I noticed that many people didn’t truly connect with what’s happening to this sea. Therefore I wanted to understand why and also find my own way of contributing to the Baltic sea and explore our connection to it.  Off I went on my mission.

I started talking to researchers, communities, fishermen and other dedicated people in Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Germany. All those who’ve devoted their lives to this sea in different ways.

The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world. Eutrophication, dead zones, toxic algal blooms—they’re seasonal regularities. Industrial run-off, shipping, overfishing, military operations—layer upon layer of damage, often invisible, because this decline doesn’t happen right before our eyes, and that’s the challenge when it comes to oceans and seas. 

What struck me wasn’t just how serious the situation is. It’s more about how normalized it has become. Awareness and efforts to protect the Baltic Sea are widespread, and many organizations are making meaningful progress. But the sea’s condition remains fragile, and that quietness around it and that lack of public engagement, is what stays with me. I’m not trying to echo the climate message. Instead, I’m exploring a different lens, one rooted in people’s lived relationships with the sea. My focus is on long-term relevance, something that still needs to be reconstructed. It’s about finding a new way for engaging by listening to peoples' stories—whether they come from science, communities, art or policymaking. 

That’s what this project is about.

Within several documentary episodes and with follow-up engagement activities, I aim to have conversations with those who live with the sea—not just around it. This is the missing piece of the puzzle I noticed in the whole Baltic sea saga.  Meeting people from different fields will allow me to explore how their lives and work are connected  with each other and the sea’s past, present, and future.

When you think about it, for millions of people, the sea is a source of cultural identity, economic wellbeing, health, food, inspiration for artists, folklore on so many ways that it's even difficult to name them all. 

This is what I hope will come out of this project—a reminder, a reconnection, and stories that help people relate to the Baltic Sea in a way that lasts. The urgency is real, but connection is what builds long-term relevance.

I also started documenting my journey. Here I am meeting people form a local fishermen community culture center.  What they shared? Well, that’s a material for at least 2 episodes. But the knowingness what this sea means for me and you, it's there. 

Marta Kaprale

Project Author, Impact Storyteller