Reef Ramblings

I was intrigued by a recent Newquay Blue Reef Aquarium press release mentioning special events and activities to celebrate World Octopus Day this coming Monday.

Not having previously heard of World Octopus Day I decided to do a bit of research. It turns out that it is not one of those officially sanctioned ‘World Days’, indeed its true name turns out not to be World Octopus Day, but rather International Cephalopod Awareness Day.  It was established in 2007 by members of TONMO, The Octopus News Magazine Online forum, to bring attention to the diversity, conservation and biology of the world’s cephalopods. October 8 was chosen as an auspicious occasion for appreciating animals with a combination of 8 or 10 appendages – Octopus have eight arms while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles – the eighth day of the tenth month seeming an appropriate choice of date.

To increase the scope of the celebration four more days were added:

• October 8 – Octopus Day, for all the eight-armed species
• October 9 – Nautilus Night, a time for all the lesser-known extant cephalopods
• October 10 – Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day, or Squidturday, covering the tentacular species
• October 11 – Myths and Legends Day, for all the fantastical cephalopods of movies, literature and legend.
• October 12 – Fossil Day (to coincide with National Fossil Day), for all the incredible suckers that have gone extinct.

To find out more about this celebration of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates, go to the Cephalopod Awareness Day facebook page.

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

8/10/2012

In the city of Kessennuma, Japan, an aquarium has come up with an unique approach to displaying its collection of fish from local waters to the public, the entire display of fish and invertebrates are frozen solid in an arrangement of 40 ice blocks displaying 450 specimens (80 species)

The Kori no Suizokukan, or the “ice aquarium,” is located in Kesennuma in north-eastern Japan, and features approximately 450 specimens frozen in ice. Bathed in blue light for atmosphere, the specimens include about 80 different species of local marine life, flash frozen as they’ve been landed at Kesennuma’s port on the Pacific Ocean.

The temperature inside the aquarium is – twenty Celsius (-20 C), making warm clothing essential for visitors.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2011

Brazilian company, Gomes da Costa, a leading company in the production and marketing of fish products, has come up with an innovative way of selling its produce by introducing the only vending machine in the world to feature a reef aquarium, complete with fish and corals.

The first machine was installed earlier this month inside the restaurant Equilibrium, at the Academy of Competition, Sao Paulo, and dispenses Gomes da Costa’s ready to eat Tuna Salad line in three different flavours.

Apparently the vending machine translates the brand concept of: “The best of the sea for you”.

An aquarium maintenance company services the reef tank weekly.

Further vending machines are expected to be installed in gymnasiums and other busy locations, promoting the idea of practical, healthy snacks.

Gomes da Costa, part of the Spanish Grupo Calvo, is a company with over 55 years of history in Brazil.  Its plant in Itajai, Brazil, is the largest complex of capture, receipt and processing of fish in Latin America, generates more than 1,600 jobs, and produces more than one million cans of fish daily.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2011