« Hey, a guy’s gotta make a living, » I didn’t meet the fish guy, but this is probably what he would have said, that short, shoulder shrugging phrase for all those who make their money in unchartered waters.

The fish man (as I call him) towing round eight semi trailers filled with 25000 litres of sea water, towing round sharks, sea lions and pirhannas.

How do you end up towing an aquarium around provincial France ? This is Sea World on wheels. Eight or ten ISO containers full of fish – Salty the Sea lion, Jaws and a few pirhanas on the back of a lorry.

From town-to-town on the provincial circuit, bringing aquatic thrills and spills to the folks back home.

So, the posters went a couple of weeks ago – Giant Aquarium, Sharks, sea lion shows and a few pirhanas thrown in for good measure – a daily sea lion show by Rio and Fanny plus a live shark in a big fish tank on the back of a lorry.

This is hard-pressed, cash dry small town France – if you can’t get to the sea, the sea will come to you. Lorry fulls of marine mamals going through fish-fed antics for the pleasure of the locals.

This will never work. Well it does. When the sea lions are performing (two shows on weekdays and three at the weekends’ the car park is full and the punters are standing in huge long lines outside in the thin autumn rain.

This is cruel – the punters don’t think so, they are coming out the show wearing big happy smiles. The kids are clutching their acquatic souvenirs – rubber sharks, sea lion T shirts, and masks …

I mean this is cruel to the animals – sharks are meant to be swimming round in the sea, not flailing round in a small fish tank in the back of a lorry.

« Hey, a shark’s gotta make a living. »