A unique procedure that gave two rockfish glass eyes has netted the Vancouver Aquarium some high-profile attention from the world of late-night comedy.
The aquarium was mentioned during a bit on Friday night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, after a story about the strange surgery was picked up by U.S. media outlets last week.
The one-eyed rockfish were being bullied and attacked by their tankmates, likely because their lack of eyeballs was seen as a weakness.
A team of veterinarians from Seattle and Vancouver then outfitted the rockfish with prosthetic eyeballs in a bid to stop the bullying.
“This is a crazy story,” host Jimmy Fallon told his studio audience.
“So far the toughest part has been other rockfish figuring out where to look when they’re talking to him… ‘Do you like swimming, or?’” he said, imitating a rockfish to laughter. “It’s awkward.”
Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian for the aquarium, called the exposure the story has received since it was posted in an internal blog last year "incredible."
"One of my coworkers texted me last night and went, 'You're not going to believe this...We're on Jimmy Fallon,'" Haulena told CTV News. "The attention this thing has gotten is fantastic, and I've got to admit, the joke was awesome."
Haulena said the story will hopefully inspire people to have a sense of stewardship toward fish, often seen as disposable when compared to marine mammals like sea otters and dolphins.
Things are reportedly going swimmingly for the rockfish since receiving their glass eyes, according to Haulena.
