A Gala Dinner at the Old Billingsgate Market, once the centre of London's fish trade, has raised almost £250,000 in aid of the Marine Stewardship Council, diver and Neutral Buoyancy author Tim Ecott reports.

Fish in high places

At Sea into the Future, guests paid £200 per head for a menu devised by celebrity chefs Rick Stein, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Sophie Grigson. The meal included mackerel with fennel and shaved parmesan, and Atlantic salmon served warmed potato salad, dishes prepared with sustainably caught species.

HRH Prince Charles opened the evening with a speech outlining his own commitment to raising awareness of the plight of the marine environment. He acknowledged that, "sadly the health of fish stocks can no longer be left entirely to Nature and we need a shared view of maintaining fish as a wild resource for future generations."

Attending the event was the UK Environment Secretary, Margaret Beckett and a host of well known figures from politics past and present. The Chairman of the MSC, John Gummer MP, welcomed guests to an auction of artwork commissioned specifically for the occasion. Works by well known artists such as Damien Hirst and Maggie Hambling raised more than £62,000. Spotted in the audience were the actors Anthony Andrews and Robert Powell, the composer Sir Tim Rice and actor Stephen Fry. The former prime minister Sir John Major was also there.

The MSC aims to encourage sustainable fisheries practices and raise consumer awareness of fishing issues and promotes MSC certification of fish products in supermarkets. According to the MSC, the battle to win the war against fisheries depletion and destruction has to be waged on the supermarket shelves. The organisation hopes to persuade consumers to look for MSC certified products and persuade fish product manufacturers to source their catch from sustainable fisheries.


More links of interest
Marine Stewardship Council


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