A woman who snatched a lobster from a restaurateur’s tank and threw it into the sea is an eco hypocrite who once travelled the globe in a gas-guzzling four-by-four, we can reveal.
Emma Smart, 47, stormed into Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth, Dorset, and freed the crustacean, which she believed was going to be eaten.
The marine biologist took the animal to the nearby harbour where she is said to have thrown it into the water ‘like a cricket ball’.
Owner Sean Cooper has since called her ‘ignorant’, saying the change in temperature from the warm tank to the cold sea is likely to have been fatal for the creature.
Smart appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court where she admitted one count of causing criminal damage to the animal.
She was handed an eight-month conditional discharge and a three-year restraining order, which banned her from being within ten metres of the restaurant.
And in a further move undercutting her green credentials, it can now be revealed the activist has previously attempted a round-the-world tour – in an ageing Toyota.
Smart and her husband Andy Smith once set themselves the challenge of circumnavigating the earth by road in 800 days.
It took them several attempts across the course of four years, during which time the couple lived almost entirely in their then 18-year-old car.
Their vehicle of choice was a 1994 Toyota Hilux Surf they nicknamed ‘Bee-Bee’, an old fuel-inefficient, diesel-powered model.
And they documented the whole experience on their website and social media pages, called Around the World in 800 Days, as well as on an associated podcast.
The pair first set off in 2012, driving up through Scandinavia to the Arctic Circle, across to Lake Baikal in Russia and then south to Mongolia, in east Asia.
They had aimed to drive from there right down to Australia, before heading east to explore North and South America.
The couple were then set to arrive back in Europe, travelling onwards from there to explore the African coast, before heading home.
They had wanted to cover 50 countries in total, in a mammoth trip that took 18 months to plan – and which they had estimated would cost £20,000 for fuel alone.
But four months in, they had to return home, as both Mr Smith’s parents had heartbreakingly been diagnosed with cancer.
After five months, the pair, who had already previously given up their jobs to travel, were able to get back on the road, setting off again in February 2013.
Deciding to stay closer to home in case they were needed, they spent three months in Morocco and a further two in Europe, before heading back in August of that year.
The couple married in Guernsey at the end of 2013 – and a few months later, Mr Smith’s mother sadly passed away.
They embarked on their travels again in August 2014, taking their original planned route through southeastern Europe.
But the pair faced another setback when their car broke down in Turkey, which cost them £3,000 to fix.
It forced them to restart again in February 2015, this time travelling through Iran, where they made a TV documentary series with a local channel to show ‘the real’ country.
The couple went on to India for six months where they volunteered at an orphanage and a children’s home.
They then travelled onwards to southeast Asia, South America and Canada, before returning to the UK in mid-2017.
By the end of their series of attempts at the journey, the pair had driven some 80,975 miles in their diesel-powered car, according to the Bailiwick Express.
Mr Smith has previously posted on social media defending the couple’s decision: ‘For the last 20 years, considering the climate has been at the forefront of all our decisions about what we do with our lives… from not having children to where we put our work energy.
‘We chose to drive around the world so we could visit the most remote, beautiful and natural places this planet has to offer before they disappear.
‘It’s not possible to do that in an electric car, especially in 2011. We didn’t make that decision lightly.’
He also claimed the pair’s carbon dioxide emissions were around 60 per cent lower while they were travelling compared to their life back home.
‘If you can’t accept or understand that people can change over long periods of time, then you are an idiot,’ he continued.
‘When I take Climate Action, I am taking direct action towards the worst polluters and policy makers; large corporations and governments.
‘Because system change is the only thing that is going to get us out of this problem… the problem cannot be solved by individuals driving less or doing your recycling…
‘If you believe individuals are to blame or are hypocrites for taking climate action because they own a smart phone, than the oil lobby, politicians and think tanks have done a good job of brainwashing and distracting you, so they can continue profiting from oil.’
Mr Smith concluded: ‘So… if you want to call me a hypocrite that’s cool, all you’re doing is exposing how un-informed and naive you are at understanding, what should be some pretty common knowledge points of understanding around climate collapse and how to achieve social and system change.
‘In this disaster, it’s better to do something than nothing.’
Following Smart’s stunt at the restaurant, owner Mr Cooper has said the lobster she took was actually one of two pets kept by his Michelin Guide eatery.
The pair, which were not destined for the menu but instead used to help educate children, had even been affectionately named Ronnie and Reggie by staff.
The latter died shortly after its companion was abruptly seized on the evening of April 10 last year.
The restaurateur has since said its death may well have been caused by loneliness, after the sudden removal of its tankmate.
Mr Cooper said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ Smart had avoided jail for her actions – and added the outcome was ‘very hard to accept’.
He explained her targeting of the business was ‘misguided’ as the eatery has in fact previously received awards for its environmentally friendly approach.
‘Catch, working alongside [local fishmonger] Weyfish, has been identified by the Sustainable Restaurant Association as the world-leading restaurant for sustainable fish and seafood sourcing,’ he said.
‘The values she claims to hold are, in large part, the values we live by.’
Smart, formerly of Weymouth but who now lives in west Wales, is an inveterate environmental campaigner who has been arrested for protest activities before.
She was jailed for four months in 2021 alongside eight fellow activists for their involvement in climate change demonstrations in London.
The group, who were also ordered to pay court costs of £5,000 each, had repeatedly breached an injunction by blocking highways to call attention to global warming.
All were members of Insulate Britain, a campaign organisation calling for all homes to be properly insulated so they can become energy-efficient.
It is allied to Extinction Rebellion, the international movement which uses non-violent civil disobedience to raise awareness of climate change.
Actor Ralf Little, known for his role in sitcom The Royle Family, was among those who donated to a fundraiser at the time to cover the prisoners’ legal fees and living costs.
Smart was later arrested again in 2022, after confronting the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, also at the Catch restaurant, in another eco-protest.
She approached the naturalist as he was dining after filming a TV documentary about fishing in Weymouth to call on him to support climate activists in prison.
The demonstrator refused to leave the eatery when asked by staff. Police were swiftly called and she was soon detained for causing a disturbance.
She was protesting in collaboration with campaign group Animal Rebellion and shared a statement on the organisation’s website at the time about her actions.
‘The Catch is a symbol of excess and inequality in today’s world,’ she wrote.
‘Weymouth has average wages amongst the lowest in the UK and is at huge risk of sea level rises.
‘Yet this restaurant still continues business as usual amongst the worst cost-of-living crisis many will ever experience.
‘We don’t need another documentary series showing us [what] we are losing, [with] some 150 species going extinct globally every single day. What we need is action.
‘Sir David is in a unique position to tell the truth about the biodiversity crisis.
‘He has the chance to leave a legacy of love, care, and of being the forerunner of a better world.’
Her husband, Mr Smart, also said at the time in a statement: ‘Most of Weymouth will be uninsurable in the coming years due to flood risk.
‘Ordinary people here can’t just uproot their entire lives, yet businesses like The Catch are continuing to profit from the destruction of our oceans and simply driving the divide between the one per cent and the 99 per cent.
‘The cost-of-living and climate crises are woven together, and a key solution to both is the same.
‘We need huge political change to support farmers and fishing communities in the transition to a plant-based food system.
‘This would produce an abundance of healthy, cheap, reliable food whilst also drawing down massive amounts of carbon.’
Smart has also previously worked as a protest campaign manager for naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham.
She appeared alongside the activist at a demonstration in the St Paul’s area of central London by rewilding campaign group Wild Card, which she co-founded, in 2024.
The eco-warrior also once joined what she called ‘a UK-wide mass trespass’, walking on land belonging to then South Dorset MP Richard Drax to defend the right to roam.
She has also previously contributed a chapter to a book of essays by climate action experts called Scientists on Survival, with a foreword by Packham.
Mr Smith, meanwhile, who works as an artist and musician, is also an activist, having previously worked as a coordinator for Extinction Rebellion.
He has previously been arrested for infiltrating the headquarters of oil and gas firm Shell to attempt to speak with staff about the climate crisis.
Mr Smith was also detained under the Terrorism Act for participating in a demonstration in support of campaign group Palestine Action.
He joined a rally in Parliament Square in London in August last year, holding up a sign defending the organisation, which was proscribed as terrorist the month prior.
Mr Smith shared images and video of his arrest online, which saw him lie down to resist a group of officers.
He was taken into custody where he was held for several hours before being released on bail.
