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Heather G

Fifty-one years after John F Kennedy’s inaugural address, I think that what was perhaps his most famous quote is still stirring stuff.  I have shamelessly pinched it to make my own version:

"Ask not what nature can do for you - ask what you can do for nature"

I was thinking about this after I read this Guardian article yesterday.  This sobering tale talks about the 100 endangered species the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) fears will be allowed to die out, as they have no obvious benefit to man.

I’m pretty confident that if you’re reading this, you already understand that nature has it’s own inherent value.  Every species has a right to survive regardless of whether we humans can use (and abuse) it.

One of the species on the IUCN list is the angel shark.  Once common from Scandinavia down to North Africa, the angel shark is vulnerable to being caught as bycatch.  It has declined rapidly in just 50 years, and has now been declared extinct in the North Sea.  You may still find one off our other coasts, but you’d be very lucky to do so.

So what can you do for the angel shark and all our precious sealife?  Here are some ideas:

  • Look for sustainable fish for your plate.  Ask your fishmonger whether they source their produce from sustainable fisheries, check out the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide, or buy Marine Stewardship Council accredited fish
  • Become a Sealife Guardian, and help the RSPB help all vulnerable sealife
  • Combat beach litter – why not take part in the Beachwatch Big Weekend, which is happening this weekend! 

 Thank you - you are all angels.