Yorkshire Water, in partnership with the University of Hull, are moving Fin the Fish from his summer home at Scarborough South Bay to The Deep, Hull for the winter months, allowing visitors to one of the world’s most amazing aquariums to have a chance to feed Fin. Yorkshire Water and the University of Hull originally commissioned Fin – a sculpture and receptacle designed to promote recycling and take plastic off the beaches in the Summer; in only 8 weeks Fin collected over 6,000 bottles, which Scarborough Borough Council have recycled. They are hoping visitors to The Deep will come down and support the installation by bringing their plastic bottles to fill him up making his stay in the region as successful.

Created to showcase that plastic pollution is damaging all marine organisms on a daily basis, Fin is one step towards reducing this volume and showing that however small your action is, everyone can help to reduce the plastics entering our oceans. This partnership between Yorkshire Water and the University of Hull aims to encourage visitors to recycle their plastics whilst enjoying their day at The Deep.

Louise Kirby, Director of Operations and People said: “We are delighted to welcome Fin the fish to The Deep. He is a visual reminder of the serious threat plastic is posing to the oceans and the marine life living within them. By 2050, it is expected that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, so it’s vital that we act now. We hope Fin will help to spread this message, not only to visitors to the aquarium, but also the city.”

Fin will be emptied on a weekly basis by local firm Biffa who will record how much plastic we have removed from possibly entering the water courses over the winter months.

The University of Hull works tirelessly to find solutions to some of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world today, from climate change to plastics, flooding to renewable energy. Evolving a Circular Plastics Economy is a major Innovate UK/EPSRC funded project where the University is engaging with local and national industry partners to encourage the re-use and recycling of plastics and a move away from single-use plastics. The project spun out from the University’s Plastics Collaboratory – a diverse team of academics and PhD students with an interest in the plastics problem.

Professor Dan Parsons, Director of the University’s Energy and Environment Institute, said: “The world has woken up to the critical issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, which is a growing challenge and is having devastating consequences for marine environments both globally and off our Yorkshire coastline.

Our scientists at the University of Hull are tackling these issues through our research and teaching but we all have a duty to do what we can to protect our fragile marine ecosystems. That’s why we’re delighted to support Yorkshire Water’s ‘Do your bit’ initiative. We hope that Fin the Fish will help visitors to The Deep see this growing problem and prompt them to consider what they can do to reduce their own waste.”

Built in Egton Bridge, by Godbold Blacksmiths Ltd and installed by KRC Engineering Service, Fin also showcases local talent in North Yorkshire by being designed and built in our wonderful part of the world.

Lee Pitcher, Head of Resilience Yorkshire Water says “Fin is our way of showing everyone that they can make a difference to save the sea, the creatures who live in it and our planet. How amazing to think that every time you use Fin, you are doing your bit to help save the planet.”

Head down to The Deep over winter and “Do your bit” by feeding Fin.