Fish For Thought

 I became a pescetarian when I was 11; so for nearly half of my life I've been on this diet (I'm now 20) and I've been thinking about it differently in the past few months.

Mainly due to all the publications, tv shows and campaigns that are highlighting the very serious issue we have concerning our excessive fishing, and the devastation it's having on the environment.  Basically, we are slowly but surely changing the ecology of our seas, and with detrimental impacts on all sea-life.

The main threats are:

Overfishing - This eliminates important animals in the ecosystem and also decreases the valuable source of food.
Predator loss - By the killing of sharks purely their fins for (mainly) the Chinese population.  This has a very serious impact on the food chain.
Climate Change - Yes, this too is having an impact, increasing the acidity levels in our oceans.  Many creatures are struggling to adapt to these new inhospitable conditions.
Pollution - We all know about it, and we all in some way or another contribute to it whether we like it or not.  However, dangerous levels of pollution whether it be rubbish in our seas trapping animals, or toxic waste is affecting the quality of life in our oceans.
Habitat destruction - Caused mainly by trawlers, devastating natural coral habitats and leaving many sea life animals without a natural habitat to live in.

A Sealion drowned in a fisher's net.

Yes. We're causing a lot of damage to our oceans and seas aren't we.  Luckily there are organisations and people out there who want change, and who care about conserving one of the biggest ecosystems on Earth. 

The size of the problem first caught my attention when Selfridges (a famous London department store), held a campaign called 'Project Ocean'.  This was a five week long campaign, with lots of publicity and public attention.  As a Londoner I don't know anyone who hadn't heard of the project; and that's saying quite a lot!

I guess we've reached crisis levels due to all the recent campaigns, and celebrity involvement such as the British chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.  He has started a campaign called 'Hugh's Fish Fight' which has had a total of 747,416 people sign-up to the campaign in Europe so far (I recommend you check out the link).

All this attention has had an impact on the fish/shellfish that I now buy and eat in restaurants.  Previously I'd buy a tin of tuna without even thinking about whether it was caught using a sustainable fishing method.  Now all I do is look for 'caught by pole-line' and that it's dolphin friendly. If it isn't, I don't buy it, simple.  I recommend buying Sainsbury's own brand tuna over John West as it is 100% responsibly sourced.

While you may not think checking whether the: prawns, tuna, cod, or salmon you buy are responsibly sourced, the method by which they are caught can have a massive negative impact on the environment (such as the use of deep sea trawlers).

Whilst researching this area, I came across some quotes which really caught my attention:

"One in five people on this planet depends on fish as their main source of protein" - Food and Agriculture Organisation... Oh, that'd be me then!

"We are in the situation where 40 years down the line we, effectively, are out of fish" - Pavan Sukhdev, UN Environment Programme.

Realistically, we need to change our fishing habits as soon as possible.  A lot of people are already doing this by buying responsibly and educating others to do so too.

Here are a few useful sites that give you more information on the great fish fight, and how you can help conserve part of the biggest ecosystem on Earth:

Save Our Seas Foundation

Information on Sustainable Fish


Marks and Spencer's Forever Fish Campaign

WWF (World Wildlife Fund) - More Fish Campagin

Thanks for reading...

Lauren-Eloise x

 N.B. All images are from Google Images.

Labrador T-shirt

After lunch with my Dad today, I was wandering through Fenwick and spotted this cute t-shirt. It was designed by Barbour for Newcastle Fashion Week, and all the profits go to this great cause. It's perfect for me - I'm not exactly a very 'fashion' person, so something comfortable rates really highly in my shopping ideals, and at £15 I couldn't resist. I think it's unisex as the sizes are on the large side.

On another very exciting note, Liz Earle have released their makeup range today and you can browse and buy it online. While I was in town, I went by their concession in John Lewis but they didn't have anything on the shop floor yet. I'm really interested in the Cream Blush and the Loose Powder; both of which I've already read glowing reviews.

Finally, I got a new candle from Wax Lyrical called Day At The Spa, which despite the cringey name, smells absolutely divine. I thought I'd treat myself as I'll be spending many an hour revising in my room over the coming weeks. 

Sophie x

Arlo Jesmond

I first started going to this café in Jesmond when I was at school, and my love for it has never faltered.  Back then it was under different management and had a different name, and even though it has gone through a few changes, the basic premise has remained the same; tasty, simple food in a lovely atmosphere.

It is now called Arlo, named after the owner's son and can be visited every day from half eight to seven on some nights, nine on others and five on Sundays.  Lucas, the owner, has introduced an evening menu and lunch now has a bit more substance as opposed to the cakes and sandwiches you were limited to before.

I visited with my Dad this past week and had the absolutely delicious crispy fish fingers with chips, salad and home made Tartar sauce. My Dad had the Otis burger, which also looked incredible. 

During the Easter holidays I sat outside in the sun with one of my friends home from University and got more than a little tipsy with a bottle of wine between us and balsamic roasted vegetables.  

(A complimentary bowl of crisps was also in order when Lucas realised that persuading two students to indulge in a lunchtime rosé on such little sustenance was probably not a brilliant idea!)

Another all-time favourite that gets us out of bed on a hungover morning is the mouth-watering waffles with dry cured bacon and maple syrup.  

Sitting with pots of tea and magazines, this is my favourite spot to people watch the best suburb of Newcastle. All in all, Arlo has something for everyone; friendly staff, a relaxed atmosphere and great interior design.  You can follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook or visit their website.

Enjoy! 

Sophie x