The “X-Files” actress is pictured wearing an eel around her neck

Dec 4, 2013 10:35 GMT  ·  By
Gillian Anderson wears eel draped around her shoulders in new anti-deep-sea fishing ad
   Gillian Anderson wears eel draped around her shoulders in new anti-deep-sea fishing ad

Showing some skin can only come in handy if you want to draw attention to green causes and get people to sign petitions intended to safeguard biodiversity, Gillian Anderson seems to think.

The former “X-Files” actress has recently teamed up with the BLOOM Association and Fishlove, i.e. two organizations that are in the business of protecting marine wildlife, and is now asking that people sign an online petition urging members of the European Parliament to ban deep-sea fishing in the Northeast Atlantic.

Besides promoting the petition on Twitter, Gillian Anderson has agreed to pose for an ad against deep-sea fishing, Ecorazzi tells us. The ad shows the actress wearing an eel around her neck, just as one would wear a scarf.

As if having a fish hang over one’s shoulders weren’t enough to get people’s attention, the actress is topless. The eel does not seem to mind, but many agree that the ad is fairly disturbing.

The people behind the petition on Avaaz.org hope to raise 20,000 signatures by December 10, when folks at the European Parliament are supposed to have a meeting and decide whether or not marine wildlife in the Northeast Atlantic should benefit from legal protection against deep-sea fishing.

"Deep-sea bottom trawlers are destroying them - dragging giant weighted nets, fixed to cables and steel plates more than 2 tonnes each, across the ocean floor to catch a small number of low value fish. It’s like clear-cutting a forest to catch a few squirrels!" the BLOOM Association, Fishlove and their supporters explain.

Furthermore, "If we come together right now to raise our voices - we can ensure one of the most wonderful ocean habitats in the world is protected. Sign the petition right now and share this with everyone."

Either because nobody can say "no" to a topless Gillian Anderson posing with an eel draped over her shoulders, or because folks actually care about marine wildlife and wish to protect it, the petition has thus far raised over 11,000 signatures.

There’s plenty of time left until the European Parliament meets, so maybe there is still hope that deep-sea fishing will be banned in the Northeast Atlantic.