Sea Guardians and sustainable seafood

I have great memories of fishing with my grandfather up near Gosford, catching Bream and Whiting and Flathead on my little hand reel. I remember helping him scale and gut the fish and then we would BBQ them afterwards, wrapping the fish in foil.

I even went prawning with my uncle once. We headed out at midnight, and I'm sure we hauled in netfuls of prawns but I don't know if that is just my childhood memories playing tricks on me or if our catch was really that good. I do remember boiling them up and eating some of them as soon as we got home...I can still remember the taste, they were so fresh.

When I grew up, I became a scuba diver and now I see fish in a slightly different light. Don't get me wrong...I still eat fish; one of my favourite meals is fish and chips, with fish (usually flathead tails) we buy from the market and crumb at home and chips we make with potatoes roasted with rosemary and salt.

But now I also get to hang out with them and see what they get up to. I get to see sponges and corals that can be hundreds of years old. I get to see sharks that slice through the water in a manner so incredibly graceful and powerful. I get to swim with loggerhead turtles and hear the whales sing through the water. I get to see a whole complete world that is beautiful beyond comparison. 

I also get to see the degradation of the environment. I've seen the northern pacific sea stars that are interlopers that ended up here from the hull of boats passing through and eat their way through our native ocean environment. I've seen coral bleaching. I haven't seen a hammerhead shark or a blue whale and I hope to get the chance to before they're gone.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society was started in the 1960s to stop an application to mine coral on the Great Barrier Reef. Today they focus on getting more areas declared as Marine National Parks, they aim to make our fisheries sustainable and to protect and recover our threatened marine species. Another key focus is to educate and advocate against human induced climate change.

Overfishing, pollution and coastal developments are killing our oceans quietly. It is estimated that over three quarters of the world's oceans...yes that's the world's not just one...is over-exploited or fished to its limits. Scientists believe that 90% of the large predatory fish (such as sharks) are gone, wiped out. The cruelty of some fishing techniques is terrible, shark finning sees sharks caught alive, their dorsal fins sliced off before they are thrown overboard to drown or get eaten alive by other fish as they sink to the bottom unable to swim. Long-lines are literally long lines stretching for kilometres, their baited hooks indescriminately taking any fish that comes along...and let's not even start on the charade of whaling for 'scientific' purposes that the Japanese conduct on an annual basis.

There are small things we can do to help. I became a Sea Guardian through the Marine Conservation Society. I want to give them some money on a monthly basis to help them continue the work they do.

Even if you don't have any money to spare, you can help by not buying endangered fish or only buying fish that are caught or farmed sustainably. The Society publishes Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide:

You can buy the extended version from the website for $9.95 and you also get...

...no not six steak knives ... but a small business size version. I keep mine in my wallet.



This version briefly highlights the three steps to sustainable seafood:

1. Avoid overfished species (the full list is contained in this pocket guide).
2. Make a better choice (some examples are included).
3. Ask questions from your fish monger.

For example, Orange Roughy is overfished and is a big 'no thankyou' and is also sold under the name of deep sea perch or sea perch. (Orange Roughy are thought to have a life span of about 150 years and they don't start breeding until they hit 30 years old!)

I have seen these guides around and about ... so if you ask around you'll probably be able to pick one up somewhere.

The oceans make up about 72% of the surface of our planet...it's amazing how easily they are overlooked. Without them, we can't survive and I think it's important that we make them an essential part of our sustainable lifestyle...

A cheap night out ...

Tonight we had a great night out for the grand total of $5.50 at the Melbourne Aquarium and we learnt something in the process.

Sim and I are mad keen scuba divers and have a particular interest in helping preserve our oceans and the animals and plants that inhabit that world.

We went to a seminar run by Reef Watch Victoria on an overview of Opisthobranchs of Southern Waters. Now, don't run away screaming at the scientific latin vocab ... it was actually a low key fascinating talk by an expert on marine slugs...okay that probably isn't really helping either is it...I can see everyone picturing those grey slugs from the garden that eat all the good stuff and foil every attempt to remove them.

This is what the talk was actually about:

That is what is commonly called a nudibranch and they come in the most amazing colours and shapes and sizes. Here are a few more:

Most of these photos I took in the Philippines but the one above in the middle is actually a local - Williamstown Beach right here in Melbourne.

The bits that look like feather boas are actually their gills. They're not very big...about the same size as land slugs if not a bit smaller but you have to admit they are much prettier; they are also referred to as the butterflies of the sea. The amazing thing is that not that much is known about them. It is estimated there are approximately 3000 different species worldwide but probably more. A lot have been identified but not formally described or named.

Bob Burns was the presenter and he has been studying these animals for more than 50 years. What is even more amazing is that he isn't a scientist or a marine biologist or even a scuba diver for that matter, he's a builder, a tradie so passionate about a particular subject that he has become, and is considered, an expert in his field. Scientists send him papers they've published for him to read...he even has one species named after him.

An added, and unexpected bonus, was the tour of the aquarium afterwards. We got to spend some time in the main oceanarium watching the sharks and the bull rays and the turtles and the snapper to name a few. It was a fascinating night...a glimpse into a world that is often forgotten and exploited but a necessary part of the system that maintains life on this planet.

Reef Watch is planning more seminars throughout the year...there may even be one about penguins (with a potential visit to the penguin exhibit at the Melbourne Aquarium). Check out the Reef Watch website if you're interested.