Café Maritime: Anita Conti, pioneer of oceanography

From the end of the 1930s, Anita Conti was the only woman on board trawlers, oceanographic vessels and military ships. After a campaign in the Barents Sea, she spent ten years documenting Africa. She thus entered the closed world of sailors, becoming the first French woman oceanographer. In 1952, she embarked for five months on a Grande-Pêche trawler on the banks of Newfoundland. She documented her adventures through photography and writing; Racleurs d'océans (1953) was a public and critical success, raising awareness of the daily lives of fishermen. A pioneer in so many respects, she soon became alarmed by overfishing and then turned her attention to aquaculture and the fight against pollution. Anita Conti continued her research and took part in meetings until the end of her life, in 1997 at the age of 98.
This Café Maritime organised by the Caen Yacht Club in partnership with the libraries of Caen la mer will take place on Friday 22 May 2026 from 6.30pm in the auditorium of the Alexis-de-Tocqueville library in Caen. The documentary film Anita Conti, une vie embarquée (Marc Gourden / 52 min / 2010) will be shown, followed by a talk by Laurent Girault-Conti, her adopted son, on the extraordinary life of his mother. Maël Czornyj Rannou, Director of the Alexis-de-Tocqueville Library, will host the event. Admission to this maritime café is free.

• Free for all