How to save UK fisheries
A University of York specialist on marine conservation has advised Royal Mail on a special issue of stamps focusing on Sustainable Fish.
Professor Callum Roberts, of the Environment Department, acted as a consultant on the project which promotes sustainable fishing in British waters. The stamps, launched on World Environment Day are the first ever by Royal Mail to have been produced to help champion a consumer message around an environmental issue.
The ten-stamp set highlights the beauty of marine fish as well as providing guidance and encouragement to consumers on how to conserve UK fisheries. Many familiar fish are severely threatened due to a variety of factors including overfishing – the stamps raise awareness of the threat and also suggests sustainable alternatives.
Five of the species illustrated are fish that are threatened in UK waters; Common Skate; Spiny Dogfish (sometimes called Rock Salmon); Wolffish; Sturgeon and Conger Eel, while five are species from sustainable populations which provide viable alternatives for fisheries and consumers: Herring; Red Gurnard; Dab; Pouting and Cornish Sardine.
The plight of fisheries has caused increasing public concern in recent years, with some organisations offering advice to consumers on which seafood to purchase and supermarket chains actively informing their customers about making informed choices. There have also been a number of TV programmes highlighting the issue.
Professor Roberts said: "Marine protected areas that are off limits to fishing could recover endangered species like those on the stamps, as well as providing a boost to the fishing industry through recovered stocks. Only one thousandth of 1% of UK seas are fully protected from fishing at present. To bring back endangered fish species, we need a huge increase in the coverage of such protected areas."
Andrew Hammond, of Royal Mail, added; “With the majority of the world’s fish stocks currently fully-exploited or over-exploited this is a key issue of concern. We hope this stamp issue goes some way to helping people make informed choices about sustainability and contribute to the discussion about the conservation of UK fish stocks.”
Professor Roberts worked on the project with Royal Mail employee Philip Parker, who studied Physics at York in 1980-83, coincidentally the years that Professor Roberts studied Biology here.