Why has Helena Bonham Carter posed naked with a fish?

Helena Bonham Carter has shown what a pro she is by getting up close and personal with a 27 kg tuna — and even looking like she’s a little bit in love with it — when she’s scared of fish.

“I’m actually very phobic,” the actress admitted. “So when Greta [Scacchi, who had previously starred in the same campaign] asked me to be photographed naked […] I was more worried about touching [the fish] than getting my kit off.”

The series of images are part of a campaign to support the Blue Marine Foundation, which aims to protect the world’s oceans.

Helena’s partner on the photo shoot, the Bigeye tuna, is an important food fish, a prized recreational game fish and one of many species being overfished. Bonham Carter recently spoke in front of a House of Commons committee to lobby for greater marine reserves in the British Overseas Territories, not only to protect fish but also whales, turtles, penguins and seabirds.

If you don’t know how important ocean life is, and how much it is in jeopardy, here are some sobering stats: 

• 71 percent of the earth’s surface is ocean.

• Up to 80 percent of all life on earth lives in the ocean.

• Only 2.8 percent of the ocean is currently protected.

More:Create a life you love with these three simple “ingredients”

The Blue Marine Foundation aims to protect 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020. Do you want the tuna fish to become the dodo for future generations? Here’s what you can do to help stop that happening.

• Donate to the Blue Marine Foundation to help it continue its ocean-saving work.

• Follow the charity on social media and share its content to spread the word about the importance of protecting the world’s oceans.

• Only eat in restaurants that serve sustainably sourced fish. Visit Fish2Fork, which is the world’s first website to review restaurants according to whether their seafood is sustainable and not just how it tastes.

• When you’re shopping for fish, only buy if it’s certified. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification is used for wild fish. Their blue tick label indicates that a fish comes from sustainable waters and is not over-exploited or endangered. Tuna labelling schemes aren’t as thorough and while the Dolphin Safe – Earth Island Institute is the strictest dolphin-friendly labelling scheme it doesn’t ensure overall sustainability.

• Consider sustainable alternatives to the most common fish we buy in the U.K. such as cod, haddock, salmon, prawns and canned tuna, which are endangered due to their popularity. Try pollock, gurnard, mussels, crab and trout. FishOnline have a handy app, with a definitive guide to sustainable seafood, and it’s free to download for both iPhone and Android users.

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