Media release – TasWater, 16 June 2022

New spokesfish joins the TasWater team

TasWater has appointed a spokesfish to head up a new campaign aimed at increasing water literacy among Tasmanians.

With current statistics showing 70 per cent of Tasmanians have low to low-medium water literacy*, Bob Goldfish joins the TasWater team and is tasked with the job of sharing water security awareness messages around the state.

The Let’s Love Our Water campaign will see Bob appearing on television, in newspapers and on social media to share a range of important messages. The high-visibility nature of the campaign is an ideal setting for Bob given that, as a bright orange goldfish, Bob is also highly visible.

Only 44 per cent of Tasmanians feel that water security is an issue for our future – the second lowest in Australia – but they also believe that climate change is one of the top three challenges we are facing. With climate change and water security inextricably linked, Bob’s job is to help us make the connection.

Corporate and Community Relations General Manager (acting) Kendall Mahnken said although there’s a big job to do, Bob is well and truly up to the task.

“Bob is the perfect spokesfish to share the Let’s Love Our Water message. Being a fish, there’s an obvious understanding of how vital water is. Bob is also passionate about sharing knowledge, being a real people-fish,” she said.

“Of all Australians, Tasmanians are among the least likely to believe that water security is an issue for them. There is a belief that water is abundant here and that climate changes will have little effect on the drinking water supplied to their home, but the reality is that many challenges face the Tasmanian water sector. Through the Let’s Love Our Water campaign Bob will educate us all a little more on the challenges we face in water security.”

Importantly, the campaign complements the work TasWater is undertaking to renew infrastructure through its $1.1 billion capital works program and reducing the amount of network water losses through active leakage management, using technology that listens for leaks that may not be visible.

Bob is also looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m excited to join the team at TasWater and I know I’m going to fit right in because I look good in orange. It’s like I was born for this job!” Bob said.

“My job is telling the good people of Tasmania that we only have so much water to go around. I mean, who understands living in a finite amount of water better than yours truly?”

“Humans and fish have a lot in common, you know. We both rely on water to survive, and sometimes we both forget things.

“That’s why I’m going to be on the telly, in the socials and in the newspapers asking people to Let’s Love Our Water because we don’t want people to forget how precious and vital our water is.”

*Tasmania Water Literacy Baseline Report 2021.

Editor’s note: In response to this we asked TasWater the question: Why didn’t you choose a native fish?

Their reply:

A great deal of consideration went into our choice of character for the Let’s Love Our Water message.

We needed a universally recognisable character that audiences could connect quickly with. Tasmanian native fish are not as recognisable as the humble goldfish, nor are they able to be easily kept in captivity.

There is a common belief that goldfish are forgetful and this is a helpful metaphor when talking about our water and how easy it is to forget how vital it is to our lives and good health. A forgetful goldfish also allows us to inject some personality into the character and bring humour and emotion to what might otherwise be a pretty dry subject.

Another reason we used a goldfish is that they are highly dependent on a finite amount of water. They only have the water in their bowl and this allows us to talk about the water we all share and why it is essential to be mindful of how we use it.