Jenny Jones, London Assembly

Jenny Jones is a Member of the London Assembly. She has worked for many years on environmental issues, championing the cause of sustainability and animal welfare in London government policy.

On the subject of fish, Jenny expresses her environmental concerns, "It makes sense to preserve a resource that you are going to want to buy or serve next year and forever. If you want your children and grandchildren to eat the same variety of fish that you can eat, shop wisely to guarantee the future."

Also, although most of us see fish as a food, and sustainable fish will guarantee us a future food source, there is a strong argument for maintaining our seas as an ecosphere of its own. Firstly, because we still don’t know very much about it; and secondly because it is a cleaning and oxygenating agent for the whole planet."

What has Jenny done to support sustainable fish?

From 2004, Jenny was Chair of London Food, a body set up by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to write a food strategy for London that would reduce the city's carbon footprint and improve food access for the low paid. She explains, "In 2006, we put the draft strategy out for consultation, fairly confident that we’d got it right and would have very few negative comments. However, almost immediately the Marine Stewardship Council replied to the consultation saying, 'What about sustainable fish?'"

"Very embarrassing! We had forgotten to mention fish, except in passing. I at once replied to the MSC saying that if they would write a paragraph, we would put it into the strategy. That’s how the original food strategy for a sustainable London included sustainable fish. It was the Marine Stewardship Council that inspired us to take action."

Find out more about Jenny Jones on the London Assembly website, and
see her in action on YouTube

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  Allegra McEvedy MBE, chef, writer and presenter
  "To stand by and do nothing, say nothing as we slowly drain the oceans of their livestock is to make one complicit, and that's just not a position with which I was comfortable."

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  Caroline Bennett, Moshi Moshi
  "I am determined to do something about the way we fished the seas. We know the problems, we don’t even need any additional information to know how to fix them: we just have to get on and do it. No excuses."

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  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Fish Fight
  “I have been travelling around the UK meeting fishermen, marine conservationists, politicians, supermarkets bosses, and of course fish-eating members of the public. It has changed the way I think about fish.”

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  Raymond Blanc OBE, Chef Patron, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
  “Good ethics should be part of everyday business. Many restaurants and caterers in this are helping to protect our precious marine resources. They should get rightful recognition and inspire others to do the same.”

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  Rosie Boycott, London Food Board
  "Taking a sustainable approach to fish is critical to the food security of our city. It is shocking to think that within our lifetimes, we could lose some of our favourite species from the seas forever."

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  Silla Bjerrum, Feng Sushi
  "Ensuring the future supply of fish is very important. Eating fish can be a component of a healthy lifestyle. Future generations rely on us to pass on healthy seas and maintain biodiversity."

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  Tim Hughes, Caprice Holdings
  "It’s our duty to impart our knowledge to a wider audience, so everybody realises how important it is to cherish our fish stocks. I will continue to champion lesser-known species in plentiful and sustainable supply."