Bringing the sea to the city

In celebration of World Ocean’s Day this Sunday, Sealord is using a New Zealand first virtual experience at Downtown Shopping Centre today to showcase their leadership in sustainable fishing.

Auckland commuters will find themselves swimming with sharks and dodging schools of hoki with an interactive augmenting reality experience. Unsuspecting passersby can interact with the virtual ocean and see themselves under the sea on a large screen.

This is the first time a live interactive augmenting reality experience has been used in New Zealand, and is a reflection of growing advancements across the technology field – from holograms through to 3D printing.

Sealord believes this innovative technology is the perfect way to communicate about sustainable fishing.

“We can’t take everyone out on our boats to see how we look after the sea, but we can bring the sea to the people”, says Graham Stuart, Sealord CEO.

“We have a generation of technologically savvy New Zealanders. One way to get important messages out to them is through creative use of technology.”

The experience illustrates the steps taken to ensure Sealord hoki is sustainable and meets the requirements for the internationally-recognised Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. The New Zealand hoki fishery has maintained the MSC’s high standard for sustainability since 2001 and has been certified a record number of three times.

The MSC ecolabel can be seen on certified sustainable fresh, canned and frozen fish in stores. Charlotte Connell, Communications Manager at the Marine Stewardship Council, commends Sealord for making such a strong commitment to sustainable fishing.

“Sealord is showing tremendous leadership. Their entire range of hoki products will soon be proudly marked with our blue ecolabel, giving New Zealanders that extra assurance their seafood is sustainable” she said.

The experience is available to the public at Downtown Shopping Centre until 6:00pm today.

ENDS

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