Thanks to a Seattle Craigslist ad, we’ve discovered some fishy business happening at Gas Works Park this Saturday.
Apparently, giant sea lions (made of cloth, with humans inside) will be scavenging the park in search of their dwindling food supply — namely, Pollock. A Greenpeace press release explains the problem this way:
“Seattle based industrial fishing fleets are putting entire ecosystems at risk. Ships leave from Seattle with huge steel nets and heavy chains to trawl the bottom of our oceans and the world’s largest underwater canyons. Out of four schools of Pollock, three have been fished down to below 10% of their original size and the final Pollock school open to fishing is down 65%. Pollock is the main food source for endangered Sea Lions and northern fur seals. These mammals will go extinct if the Seattle fishing fleet continues to
decimate their food supply.”
So here’s what’s going to happen. Around 12:15pm on Saturday 7/17, volunteers and Greenpeace folks dressed in giant sea lion costumes will be looking for Pollock to eat at Gas Works Park, then later on at the Queen Anne and Fremont waterfronts (locations not yet disclosed).
Greenpeace intern Tiffany Choe adds, “We ha
ve a speaker named George Pletnikoff, speaking on behalf of the affected Aleut tribe, who is there to answer any general questions from either reporters or the public. ”
Everyone is encouraged to come out and help the sea lions find the Pollock! There will be a scavenger hunt (hint! be sure you know what Pollock looks like). And everybody can have their photo taken with the giant sea lions against the backdrop of Seattle’s cityscape and waters.