Dozens of edible fish live in UK waters, but the unadventurous British tend to eat just three – salmon, tuna and cod – most of which come from abroad. A campaign beginning next week with the backing of the Government aims to persuade people to consider trying a new piscene experience. For every meal of salmon, cod and tuna, people should eat one containing abundant species such as gurnard and dab, viewers of a celebrity chef-fronted Channel 4 season will be advised.
Supermarkets are preparing for a rush of demand for the new species following the airing of the first show in the channel's Fish Fight series on Tuesday. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, credited with significantly increasing demand for higher-welfare chicken three years ago, will take the lead in the campaign, with three-one hour programmes highlighting the waste in fishing practices, and the many unsung fruits de mer, whose adoption could take pressure off more popular stocks.
Jamie Oliver will front 10 shows of 10 minutes each, giving tips on cooking one of the lesser-known species; Heston Blumenthal will explore what dishes can be made from the few sea creatures that may escape overfishing, such as sea cucumber and jellyfish, and Gordon Ramsay – once ticked off for serving bluefin tuna at two of his restaurants – will investigate the catching of sharks to make the Chinese delicacy shark-fin soup.
Organisations such as the Marine Stewardship Council and Marine Conservation Society have given their blessing to the campaign. Support, too, has come from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which wants to reform the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
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