FishPhone: great iPhone app for making sound seafood choices

For all you iPhone users and ocean fanatics, there is a new app to add to your phone. The FishPhone app from Carl Safina's Blue Ocean Institute is a great extension to Blue Ocean's Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.

The app lists a wide variety of seafood items using the guide's informative labeling system that covers ratings in population health, wild vs. farmed health, and pollutant levels. The app then takes another step by listing, for appropriate choices, some healthy recipes and wine selections. Most of the recipes come from chef Barton Seaver, noted for his work with sustainable seafood.

So, it's not only an informative app to have when you go to a restaurant or supermarket but, with the recipes and wine selections, it also makes it more palatable (excuse the pun) for those who are perhaps unenlightened about the issue of sustainable seafood - no shaking of the finger, saying "No, no, no!" which could be a turn-off to those who may be the most in need to understand the importance of making responsible choices when it comes to seafood.

While there are some who choose not to eat seafood altogether (and that may certainly be the ultimate solution), a larger portion of the populace has a place in their diet for seafood. And so anything that can help people transition from irresponsible choices to better choices to ultimately contemplating what is right for the ocean environment as a whole should be considered a useful step in the right direction.

And the app is FREE!

Congratulations to Carl and his team at the Blue Ocean Institute for putting together a terrific educational tool.

Get the app at Apple's iTunes/App Store.
Learn more about the Blue Ocean Institute.
Download Blue Ocean's Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.

iGorilla: fun and informative iPhone app that helps the mountain gorillas

Here's a recommendation for an iPhone app that is both entertaining and informative: iGorilla. With this app you can follow the day-to-day lives of several mountain gorilla families that reside in one of Africa's most important national parks. Information is regularly updated and you can see pictures and videos to learn about specific family individuals.

The Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of the vanguards in African wildlife protection and has put considerable effort into their mountain gorilla program by developing a network of trained rangers to reduce poaching. Of the 720 remaining mountain gorillas on this planet, 200 of them live within the park's boundaries.

While the Virunga National Park is a well established park (second oldest in the world, next to Yellowstone), it too struggles for funding. For the gorilla program, considerable funds go into ranger training, uniforms and salaries, and equipment - money well spent in establishing a strong conservation and protection presence within the park.

You can download the app through the Apple store or right on your iPhone for $3.99. It's well worth it as a portion of the proceeds goes to the park.

Please note: don't get confused - there's another app called iGorilla! (with an exclamation mark) that is a game.

Read more about the iGorilla app.
Read more about the Virunga National Park.