Consumers urged to buy sustainable seafood ahead of Easter celebrations
20 Mar 2008
With Easter celebrations just around the corner, WWF-Australia is calling on the Australian Government to improve the screening and labelling of imported seafood to ensure consumers can make an informed choice.
"Easter is one of the busiest times of the year for seafood retailers and one of the peak times when Australians buy seafood. However much of the selection consists of potentially unsustainable imported products, and most consumers are not aware of this," says Peter Trott, WWF-Australia's fisheries manager.
Many of Australia's wild caught fisheries have made significant progress towards more sustainable practices over the last 18 months. This contrasts with the current situation of many Asian fisheries supplying seafood to Australia, where issues such as mangrove clearing, habitat loss and lack of science-based catch limits are of concern.
WWF-Australia wants to see all imported seafood screened using at least the same criteria applied to Australian fisheries.
"It is not enough to know the country of origin. Australian consumers should be given more information on how a fishery is managed, and whether, for example, bycatch or mangrove conversion is a problem," says Mr Trott.
The eco-labelling of seafood is also becoming more popular, with those fisheries that have undergone the rigorous assessment criteria of particular certification systems, for example the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label, considered to be sustainable and well managed.
As consumers of seafood, this Easter we can all take action to make a change for the better in fisheries and the marine environment by following some simple directions:
- Look for certified sustainable seafood products with an eco-label (eg. MSC label);
- If an eco-label is unavailable, buy Australian!
- Buy seafood from retailers with a knowledge of their seafood product and its sustainability. Request they stock more products with an eco-label and more Australian/local seafood.
- Demand that imported seafood has to meet the same sustainability criteria as Australian managed fisheries.
For more information:
Charlie Stevens, WWF-Australia Press Office, 02 8202 1274, 0424 649 689 Peter Trott, WWF-Australia's Fisheries Officer - Markets, 0437 960 812
Notes: The Food and Agriculture Organisation in March 2005 stated that 52 per cent of fish stocks are fully exploited, which means that they are being fished at their maximum biological capacity, 24 per cent are over exploited, depleted or recovering from depletion, 21 per cent are moderately exploited and only 3 per cent of the world's fish stocks are underexploited. This trend is expected to continue if consumers and retailers do not change their purchasing habits.
