A week on the sea, for life under the sea
In August, Team Wilder & Williams will battle wild seas and blood-thirsty midges, to kayak around Raasay and Rhona - two islands to the northwest of Skye: a round-trip of about 120km and 5 days’ paddling and camping. It's primarily a ‘fun holiday’, but we want to use the opportunity to raise awareness (and funds…) for the Marine Conservation Society, who are working for a cause we’re rather concerned about.
Over three quarters of the worlds fisheries are over-exploited. It’s not only the target species that are in trouble; fishing techniques (trawlers, dredgers, long-liners…) damage other species and the wider habitat. This is obviously bad for wildlife. But it’s bad for people too. Globally, fisheries supply over 2.6 billion people with a fifth of their protein. So fishing unsustainably won’t help anyone – not those who depend directly on fish for their protein or income, nor their grandchildren.
The Marine Conservation Society is one charity trying to do something about it; lobbying hard for a strong Marine Bill to protect our precious marine habitats, and carrying out education and awareness-raising activities throughout the , and promoting sustainable seafood. They’re the only charity that focuses on seas.
We think they do sterling work, so we’ve decided to join their Coastal Challenge; a national effort to cover the equivalent of the ’s coastline; 18,470 km. Ok, so our combined 240km is only about 1.3% of that; but we hope you’ll support us, and MCS. We also hope you’ll have a think about the fish on your plate, and how it got there.
How you can help
Sponsor us here! (all monies raised will go to MCS)
Eat sustainable seafood. There’s plenty out there. Here’s a simple guide to what fish to eat, and what to avoid. www.fishonline.org/information/MCSPocket_Good_Fish_Guide.pdf
Read more about the great work of the Marine Conservation Society www.mcsuk.org/ in particular, what you can do about the Marine Bill. You can vote in support of Marine Reserves at: www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
