Ramsay withdraws rare tuna from restaurants

Gordon Ramsay is to take an endangered fish off the menu of his two most famous restaurants within days after criticism from conservationists and the Government.

The World Wildlife Fund and the Marine Conservation Society expressed their anger at Ramsay's serving of bluefin tuna in an Independent survey of the sustainability of fish dishes at Britain's top restaurants.

Bluefin tuna is being fished out of the Atlantic and Mediterranean with a rapidity that has left it on the verge of commercial extinction.

But Britain's most decorated chef has been selling bluefin tuna at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Claridge's in London for months, despite headlines about the parlous state of the fish.

At Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, wealthy diners have been ordering a starter of bluefin tuna and roasted cep tartar with caviar, basil puree and spring onions on the £50 lunch menu. The £85-a-head à la carte menu offers carpaccio of bluefin tuna and swordfish with brown butter.

The biggest demand for bluefin tuna comes from the lucrative export markets to Japan, where its delicate flavour is prized in sashimi, though European gourmands are also straining supplies.

Such demand has left stocks of bluefin being classified by the World Conservation Union as endangered or critically endangered.

Bernadette Clarke, senior fisheries policy officer at the Marine Conservation Society, said the sale of the fish in some of the most affluent restaurants was a disgrace. "Someone like Gordon Ramsay, who is in the public eye and who is looked up to by his chefs, other restaurateurs and the public, should be setting an example by not selling fish like bluefin. Perhaps he doesn't know how endangered it is," she said.

"But I would have thought that when he makes a living from cooking, he should know in detail what food he is sourcing. The plight of bluefin tuna is well documented."

The Government has campaigned internationally to save the creatures and the Environment Minister, Ben Bradshaw, was "shocked" to learn that a leading restaurateur was selling the fish.

"We have been fighting very hard to get much tougher restrictions on bluefin fishing in the Mediterranean," Mr Bradshaw told the Independent.

"Obviously some people are not as well-informed as others, but for people to knowingly eat or buy it is not responsible. We are talking about a seriously endangered fish."

The minister added: "Given the state of the bluefin tuna stocks, I would not eat it, I do not think others should eat it and I do not think restaurateurs should sell it."

Last night, after being told of the criticism, a spokeswoman for Gordon Ramsay Holdings said the fish would be taken off the menu in the two restaurants at the end of the week.

"As of 1 June, it's coming off those two menus and being replaced by yellowfin tuna. They will not use bluefin tuna any more."

She said the restaurants' chefs were "constantly" talking to suppliers and made efforts to find out what was environmentally sustainable. Ramsay's move is welcome news for campaigners, who are seeking to highlight the plight of depleted fish stocks.

Tom Pickerell, fisheries policy officer at the WWF, remarked: "It is worrying. We are looking at 'goodbye bluefin tuna' unless something is done."

What tuna to eat

Bluefin

Bluefin, the panda of the tuna world, is the most endangered species. There are two stocks in the Atlantic. The northern bluefin is endangered in the east and critically endangered in the west. The southern is critically endangered.

Albacore

Albacore is moderately vulnerable. The North Atlantic stock is unsustainable it is over-fished in the Indian Ocean stock is overfished. Choose Albacore from the south Atlantic and south Pacific.

Bigeye

Bigeye stocks are vulnerable and should be avoided.

Skipjack

Much tinned tuna is skipjack, branded the 'chicken of the seas' because of its abundance.

Yellowfin

Again often tinned for sale in the UK, Pacific and Atlantic stocks are sustainable. As with skipjack, choose line (handline or pole and line) or troll-caught 'dolphin-friendly' fish.

Source: Marine Conservation Society