Angler’s use of Ooshies to catch fish stirs controversy

A Woolworths promotion involving Disney+ Ooshies has become a boon of sorts for an angler in Australia, who says the popular collectibles help him catch fish.

Mark Pace of Queensland posted several photos to Facebook this week showing glow-in-the-dark Ooshies attached near his hooks, to be used as teasers.

The glow from the collectables, Pace implied, helps inspire a strike response from game fish. His post also displayed photos of fish he caught with the help of Ooshies.

“Anyone have any glow-in-the-dark Ooshies they don’t want? Pace asked. “Happy to pay $1 each.”

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Apparently, the Wooolworths-Disney+ promotion has been so popular that the supermarket giant has run out of stock in most areas. As part of the promotion, the collectibles were given to customers who spent $30 or more in the stores.

“It’s apparent customers of all ages have loved collecting these Disney+ Ooshies and their popularity completely exceeded our expectations,” Andrew Hicks, Chief Marketing Officer for Woolworths, told 9News Australia.

But as Pace’s Facebook post became widely shared – “Finally, a useful purpose for Ooshies,” one commenter wrote – some viewers expressed concern that if this became a trend it would result in more plastic polluting the oceans.

“Plastic has no place in our oceans in any way or form,” one commenter wrote.

A potential controversy became such that a Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that the collectibles are not intended to be plopped into the ocean.

“While we don’t encourage the use of Ooshies for fishing bait, they can be used in many other ways,” the spokesperson said. “From storytelling, taking care of them as a special collector’s items or popping them on the back of pencils.”

–Images courtesy of Mark Pace