Last Saturday, we kicked off the Bank Holiday weekend in style by taking part in an event in the fashionable Selfridges Department Store – home of luxury brands. For six weeks Selfridges has turned the store into an underwater paradise under the name of Project Ocean. The aim of Project Ocean is to raise awareness of how wonderful the marine environment is, and highlight some of the things that we can do as consumers to reduce the threats and pressures on marine wildlife and resources, such as fish. As part of the RSPB's marine campaign this summer, and as a supporter of Project Ocean, the RSPB hosted a marine-themed Family Fun Day.Albert the Albatross was there, directing customers to visit our display in the Ultralounge.
With a backdrop of vibrant live corals grown by the Zoological Society of London, not illegally taken from the wild, we set up our stall. We offered kids the chance to create their own 3D underwater world in a shoebox or make a seaside money box. While the kids were busy creating, we were able to tell them and their parents about our work to get better protection for marine wildlife and our campaign for marine protected areas (reserves at sea) to protect important sites at sea including the areas where seabirds forage. Being part of Project Ocean has given us a unique opportunity to tell our marine conservation story to a completely new audience in an exciting and innovative way.This was Selfridges after all – we were dealing with hardened shoppers, not your typical conservationists. But it is just these people we need to reach if we are to change attitudes and behaviour – and we were pleasantly surprised.We were kept busy all day, with customers keen to find out more about what we were doing to protect marine wildlife and add their support by signing our online pledge calling for seabirds to be properly protected at sea.You can sign it too by going to our website. Project Ocean finishes on the 8th of June, which is also World Ocean Day. So if you haven't been yet and you're in the London area, you should check it out. To find out what’s on go to the Project Ocean website.But while the current phase of the 'Project' might be over, Selfridges will continue to sell only sustainable fish in its store, and we will continue to campaign for better protection for marine wildlife. That battle still has to be won.