Toothfish Day | |
---|---|
Observed by | South Georgians & South Sandwich Islanders |
Significance | holiday marking the end of toothfish fishing season |
Date | 4 September |
Next time | 4 September 2025 |
Frequency | Annual |
Toothfish Day is a public holiday celebrated in the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is annually on 4 September, [1] but if that falls on a weekend it may be observed on a weekday. [2] It is one of eleven public holidays in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, [2] appointed by the Governor in Council. [3] [4]
The holiday marks the end of the toothfish (Dissostichus, also called Chilean sea bass) fishing season. [1] [5] [6] [7] Locals (who at this time of year number around 16 [5] [7] ) celebrate with a toast. [1] Some bake gingerbread toothfish cookies. [8] The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) celebrates with a Toothfish Day Reception at Government House in Stanley. [9] [6] [10] The reception includes a quiz, [6] a toast, and a menu featuring many dishes made with toothfish. [5] [10] [11] GSGSSI also holds meetings and a reception in London to mark the occasion. [6]
The holiday was created to show the importance of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) fishery and to spotlight the sustainable fishing practices of the industry in the territory. [6] [5] [7] The holiday dates back to at least 2012, when it was called "Toothfish (end of season) Day" and took place on 14 September. [12] The holiday replaced a previously undesignated bank holiday. [4] It remained under that name and stayed in mid-September [13] until 2015 when it was instituted as simply Toothfish Day and moved to 4 September. [4] [14]
Year | Date | Date Observed | Name | Reception Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 14 September | 14 September | Toothfish (end of season) Day [12] | |
2013 | 13 September | 13 September | Toothfish (end of season) Day [13] | |
2014 | 15 September | 15 September | Toothfish (end of season) Day [13] | |
2015 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [14] | |
2016 | 5 September | 5 September | Toothfish Day [15] | 6 September [6] |
2017 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [16] | |
2018 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [17] | |
2019 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [18] | 4 September [7] |
2020 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [19] | 7 September [10] |
2021 | 4 September | 6 September | Toothfish Day [2] | 29 September [9] [20] |
2022 | 5 September | 5 September | Toothfish Day [21] | |
2023 | 4 September | 4 September | Toothfish Day [22] |
The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean between 51°S and 53°S on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf, part of the South American continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, and around 400 million years ago split from what is now Africa and drifted westwards from it. Today the islands are subjected to the Roaring Forties, winds that shape both their geography and climate.
The economy of the Falkland Islands, which first involved sealing, whaling and provisioning ships, became heavily dependent on sheep farming from the 1870s to 1980. It then diversified and now has income from tourism, commercial fishing, and servicing the fishing industry as well as agriculture. The Falkland Islands use the Falkland pound, which is backed by the British pound.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is 165 kilometres (103 mi) long and 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 kilometres (430 mi) southeast of South Georgia. The territory's total land area is 3,903 km2 (1,507 sq mi). The Falkland Islands are about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) west from its nearest point.
Sea bass is a common name for a variety of different species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass.
The Antarctic toothfish, also known as the Antarctic cod, is a large, black or brown fish found in very cold (subzero) waters of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. It is the largest fish in the Southern Ocean, feeding on shrimp and smaller fish, and preyed on by whales, orcas, and seals. It is caught for food and marketed as Chilean sea bass together with its sister species, the more northerly Patagonian toothfish. Often mistakenly called "Antarctic cod", the Antarctic toothfish belongs to the notothen family (Nototheniidae), a family of fish genera that are abundant near Antarctica.
The Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, mero, icefish, and Antarctic cod, is a species of notothen found in cold waters between depths of 45 and 3,850 m in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most Subantarctic islands.
This is articles is about lists of hospitals in South America. It contains links to the lists, number of articles in the category, and healthcare in each country, territory and dependency in South America.
King Edward Point is a permanent British Antarctic Survey research station on South Georgia island and is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is situated in Cumberland East Bay on the northeastern coast of the island. The settlement is the second smallest capital in the world by population, after Ngerulmud in Palau.
Howard John Stredder Pearce, CVO is an English diplomat who served as the Governor of the Falkland Islands and Civil Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) until July 2006. He assumed both positions on 3 December 2002. Before his appointment, Pearce was High Commissioner to Malta from 1999 to 2002. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1972.
The flag of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was granted on 3 October 1985, when the Territory was created. Previously the Territory was a part of the former Falkland Islands Dependencies and used the same flag as the Falklands Islands.
The history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult. Due to these conditions, human activity in the islands has largely consisted of sealing, whaling, and scientific surveys and research, interrupted by World War II and the Falklands War.
Turquet's octopus is a species of benthic octopus with a circumpolar Antarctic distribution. The species has a wide depth range, occurring from shallow waters to 4,000 m deep.
The Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra is a tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.
British sovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is disputed by Argentina. The United Kingdom claimed South Georgia in 1775, annexed the islands in 1908, and has exercised de facto control with the exception of a brief period during the Falklands War in 1982, when the islands were partially controlled by Argentina. The dispute started in 1927 when Argentina claimed sovereignty over South Georgia, and subsequently expanded in scope with Argentina claiming the South Sandwich Islands in 1938. The islands have no indigenous population, and currently only have about 30 inhabitants.
Thymops birsteini, the Patagonian lobsterette, is a species of lobster found around the coasts of South America, particularly the South Atlantic. It belongs to the monotypic genus Thymops.
Dissostichus, the toothfish, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefish. These fish are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Toothfish are marketed in the United States as Chilean sea bass or less frequently as white cod. "Chilean sea bass" is a marketing name coined in 1977 by Lee Lantz, a fish wholesaler who wanted a more attractive name for selling the Patagonian toothfish to Americans. In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted "Chilean sea bass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish. The toothfish was remarkably successful in the United States, Europe and Asia, and earned the nickname "white gold" within the market. Toothfish are vital to the ecological structure of Southern Ocean ecosystems. For this reason, on 4 September a national day is dedicated to the toothfish in South Georgia.
Sally Poncet is an Australian-born scientist and adventurer who has explored and studied the Antarctic region since 1977. Her specialty is birds and she made extensive studies of albatross and their habitats for the British Antarctic Survey. She has written guidebooks on preservation of the flora and fauna of South Georgia and received numerous awards and honors, including the Blue Water Medal, the Fuchs Medal and the Polar Medal for her contributions to understanding the southern polar region.
Air Commodore Nigel James Phillips, is a British diplomat, former Royal Air Force officer and former Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. He has served as Governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 13 August 2022.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands since 13 March 2014, in accordance with the law in force in England and Wales, although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office only updated its travel advice website page to include a note about it in January 2018. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, despite having no permanent population, was the first British Overseas Territory to recognise same-sex marriage.
The Prince Edward Island Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region near the Prince Edward Islands in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa, nearly 2,000 km southeast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean. The MPA provides habitat for seals, killer whales, breeding seabirds and Patagonian toothfish.
The Governor in Council may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, appoint any day to be a public holiday.
14 September Toothfish (end of season) Day
Wednesday 29th September Toothfish Day Reception Government House, Stanley 1800-1930
5 September Toothfish Day (in lieu of 4 September)