EJF is teaming up with some of the UK’s top seafood restaurants to raise money and awareness for our critically important work to secure truly sustainable, well-managed fisheries and with this the conservation of marine biodiversity and ecosystems and the protection of human rights.

This Sunday 8th June is World Oceans Day 2014 and to celebrate, EJF is once again running a Save the Sea Restaurant Campaign to encourage sustainable and ethical sourcing of seafood products by restaurants. The aim is to raise awareness amongst the general public that our consumer choices can help protect oceans and keep seafood on our menus in the long-term.

The Save the Sea Restaurant Campaign invites restaurants to demonstrate their commitment to sustainably sourced seafood in the UK restaurant industry and to ask customers to contribute donations throughout the month of June. Donations will go to protect fish stocks and the livelihoods of local fishermen in coastal communities in West Africa, where EJF works to protect the marine environment and those who depend on it.

The campaign is picking up pace and EJF has already received support this year from culinary greats such as Martin Wishart and Shaun Rankin, whilst also securing all 9 branches of London’s Feng Sushi restaurants.

What is the issue?

Global losses due to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) or ‘pirate’ fishing are estimated to be between US$10 billion and US$23.5 billion annually, representing between 11 and 26 million tonnes of catch – some of the highest relative levels of IUU fishing in the world. This illegal industry depletes fish stocks, destroys marine ecosystems, puts legitimate fishers at an unfair disadvantage and jeopardizes the livelihoods and food security of some of the poorest communities in the world.

EJF gathers evidence on fishing vessel activities and promotes information-sharing amongst key stakeholders in West Africa. The project aims to ensure that sanctions are imposed for IUU activities, improve transparency and identify trends across the region to inform national, regional and global decision-making.

Pirate fishing methods are a huge cause for concern – drastically damaging protected marine habitats and depleting fish stocks. Illegal fishing vessels use heavy nets to trawl the ocean floor, scooping up any marine life unlucky enough to fall into their path and damaging the seabed. These fishing methods are not only destructive, but extremely wasteful, with up to 70% of the catch being dumped over the side due to lack of commercial value. This by-catch can include a wide range of threatened and slow reproducing species including dolphins, whales, sharks and turtles.

The depletion of fish stocks not only results in a decrease in biodiversity, but threatens the livelihoods of coastal communities whose artisanal fisherman depend on the catch for their income and food. In Sierra Leone, the vast majority of protein comes from fish. Illegal trawlers reap the fruitful waters and damage the local fishermen’s gear – all completely outside of the law.

EJF’s projects in Sierra Leone strive to combat illegal fishing by working with the local communities and government to target pirate vessels. Trawlers are tracked and reported and the evidence then passed to the relevant authorities. These projects have not only resulted in individual vessels being fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also international policy changes and stricter importation controls. EJF is continually working to combat illegal fishing in West Africa and promote transparency and traceability in seafood supply chains globally.

What can you do to help?

By supporting the Save the Sea Restaurant Campaign, you can directly contribute to the long term protection of our oceans and sustainable seafood. By encouraging transparency and traceability in seafood supply chains for UK restaurants and raising funds to help EJF secure sustainable and well-managed fisheries on a global scale; you will be protecting both the environment and human rights, and helping make sure there’s plenty more fish in the sea for future World Oceans Days.

100% of funds raised will go straight to our Oceans team and their work towards a sustainable future for seafood.

Our supporters say...

“Feng Sushi is incredibly excited to be apart of the Save the Sea campaign! To support the campaign, Feng Sushi is offering to donate £1 of every Shellfish Cerviche bought throughout the whole of June across all 9 branches for eat in and delivery. Support the Save The Sea campaign as much as you can, it’s a great way to generate awareness and raise funding to ensure the important work can be done to protect marine life.” Feng Sushi, London (2014)

Moshi Moshi have pledged to donate £1 for every dish sold of their ‘animo’ foie gras of the sea:

“Monkfish liver, caught by our fisherman Chris Bean off the Lizard in Cornwall using static gill nets. Before we went out on his boats he was discarding the livers back into the sea, but our chef asked him to send them to us... A fish that has been fished with little damage to the marine habitat, and one that used to go to waste, now ends up in a delicious and nutritional dish in our restaurant and benefits the income of our small inshore fisher, as well.” Moshi Moshi, London (2014)

“I’m delighted to be supporting the Save the Sea Campaign in my restaurant at Berwick Lodge. EJF are doing inspiring work to protect threatened species in West Africa and I’m proud to be supporting by donating £1 to the Save the Sea Campaign for every seafood dish sold in the restaurant during June” Berwick Lodge, Bristol (Sarah Arikan, 2014)

Participating restaurants

Venues you can visit to make a difference:

1884 Dock Street Kitchen - Hull
Berwick Lodge - Bristol
Burnt Ends - Singapore
Cafe St Honore - Edinburgh
Camp and Furnace - Liverpool
Colman's Fish and Chips - South Shields, Tyne and Wear
Damson - Manchester
Eat on the Green - Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Feng Sushi - all 9 London restaurants
Fishers Restaurant - Bristol & Oxford
Harrison's - Bedford Hill, London
Kensington Place - London
Moshi Moshi - Liverpool Street, London
Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond - Loch Lomond, Scotland
Olley's Fish Experience - Herne Hill, London
Ormer Restaurant - Jersey
Pescheria Mattiucci - Portobello Road, London
Restaurant Martin Wishart - Edinburgh, Scotland
Sam's Brasserie and Bar - Chiswick, London
Sosban - Wales
The Blue Marlin- Dundee, Scotland
The Duke of Cambridge - Islington, London
The Flying Fish Restaurant, St. Michael's Hotel - Cornwall
The Honours (Martin Wishart) - Edinburgh, Scotland
The Larder on Goosegate - Nottingham
The Modern Pantry - Clerkenwell, London
The Peat Inn - St. Andrews, Scotland
The Queens at Belbroughton - Stourbridge
The Stackpole Inn - Stackpole, Wales
The Three Stags - Lambeth, London
The Wright Brothers - Soho, London
Turl Street Kitchen - Oxford
Urban Beach - Bournemouth
Waters on the Square - Birmingham