Chef, scientist come to blows

A bird scientist interviewed by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for his TV series has posted a letter on Facebook saying she was portrayed in an “unfair light” on Fish Fight.

In the broadcast of February 28, the chef asked Ruth Brown of British Antarctic Survey about the impact of intensive krill fishing on penguins in the southern Atlantic. Brown said she needed time to consider an answer. But the programme moved on without showing her giving an answer.

In the subsequent voiceover, the chef said: “I can’t understand why these scientists are so wary about backing a new marine protected area around South Georgia. Fisheries operating there bring in millions of pounds.” Brown in her letter said, “I work for British Antarctic Survey, who do not receive any money from fisheries.”