Greenpeace Campaigner Hanne Larsen holds a Cod to be discarded due to current EU quota systems
In case you missed it, last week a progressive debate was held in the House of
Commons about the future of UK fish: centred on the urgent need for reform of European fisheries
laws, and ending the needless waste of excess catch known as ‘discards’.
African Voices: Harbour and hub of Joal. Unloading of fish from pirogues.
Three leaders of West African fishing communities arrived in the UK on Sunday to embark on a week long mission: to reveal how massive European fleets are not just destroying ocean ecosystems in Africa, but also lives and communities.
Prince Charles at the launch of Selfridges' sustainable fishing event Project Ocean
Selfridges launched Project Ocean with a bang last week. The
legendary department store's front is draped with a giant
banner asking ‘No more fish in the sea?.’ Their famed Oxford Street windows are filled with installations
on fish issues - grabbing attention and headlines. And they’ve pulled
in a host of celebrity supporters, from Katherine Hamnett to Elle McPherson. But that's just the start of this month long celebration of our seas...
Fishingboats arriving to Tarrafal, Santiago, Cape Verde.
On Sunday the latest leg of African Voices begins, as three delegates
from West African fishing communities arrive in London to start a
tour of the UK, speaking out on how the invasion of industrial-sized EU fleets
are threatening their livelihoods, food security and marine ecosystems.
Project Ocean: Selfridges celebrate, fundraise and reach out to save our seas
There’s a big splash on Oxford Street today as Selfridges -
the world’s best department store, on the busiest shopping street - has been
taken over for five weeks to help save our seas with Project Ocean.
Frank Pope celebrates marine reserves in new BBC series: Britain's Secret Seas
Ocean correspondent for the Times, and presenter of new BBC series Britain's Secret Seas (starting Sunday), Frank Pope shares his passion for our waters and why the UK needs more marine reserves now:
Everyone who's
watched the stunning documentary series The
Blue Planetis awestruck by the beauty and diversity of life in the ocean.
But, I often felt that the spectacular colours, alien weirdness, and huge
creatures featured, were filmed in a sea far different from the one that crashes
against our cliffs and beaches. Boy, was I wrong.
The disastrous effects of
overfishing by European fleets aren’t confined to our continent's waters: destructive EU vessels are now exploiting the waters of the world’s
poorest nations - threatening ecosystems, depriving local
fishermen of their livelihoods and the food security of their communities. So Greenpeace have brought them and their stories to Europe.
Brilliant news! Morrisons has announced a new policy on
tinned tuna, committing to stop sourcing fish caught via destructive fishing
methods: this means that now all major UK supermarkets have now changed their policy towards being more sustainable. This leaves John West as the last major supplier left that still needs to change its tuna.
In the three months
since Hugh's Fish Fight screened on Channel 4 there's been a frenzy of activity
in the fish trade, thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's investigation into
the way our fish is caught and sold. If you missed the series the first time
round and are wondering what all the fuss was about, the series is being
repeated starting tonight at 10pm on More 4.
In 2006, we said Morrisons was the worst fish retailer. Now its failing on tinned tuna, just like John West
We had huge success earlier this
month getting both Princes and Asda to clean up their tinned tuna. But the battle
against the butchering of our oceans isn’t over: John West and Morrisons are
still not off the hook (ahem).
