Caged monkeys and forgotten antelopes - the Whitley winners In pictures

A conservationist who has spent 25 years trying to protect Peru's marine wildlife has won a top UK environment prize, the Whitley Gold Award.

Patricia Majluf researched and then campaigned against the impact of anchovy fishing off the Peruvian coast.

High catches have affected dolphins, sealions and birds such as pelicans.

Other Whitley Awards went to campaigns involving indigenous peoples in Russia, the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam and rare mammals in southern Africa.

The 10 awards, made annually, each carry a £30,000 ($56,000) prize to the individual concerned to help carry projects forward, with the Gold Award winner netting an additional £30,000.

Fish feed

The decline in the anchovy populations has reduced the ability of sea-birds and cetaceans to survive Edward Whitley

"We hope the award will help [Dr Majluf] in her fight to bring an end to unsustainable fishing practices along this globally important coastline," said Edward Whitley, founder and chairman of the Whitley Fund for Nature.

The Peruvian anchovy fishery is the largest single species fishery in the world.

Much of the catch is processed into feed for fish farms in the developed world.

Some populations of sea-birds have fallen by 95%, thought to be principally down to a lack of anchovies to eat.

"The decline in the anchovy populations to put fish on our tables has at the same time reduced the ability of their predators, sea-birds and cetaceans, to survive," said Mr Whitley.

The Whitley Awards were presented by Princess Anne

"As El Nino events become stronger as a result of climate change it is feared that Peru's marine wildlife will decline even further."

Dr Majluf has conducted pioneering research into local ecosystems, and leads a coalition of conservation groups aiming to persuade the Peruvian government to protect ecologically important areas along the coast.

The Whitley Fund judges selected Dr Majluf from a field of 10 award winners drawn from all parts of the world.

They include Manfred Epanda Aime, who works to protect chimpanzees and gorillas in West Africa by establishing nature reserves, and Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung and Suprabha Seshan who work in Asia against the trade in plants and animals for traditional medicine.

The awards were presented by the Princess Royal during a ceremony on Wednesday at the Royal Geographical Society in London.