Conservation Matters: A Question of Fish(ing)

I hope you like my fish!

I 'painted' it on the WWF site and sent it on via that site to my MEPS, who have been involved in the over-fishing debate. I hope it made them smile! You can see the fish that have been animated in this short clip here.

I am glad to report that The European Parliament has just voted in favour of rescuing our fish stocks. This may not go far enough, but it is a move in the right direction. 

The Paint a Fish campaign will continue in the following months leading up to the next step of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, currently scheduled to take place in June 2013.

You can visit www.paintafish.org to learn more, see all the fish in the ‘virtual fish stock’ and continue to support the campaign.

Beside the Sea (1): Mermaid's Purse and Crab

Happy New Year, 2011!

Mermaid's Purse on the beach at Oxwich Bay

We stumbled across this curious object on our way back to the car this afternoon, after an hour or so photographing Oystercatchers at the edge of the water. We thought it might be a Mermaid's Purse, but the only ones I have ever seen have been black. I am grateful to the Seashore site for helping us to make an identification. How amazing to think that a metre-long member of the Shark family could emerge from this small sac (once fully grown, of course!). I wonder if we should have popped it back into the sea? We felt - in our ignorance - that it was best not to interfere.  

A Shore Crab of some kind ... I think

Edible Crab? ... the one with the crimping!

Oxwich Bay, Gower, near Swansea, Wales, UK

• Jewellery in the shape of Mermaids' Purses (thanks to Google!)