Oceanario de Lisboa

Having recently visited the excellent Oceanario de Lisboa I was fascinated by the multiple scientific research efforts of the oceanarium, most of which focuses on conservation of biodiversity and a sustainable use of the oceans e.g. their alliance with Blue Flag to educate the public in adopting behaviours that save energy and minimize fuel consumption.
Opened in 1998, the Oceanário was the centerpiece of the 20th Century's last World Fair, themed "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", and like most modern aquaria, continuously develops new educational and interactive activities. Approximately 100 species from all corners of the Ocean peacefully share this gigantic aquarium.
The multiple tanks around the building are arranged in a way that conveys the message that there is in fact only ONE Global Ocean that we are all responsible for. All the landmass borders and associated conflicts can be considered in perspective when we consider the 70.8% surface area of oceans and co-habiting species that make up over 2 thirds of our planet. Immersive and mind-blowing stuff!

Plenty more fish in the sea?

Not while celebrity chefs are reeling in the atlantic cod. It is of great concern to marine conservationists worldwide that overfishing and aggressive fishing strategies are causing a decline in valuable fish species that are crucial to ecological habitats. Endangered species of fish are dished up in top London restaurants with a handful of rocket but no concern for marine welfare and the sustainability of sourcing fish.

According to the marine conservation society, these are ok to eat sustainably:

• Black bream or sea bream (no restrictions)
• Clams (hand-gathered only)
• Cockles (hand-gathered only or MSC-certified)
• Cod, Atlantic (organically farmed only)
• Cod, Pacific (MSC-certified only)
• Coldwater prawn (MSC-certified from Canada only)
• Coley (MSC-certified from Norwegian waters only)
• Crab, edible or brown (pot-caught off the Devon coast)
• Crab, spider (pot-caught only)
• Dab (no restrictions)
• Dublin Bay Prawn/langoustine/scampi, MSC-certified, from Loch Torridon only
• Flounder (no restrictions)
• Gurnard, red and grey
• Herring (from Norwegian stocks)
• King mackerel or kingfish
• Lobster, Baja Californian red rock, MSC-certified
• Lobster, Western Australian rock, MSC-certified
• Mahi Mahi/Dorado (no restriction)
• Mussels (rope-grown or hand-gathered)
• Oysters, native and Pacific, farmed only
• Pollock (MSC-certified)
• Red mullet (not from Mediterranean)
• Salmon, Alaskan (MSC-certified)
• Salmon, Atlantic (organically farmed)
• King scallop (hand-dived only)
• Cornish sardines/pilchards
• Seabass, MSC-certified; line-caught
• Western Australian snapper
• Common sole or MSC-certified Dover sole from Hastings, or the Celtic sea
• Lemon sole (no restrictions)
• Atlantic and European squid (jig-caught only)
• Tilapia (farmed)
• Rainbow and brown trout (organically farmed only)
• Tuna, albacore (MSC-certified from the Pacific only)
• Tuna, skipjack (Western and Central Pacific fisheries, and Indian Ocean pole and line-caught only)

Thank god farmed Tilapia is on the list! I was hoping if I stuck round long enough someone might put in a good word for rollmops in brine.

Check out Charles Clover's website that rates fish in restaurants for quality and effects on marine life: http://fish2fork.com/apps/welcome

More on sardines and Cantona...

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea"
So if the seagulls are the press and the sardines are the incriminating or controversial comments i.e. the food source of the hungry journalists, what are the fishermen doing?

"Amigo, jogar outra sardinha na churrasqueira"

If you hear this (which is a google-for-brains translation of 'throw another sardine on the barbie mate') you could well be in Setubal, Portugal (or possibly Stockwell if it's raining). Setubal this weekend (29th May) has set the world record for eating 6340 pounds of sardines in an 8-hour 'sardine festival'- a proud acclaim for the locals.

Setubal is a port town south of Lisbon where traditional industries such as fish processing and shipbuilding co-exist with modern apartment blocks and curiously redundant concrete edifices. Some examples of these are issues of contention with the local community such as the outdoor stage built back to front and the hollow skate-boarding rink outside the landmark 15th century 'Monastery of Jesus' that flooded the pulpit as soon as the rains came. Home to Vitoria football club and 'the special one'-Jose Mourinho, Setubal has a serious football passion that evokes as much national and regional sentiment as its 'sardinha'.

When you don't have a concrete slab on a crane above your head, Setubal is an odd delight- the local nightclub is a former Yamaha car showroom and the huge seafront indoor market is a vibrant testimony to the rich resources on this beautiful coastline. And if you take your chances with an adrenalin-junkie on a moped, the nearby Arrabida natural park is breathtaking- a beautiful protected area covered with pines and rich Mediterranean vegetation.

Having lived for 2 months in Setubal, the hub of the Portuguese sardine industry, I understood the thrill of the Sardinhada's Guinness world record achievement (these peixe did lure the Romans here) but having spent the day visiting the Lisbon Oceanarium decided against a plate of roasted fins. 'I never eat anything with eyes' as some might say. I was actually glad to have been disoriented on the meandering streets of Bairro Alto in Lisbon on Saturday and avoid the raucous tones of competitive fish stuffing. The excruciating resonance of football horns was quite enough on the night of the Benefica championship. My ear drums are already perforated from the nightly garbage truck at 1am outside my stifling apartment, not to mention the inevitable cacophony of the bottle bank on a delicate Sunday morning. As Alan Bennett would say 'life is rather like a tin of sardines and we are all looking for the key'.