Sea lions at the Edinburgh Zoo are now enjoying a full diet of MSC certified sustainable herring. The move comes after the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) made it their goal to   source all of its marine animal food from sustainable sources.

Darren McGarry, Animal Collection Manager for the zoo, said “We’re really pleased that the Patagonian sea lions have taken to their new feed. Zoo animals can be very picky about what they eat but they’ve taken to the MSC certified feeds straight away”.

 

Photo: MSC/Karen Murray

...and the penguins

The zoo also houses one of the world’s most successful penguin-breeding programmes with over 200 penguins on site, and RZSS is currently in the process of incorporating MSC fish into their diet too.

“Gentoo penguins are particularly picky about their food and we need to ensure that the MSC certified South Africa hake will suit them – both in terms of taste and nutritionally” adds Darren. “It’s important as well, that the South Africa hake fishery has radically reduced its seabird bycatch as part of its MSC certification – a cut that means thousands of seabirds will saved. We’re really pleased to support that work and will be working towards adding a recommendation for MSC certified feed with any penguin we export to another zoo.”

Supporting Scottish fishing communities

Claire Pescod, from the MSC says “This is fantastic news. The RZSS has already helped the MSC by providing the technical expertise and laboratory work needed for our DNA tracing programme and this is further evidence of the Zoo’s commitment to sustainability. I’m delighted that sea lions are being fed Scottish MSC certified herring. This move supports the Scottish fishing communities that rely on the certified herring fishery and have proved their sustainability through the MSC process.”

 

Photo: MSC/Karen Murray

About sea lions

-          Edinburgh Zoo has one female Patagonian sea and one male. 

-          The male sea lion is called Sofus.  He was born in June 2005 at Aalborg Zoo in Denmark and moved to Edinburgh in June 2008.

-          The female sea lion, Miranda, was born in June 1995 in Kristiansand Zoo in Norway and was moved to Edinburgh in December2008

-          The males are much larger than the females weighing 300-350 Kg (660 – 770 lbs) to the females’ 144 Kg (317 lbs.)  The male sea lions’ very large heads and a thick manes give them the lion-like appearance that gave rise to their name

-          Sea lion typically live for 20-30 years.

-           

Herring recipe

Marinated herring with potato salad

Recipe from Rick Stein

serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

15g salt
1 ½ teaspoons caster sugar
½  teaspoon crushed white peppercorns
225g herring fillets
sunflower oil to cover
450g new potatoes, scraped
3 tablespoons chopped chives

To make

   1. Mix together the salt, sugar and crushed white pepper to make a dry cure.  Layer the herring fillets in a dish, sprinkling generously with the mix.  Cover and leave in the fridge for 24 hours, turning once after 12 hours

   2. Next day, cut the fillets slightly on the diagonal into long thin strips.  Pack them into a large, airtight glass container and put in enough sunflower oil to cover.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.

   3. To serve, cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender and drain.

   4. Put the warm potatoes into a bowl with the herring strips, chives and 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil.  Toss together and serve immediately.

For more recipes, visit http://www.msc.org/cook-eat-enjoy/recipes