Underwater world comes alive on latest animal stamps from the Royal Mail
1st February 2007

It’s time to peer under the waves and enter the watery world of the UK’s sea creatures on Royal Mail’s stunning Sea Life stamps.

The ten 1st Class stamps, on sale from 1 February, feature spectacular examples of underwater photography, brought together to produce a snapshot of life around the UK’s 11,000-mile coastline, including Northern Ireland’s 400-mile coastline.

News Release

26 January 2007

Sea Life is the latest in Royal Mail's Animals stamps series which started in 2001 (for more details see Notes to Editors) and features some recognisable and some not so familiar creatures living near the UK's wonderfully diverse coast.
 
To launch the stamps Royal Mail teamed up with Exploris – The Northern Ireland Aquarium at Portaferry where local postman Liam McGrattan got a closer look at some of the local residents.

Exploris, celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, enables the public to view the amazingly diverse marine life that exists around our shores. In addition to the aquarium the Centre offers discovery pools, educational tours and a very popular seal sanctuary.

Rory Martin, Events and Marketing Officer at Exploris, said “We are delighted to join with Royal Mail to launch these beautiful stamps which capture the wealth of species to be found living around our shores.

“At Exploris we display most of the species featured on the stamps in a live situation as well as having one of the largest rehabilitation centres for sick or injured seals in the country. It is a pleasure, therefore, to see images of each species captured so clear and with such vivid colours for us all to treasure for many years.” 

Most people in Northern Ireland live no more than 50 miles from the sea, so there's a good chance that many stamp collectors and customers alike will have seen at least some of the creatures featured. In fact, 50% of the UK's wildlife species live in the sea around its coastline.
 
From the pulsating pink bell of the Moon Jellyfish to the beautiful but predatory Sun Star, designer Andrew Ross has brought together an array of aquatic animals selected from thousands of underwater images.
 
Barbara Roulston, Head of External Relations, Royal Mail said: “These beautiful 1st Class stamps are a superb addition to our Animals thematic series which I know many collectors look forward to.
 
“I'm sure that the millions of people who will receive these stamps on letters or as gifts will really enjoy the experience of seeing these stunning visual examples of our marine life.”

For further information please contact Samuel Houston on (028) 9089 2106. Press Officers are available 24 hours a day. Call (028) 9089 2341 for out-of-hours contact details of the duty Press Officer.

For more information about Exploris please contact Rory Martin, Events and Marketing Officer on (028) 4272 8062

NOTES TO EDITORS

The first of the Animals series stamps was Cats and Dogs issued in February 2001 and has continued with Just So Stories (Jan 2002), Birds of Prey (Jan 2003), Woodland Animals (Sept 2004), Farm Animals (Jan 2005) and Ice Age Animals (Mar 2006).

Images of the full set of Sea Life stamps are available by contacting Samuel Houston at Royal Mail (contact details as listed above)

Stamp Technical Details:
Value Description
1st - First class inland letter Rate Moon Jellyfish
1st - First class inland letter Rate Common Starfish
1st - First class inland letter Rate Beadlet Anemone
1st - First class inland letter Rate Bass
1st - First class inland letter Rate Thornback Ray
1st - First class inland letter Rate Lesser Octopus
1st - First class inland letter Rate Common Mussels
1st - First class inland letter Rate Grey Seal
1st - First class inland letter Rate Shore Crab
1st - First class inland letter Rate Common Sun Star

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