In celebration of World Oceans Day (8 June), a host of the UK’s top sustainable seafood restaurants are lending their support to protect the world’s oceans from illegal over-fishing and plastic pollution.

Among the prestigious list are some of the UK’s finest eateries including Michelin-starred restaurants The Peat Inn and Restaurant Martin Wishart, The Honours, Firmdale Hotels (Queens Award winner 2018), and Lussmanns Sustainable Fish & Grill.

Andrei Lussmann, founder of Lussmanns – the first restaurant group in the UK to serve a 100% Marine Stewardship Council certified menu ­– said: “We’re supporting the EJF campaign because we need seas that are without plastic, we need fisheries that are full. It’s quite clear that we won’t have enough fish in the sea if we carry on buying fish that’s not been certified.”

For one month beginning on World Oceans Day, diners at these restaurants will discover an innovative partnership between sustainable seafood and ocean conservation. Eating out will be an occasion to celebrate the global, interconnected nature of our oceans and sustainable fisheries, and learn about EJF – a charity campaigning for fairer seas, free from illegal fishing and human rights abuse.

From Michelin-starred restaurants by the North Sea, to a takeaway in Somerset (Seafoods Fish & Chips was voted one of the top 5 chippies in the South West), these eateries’ ethical fish-sourcing practices reflect the growing consumer demand for sustainable seafood.

Long-term supporter of EJF’s Save the Sea campaign Martin Wishart says: “I am delighted to be backing EJF’s Save the Sea campaign again, supporting their work to protect oceans, and make fishing sustainable for those who depend on coastal seas the most. We urgently need to re-think our relationship with the sea in 2019, and I hope this collaboration encourages diners in Restaurant Martin Wishart and The Honours to eat consciously, and do their bit for safer seas."

EJF’s Executive Director Steve Trent comments: “We’re proud to have the support of some of the UK’s leading restaurants and hotels who are committed to protecting our shared ‘Blue Planet’. The Save the Sea campaign, now in its seventh year, provides a unique platform to inform and engage diners at some of the best eateries in the UK. Consumers and companies play a vital role in protecting oceans when they choose seafood that comes from legal, sustainable and ethical sources, and by pledging a donation they can directly contribute to local conservation projects in Asia and West Africa. Customers can eat well and do good.”

ENDS

Notes for editors

• Funds raised during the Save the Sea campaign (8^th June – 8^th July) will support EJF’s work combatting illegal fishing, reducing plastic pollution and protecting marine wildlife and coastal communities. Find out more at our campaign webpage and watch EJF’s video with restaurateur interviews.
• EJF: works with grassroots communities to protect marine habitats and endangered wildlife including turtles, dolphins and sharks; campaigns to end slavery in fisheries; and promotes traceability and transparency in seafood supply chains.
• Around one third of the global fish catch could be from illegal sources – depriving small-scale fishers of food and income. Around the globe, more than 3 billion people rely on ocean biodiversity for their livelihoods.
• Every minute the equivalent of a rubbish truck of plastic waste enters the oceans. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually.

The Environmental Justice Foundation is an international non-governmental organisation working to protect the environment and defend human rights. EJF is a charity registered in England and Wales (1088128).

Contact:

Daisy Brickhill

Press & Communications Officer

daisy.brickhill@ejfoundation.org

Tel: 07871946911