October 17, 2005
Older than my Grandmother!
Our road show sees us in Palmerston North - the birthplace of both Dean and Mal.
Homecoming crowds are always a bit nervy. Some of Dean's family turned up which he was stoked with. During the slideshow he pointed out that an orange roughy, one and a half times the length of your hand, is about 80 years old - just like his Nana in the there in the front row.
© Kim Westerskov
The bottom trawling plunder of orange roughy occurred before people really knew much about their life cycle and essential habitats. We now know these fish begin breeding around 30 years old (in which case Dean would have been breeding for a year!). Scientists tell the age of orange roughy by their odeliths (ear bones) which have a ring of growth for every year. 150 rings, estimated to mean 150 years of life are known.
Not only are people eating fish older than their great-grandparents, but also the unknown worlds of the deep sea are being destroyed in the process.
On another noteĀ
We came into Palmy over the Saddle Road track, via the Te Apiti wind farm. It's a pretty incredible sight seeing the windmills stretch off into the distance and really exciting to see up close, the solutions to another global problem, climate change.
Equally as exciting is the enthusiasm and pride about the wind farm from locals we met. Solving many of environmental problems we face often needs just as much support from people in local communities as it does from political and industry leaders.
That's why we've come in here to inland Palmerston Nth - protecting deep sea life is in everybody's interest and people here are just as concerned about the impacts of bottom trawling as those in coastal areas. I'm sure the Government will be hearing the message loud and clear from here.
