The ‘Year of the Water Rabbit ‘ or Chinese New Year was welcomed with an exhibit featuring the ‘Lucky Rabbitfish’ inside the Oceanarium of the Manila Ocean Park (MOP).
According to MOP marketing head Marianne Carlos, the rabbitfishes are called as such because of their rabbit-like snouts. They are also considered as the “Chinese New Year Fish” because their reproductive season is during the New Moon or Lunar New Year.
Diving with the rabbitfishes was MOP’s ‘Underwater Prosperity God’ diving with and feeding them using a special feeding ring shaped like the number 8, the number which symbolizes fortune, good luck and prosperity, Carlos added.
It was learned from Mary Joyce Arias-Tarroza , VP for Sales & Marketing, that the said exhibit can be seen any day of the week, as MOP is open daily from 10 a.m, to 6 p.m., even on holidays.
“The MOP is the country’s first world-class marine themed park and that since it opened in 2008, it has evolved to be the metro’s holiday destination, an integrated urban resort with premier marine-life attractions, an aqua-themed boutique hotel, and dining establishments. Moreover, as a premier educational facility and stewards of marine biodiversity, MOP plays an important role in the protection of the marine environment by way of its educational exhibits and various research activities conducted in the facility,” Tarroza said. (JERRY S. TAN)
