Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall welcomes report calling for action on Marine Conservation Zones

10-Apr-2013 - Last updated on 11-Apr-2013 at 13:11 GMT

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has welcomed a report by MPs which has said the Government is letting the Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) project 'flounder'

Chef, restaurateur and food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has welcomed a report by MPs which has accused the Government of letting the Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) project 'flounder'.

The zones would essentially act as protection areas for rare or threatened habitats or species of fish in English inshore and offshore waters. Existing alongside other European marine sites, the zones would outlaw high-impact methods of fishing.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published recommendations for 127 such zones in 2011. However a public consultation, which closed last month, was investigating the proposals for just 31 - Defra has so far only committed to creating this number of zones by the end of the year.

Flounder

Today the Science and Technology Select Committee published a report into the zones calling them 'vital'. However the group of MPs criticised the lack of action which they attributed to the Government's fear of a judicial review of the policy.

"Properly managed Marine Conservation Zones will protect marine life, the UK’s coastal waters and ensure the fishing industry has a sustainable long-term future," said Andrew Miller MP, chair of the committee.

"The Government is currently letting the project flounder while sensitive environments are further degraded and the industry is subjected to further uncertainty."

Fish Fight

Fearnley-Whittingstall said he was pleased the report had called on the Fisheries Minister to go further and announce a timetable for a consultation on the rest of the MCZs. The Fish Fight campaigner also responded to concerns the report had raised that there was still uncertainty about the impact of the zones on fishing and the industries which rely on fish, including hospitality.

"It's important to remember that MCZs will not be automatically closed to all fishing," he explained. "They are designed to protect important habitats and sensitive species from damaging kinds of fishing, and other activities or developments that could harm them.

"Over 24,000 people emailed the MCZ consultation via the Fish Fight website," he added.

The sustainability of fish has moved higher up the agenda of a number of hospitality businesses within the last year. In January the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) updated its Fish to Eat list because of over-fishing in the north east Atlantic.

Last month a report, welcomed by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), warned that the problem of fish mislabelling was in danger of becoming the next horsemeat scandal.

The Government is expected to publish its response to the recent public consultation within the next few months.