CELEBRITY chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign to save fish stocks could put tens of thousands of British workers out of a job.
The Old Etonian wants a network of 127 Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) set up in UK waters where fishing would be banned to protect dolphins, seahorses and other rare species.
Stars including Miranda Hart, 40, Stephen Fry, 55, Coldplay and Ricky Gervais, 51, have signed up to be “Fish Fighters” as part of Hugh’s campaign.
But Government scientists have so far only given the go-ahead for 31 conservation zones to be enforced around the coast.
Seafood industry bosses fear if Hugh gets his way not only would many of those working at sea lose their livelihoods but thousands more in fish processing factories across the UK would also end up on the dole.
More than 10,000 people are directly employed in the fish trade in Grimsby alone and the processing industry employs huge numbers of workers in ports all over the UK.
Multi-millionaire Hugh, 48, has already been slammed by a scientist who said his Channel 4 TV show Hugh’s Fish Fight was “poorly researched and misleading”.
Zoologist and penguin expert Dr Ruth Brown agreed to be interviewed by Hugh for his show but said she was “ashamed” of the “misleading” evidence in the programme.
In an open letter to the chef posted on Facebook she said: “You and your production company repeatedly ignored the research and opinions of scientists.”
She claims the programme wrongly suggested she is paid by the fishing industry and screened “glaring inaccuracies”.
Paul Williams, the boss of Seafish, the organisation that represents the seafood industry, said: “The inconvenient truth to campaigns such as Fish Fight is that fishermen’s knowledge has shown how the boundaries of a number of proposed MPAs and the location of features within them are wrong.
“When livelihoods and communities are at risk of damage we must only deal in fact. It is vital discussions around such complex issues continue to be held by people who have the knowledge to make considered, informed decisions.”
He said experts at the Government’s Scientific Advisory Panel have so far refused to ban fishing in the 127 areas
Hugh wants because there is not enough evidence it would help preserve fish stocks.
In Devon, fishermen say Hugh should stick to his kitchen and leave their industry alone.
“Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall would no doubt have an opinion if we told him how to cook his fish,” said Barry Young, a fish auctioneer in Brixham, Devon.
“He should leave the fishing industry to fishermen and concentrate on his cooking.”
But Hugh insists his programme was “meticulously researched” and was fair and accurate.
Story courtesy of the Daily Star: