Stars strip off for overfishing campaign

Judi Dench.

Judi Dench, Fiona Shaw and Julie Christie are among six British stars to strip off for new photos designed to raise awareness of overfishing.

The snaps, to mark World Oceans Day on June 8, were taken for the Fishlove campaign and echo a similar picture of Helena Bonham-Carter released this year.

Like Bonham-Carter, who posed with a 27kg tuna, each of the actors involved covers her modesty with marine animals, in Dench's case, a lobster. Zoe Wanamaker, Tamla Kari and Kathy Lette have also posed.

The campaign highlights the devastation wrought by overfishing and aims to encourage shoppers to buy only sustainably caught fish.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Dench, 80, revealed she opted for a lobster because she "has a passion for them".

"The best part of the shoot was that it is not every day you get to cuddle one," she added. "The worst part was that I didn't get to eat it."

Dench is particularly anxious to highlight the increasing acidity of the world's oceans, a phenomenon caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolving in the sea. In large amounts, it can have a detrimental impact on marine organisms and on the health of the lobster population.

Fishlove, which was set up by restaurateur Nicholas Rohl and actor Greta Scacchi in 2009, has already enjoyed some success. It played a role in persuading the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to create a marine-life reserve around the Pitcairn Islands.