Choose the Fish You Eat Wisely

Would you like a very easy way to make a positive impact on Australia’s oceans? (well for that matter the world’s oceans)

This is something I have had on my to do list for months to research – What fish should I be ordering at a restaurant or what should I be avoiding at my local fish & chip shop?

The answer is very easy to find thanks to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, who have released the ‘Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide’ online.

It took me less than 2min to go to their online guide and do a search of  ‘Better Choice’ fish to buy.

Here are just some fish species that I discovered are a better choice in regards to fish sustainability for Australia:

• Wild Australian Salmon (Eastern Australian Salmon, Western Australian Salmon)
• Wild Australian Sardine ( also known as Pilchards but make sure they are wild from Australia)
• Wild Bream
• Wild King George Whiting
• Wild Leatherjacket
• Wild Mackerel
• Wild Mud Crab
• Wild Mullet
• Australian Farmed Oysters
• Wild Squid, Calamari, Cuttlefish, Octopus, caught in Australian waters
• Wild Tailor
• Wild Trevally
• Wild Whiting
  

The guide also lists fish to think twice about and fish species to say “no” to buying.

“The fish we choose today will directly affect the health of our oceans tomorrow.” Australian Marine Conservation Society

Remember we are not the only species on Earth that relay on the ocean, or on a healthy and abundant fish supply.

Doggie Poo Loo?

My posts so far have been setting the scene for ‘Greener Me’.  A way of explanation and background to why I started my ‘Greener Me’ blog.

 

If you are reading this today the 2nd of June 2008 – thankyou!  Thank you because you are joining me on my ‘Greener Me’ journey from the beginning.

 

This last week I have been away for work in Brisbane (Australia) and I am missing very much my husband and our two small fluffy puppies ‘Mini’ and ‘Cooper’ (aka the babies).

 

Before we brought home our puppies, my husband and I discussed ideas on training and the environmental issues with dog ownership. Ironically both topics revolved around doggie poo!

 

For the first two days after bringing our puppy’s home, we were stressed out new parents. To make life easier, we flushed their number two’s down the loo.  Our thinking was their dog poo could be treated along with human waste at treatment plants before being released into the water system.

 

This was never going to be a long term solution as it is just gross. So for the next four weeks with a small, hand garden spade we scooped up and buried their number two’s in our large pot plants that are position in our small garden court yard.  However we found the time it took to do this twice a day, was not the greatest time management strategy.

 

A temporary solution was to place the regular ‘doggy poo scope ups’ in a bucket, then once a week bury them.  I do know that dog waste contains large amounts of bacteria such as Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) and Salmonella which are washed into waterways and oceans, causing contamination and potential human infections. Also Parasites such as Hookworm and Roundworm can live for years in soil where dog poo has been left to degrade, leading to further animal or human infection.

 

Burring the waste may be better than leaving it on the grass to decompose but I am not sure how much better it is.  Does anyone have thoughts on this?

 

What I think we will have to do is start a small worm farm for our doggie poo.  We actually already have a worm farm for our house hold waste (food scrapes etc).  However I didn’t think it was a good idea to be putting doggie fertiliser waste on our plants that produce food we will consume (e.g. our lemon tree).  Not sure on the facts but knowing that parasites can live for years in soil, it probably is a no brainier.

 

One tip I have just learnt is not to put dog poo in the worm farm straight after the dogs have been wormed.  The worming medication will kill the worms.

 

So here we are at the decision to purchase a 2^nd worm farm.  I welcome any ideas, thoughts or facts before I go out and do this.

 

Sarhn

 

Thank you to this article for which I gained my knowledge.