By Leigh O’Connor.
As Australians enjoy bountiful seafood on the Christmas table this festive season, it’s an appropriate time to consider where these seemingly endless stocks come from and how they are sourced.
Healthy oceans with an abundance of fish are in everyone’s best interests – making sustainable seafood one of the hottest global trends of the moment.
This has resulted in The Good Fish Project, to help Australians confidently use and promote seafood that doesn’t harm the oceans. This country’s restaurant and catering industries have a huge influence on the seafood supply chain and by serving sustainably sourced produce, they can make a massive difference to how it is produced.
Attica’s Ben Shewry, who is a Good Fish Project Ambassador, says Chefs have a moral responsibility to understand what ingredients they cook with and no more so than what comes from the ocean.
Good Fish – the brainchild of the Australian Marine Conservation Society - is Australia’s first sustainable seafood resource designed specifically for Chefs, restaurants and food professionals. The website features an ocean of information, as well as a list of those already sourcing, selling and cooking sustainable seafood.
It also provides information on what the fishing industry, conservationists and restaurateurs are doing to ensure Australia’s oceans keep on providing for generations to come.
What does sustainability mean?
This trending phrase means different things to different people, but most agree it is wild-caught sustainable seafood produced without taking too many of any one target species, causing excessive harm to the ocean environment; or catching damaging numbers of vulnerable marine species.
Sustainable fisheries meet the long-term needs of fishermen, consumers and the environment.
Is farmed seafood sustainable?
Not all farmed fish is produced sustainably, some more so than others. Most shellfish are farmed this way because they don’t require additional feed input. When aquaculture farms grow carnivorous fish and feed them pellets made from wild-caught fish, it is a burden on wild fish stocks. Pollution from fish farms can also over-fertilise surrounding waterways, unbalancing the natural ecosystem.
Is sustainable seafood more expensive?
Seafood that has achieved a third-party certification of sustainability, may be a little more expensive due to the costs involved in this process. However, international research has shown customers are willing to pay more for this product.
You will find MSC-certified sustainable seafood in all major supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a selection of independent fishmongers.
Are customers interested in sustainable seafood?
International market research, including Australasia, indicates that the health of the world’s oceans is important to 90% of people surveyed. The term ‘sustainable seafood’ has become much more of a mainstream term and customers expect businesses to take environmental issues into account when sourcing their produce.
By joining Good Fish’s Chef’s Charter, restaurants can assure their clientele they are making environmentally responsible choices in sourcing their seafood.
