A Yellowtail rockfish, Sebastes flavidus, has been given a prosthetic eye in a procedure performed by vets at Vancouver Aquarium in Canada.
The fish had to have one of its eyes removed due to cataracts. A similar operation was also carried out on a Copper rockfish, S. caurinus.
The procedure was performed by the Aquarium's head vet, Dr Martin Haulena, with help from Seattle Aquarium’s head vet, Dr. Lesanna Lahner. After putting the fish under anaesthetic, a taxidermy eye was fitted to the bone above the eye socket by sewing it on with nylon sutures and attaching it with titanium clips.
Apart from the obvious cosmetic value, experts at the Aquarium say that the prosthetic eye will prevent other fish picking on the one-eyed individuals, which may be seen as sick or weakened.
You can see the procedure in the video below.