Project Ocean raises over £96,000
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Since its launch in May 2011, Project Ocean has raised over £96,000 towards setting up marine reserves in our oceans.
Project Ocean is the result of a collaboration between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Selfridges to promote the global need for marine conservation and highlight the issue of overfishing.
There were two key messages: vote with your fork – eat more sustainably; and support marine protected areas. MPAs are conservation sites in the ocean, set aside as safe havens for fish and their ecosystem. Selfridges have funded a community-managed MPA on Danajon Bank in the Philippines through Project Seahorse which is 0.5 square kilometers – particularly significant when compared with the total area of 5 square km currently protected in the UK.
For five weeks Selfridges dedicated their Oxford Street store to Project Ocean and during this time they:
- raised over £96,200 towards marine reserves
- held events and talks in the Ultralounge of their Oxford Street store to engage the public in the need to save our seas, attended by an average of 700 people each day
- took unsustainable fish off their shelves and off the menu throughout their stores (and will keep them off!)
- distributed 45,000 Selfridges Fish Guides
- hosted the World Ocean Day summit launch on Wednesday 9 June, attended by members of Parliament across the European Union.
The event is now over but you can still contribute to the Project Ocean fund to raise money for future marine reserves – to donate click here.
