Sustainable seafood - what's that?

Hi Sea Fans!

Such big words and everyone seems to be throwing them around so I thought I'd help you out a bit and show you what this means:

Exhibit by Ruth Wright.

This is definitely not your ordinary exhibit tank, but then again, neither is the message that goes with it.  This unusual tank has drawn quite a lot of attention since it was revealed and it's not even a big stand-alone tank, it's a small exhibit next to a whole bunch of others. The message is that of sustainability.  Sustaina-what? Yes, it's one of those irritating words that the media jump on and it starts to show up everywhere.  

If something is sustainable, then it means that it can keep going for years to come and not be used up.  What Ruth is trying to show is sustainable seafood, which is seafood that is either caught or farmed in ways that make sure that the species can continue into the future and not go extinct because of our actions.  What this means is that we need to be more selective of what we buy in the shops and eat in the restaurants.  And it's oh so easy.

There's an SMS line to which you can SMS the name of a fish (while you stand in the shopping queue or sit at your restaurant table) and you will get a reply telling you if it is alright to buy or if you should rather choose something else.

The picture at the top shows prawns which are on the orange list in South Africa.  Orange means that you should rather not buy them, unless they are farmed, as they are on their way to the red list (DO NOT BUY OR CATCH list).  The reason for this is that prawn trawlers are not selective, for every plate of prawns that you eat, NINE plates of bycatch go to waste!!!!

So Sea Fans, next time you go out to eat, tell mom and dad about the SMS line (0794998795) and do the right thing.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers

Abby

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Not so HAPPY FEET

Hi Sea Fans!

Anybody watched the movie Surf's Up?  And Happy Feet?  Well, you can guess which animal I'm going to tell you about can't you?!  A PENGUIN!  And not just any penguin, mind you, but Rocky the Rockhopper penguin at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa.

Poor old Rocky has sore feet!  He was found stranded in 1999 and taken to the aquarium for rehabilitation where he's been ever since.  He has a limp and suffers from arthritis (swelling of the joints - the place where bones meet).  Poor little guy, but he's lucky because he's getting 5 star treatment!

Rocky is carried between the two penguin areas (we wouldn't want him to put too much pressure on his joints!), he's had an operation on his foot, pulse magnetic therapy and gets acupuncture treatment.  Talk about going all out for your animals!  The staff watch his weight closely and he has nice swims in cold water which seems to reduce the swelling too.

Now who said you had to be human to enjoy life?!

Have a great weekend Sea Fans!
Cheers
Abby
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