TV chef in appeal to protect UK seas

TV chef Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall has said it is vital Government does more to protect UK seas as he led hundreds of campaigners in a march to Westminster.

The presenter of Channel 4 series, Hugh’s Fish Fight, urged ministers to increase the number of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) after more than £8 million was spent on identifying 127 areas where dolphins, seahorses and other rare species most need protection.

The Westminster ministerial department responsible for the issue has set out plans to create 31 sites by the end of this year, while the majority of MCZs have no timetable.

Fearnley-Whittingstall said yesterday: “We’re all here today because we believe in the sea. We know it has an incredible power to enhance our lives.

“There’s a public consultation going on right now over the proposals of 127 new marine reserves around the UK.

“So far we’re a little concerned that the Government are only going to look at 31 of those in the coming year, and at this point they haven’t given us a time frame for the rest.

“This is the sort of opportunity that may not come again.”

Last week, FearnleyWhittingstall was accused by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation of hoodwinking the public by apparently missing out key facts in his TV series.

Chief executive Bertie Armstrong had claimed that his message to s ave fish stocks was oversimplified.