A Sydney school girl who whipped up a whopping 16 sustainable seafood recipes received thanks for her efforts by meeting Taronga Zoo’s marine mammals on Friday.

Matilda Kearnes (Tilly) was the ‘Fish for Good’ competition winner in a marine conservation campaign aimed at empowering primary school students to make informed choices when they buy seafood.

Tilly, a student of Undercliffe Public School in Sydney’s Earlwood, won by posting the most Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) friendly meals online. Tilly has been very busy cooking MSC approved seafood, posting a variety of meals on Taronga’s ‘Fish for Good’ schools website, including her favourite recipe sushi and “quite a lot of salmon sandwiches,” Tilly said.

 “I think that the MSC ecolabel is a good way for customers to find out if the food they are buying is sustainable.  When I was shopping with my mum I found the blue ecolabel and told mum which food to buy,” said Tilly.

Tilly met one of Taronga’s Seal Show stars, New Zealand Fur Seal Mitchy, later saying “I hope marine wildlife will be sustainable. I care about the environment a lot because it is where we live and I want it to last and to be clean and natural,” commented Tilly, who also supports cleaning the Cooks River.

As part of her prize, Tilly will also stay at ‘Billabong Camp’ overnight family adventure at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo. “Tilly cartwheeled all the way home when she found out she won,” Tilly’s mum, Megan, said.

MSC is the world’s leading independent certification and eco-labeling scheme for wild-caught seafood. Fisheries that meet the MSC standard have proven that their target stock is healthy and viable. They cause minimal impact on the ecosystem and surrounding environment, and they have effective management systems.

Taronga’s Seal Show runs daily at 11am and 2pm, with information on Fish for Good, seals and their marine environment.

For more information, visit fishforgood.org  

What can you do for an ocean friendly future?

Choose seafood products displaying the MSC eco-label.

'Do the right thing' with waste – put your rubbish in the bin and if possible keep our beaches clean by picking up rubbish even it is not yours.

By Adela Amanowicz