Raymond Moran, Head Chef at the Beech Hill House Hotel in Derry, prides himself on turning local ingredients into gourmet dishes. "Sometimes I think that people don't realise how lucky they are to live in the North West," he says. "We have some of the best ingredients this island has to offer."

Being so near to the coast fish is always on the Beech Hill's menu. But Raymond says: "The fish I used to cook are no longer sustainable. Now I have to use less well known species which some people are reluctant to try. The fish I buy has been caught in the proper way, by small local businesses using lines not nets. They are not wrecking the sea bed or damaging fish stocks. And the fish we get from them is seasonal and at its prime."

Raymond's passion for food is combined with an enthusiasm for angling but following recent trips he admits: "The fish just aren't there anymore – it's clear something is going wrong."

He says: "I don't want to just be cooking great fish dishes today, I want to be cooking them in ten years time and unless we start managing our fish stocks better that's not going to happen."

How a Marine Bill would help

Reforms to inshore fisheries should be included under the Marine Bill in Northern Ireland. This will help to protect fish populations and allow them to grow. Protecting the spawning and nursery grounds of fish species through marine conservation zones, for example, would be an important part of helping stocks recover. Furthermore, increases in inshore fish populations will benefit fisheries further offshore too.


A UK Marine Act is crucial to managing our marine environment effectively

Threatened wildlife, vulnerable habitats and all who depend on the sea can wait no longer

Act now

Please ask your MPs and MLAs to call for the Prime Minister to introduce a Marine Bill into this year's Queen's speech