Australians will be able to make better seafood choices with yesterday’s launch of the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s comprehensive guide to sustainable seafood.
Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide is the only sustainability guide for Australian seafood consumers. And now, due to public demand it is available as a free Android app as well as a free app for iPhones, online and in hard copy.
The Guide features a simple traffic light system: green-listed species are a Better Choice, Eat Less amber species and Say No to red-listed seafood.
AMCS Fisheries Campaigner Tooni Mahto said Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide gives Australian seafood consumers the power to keep plenty of fish in the sea.
‘Our seafood choices directly affect the health of our oceans,’ Ms Mahto said.
‘By making better choices now, we can continue to enjoy our favourite fish in the future.
‘The sustainable seafood revolution is well underway in Australia. Australians are doing a good job, with six of our top 11 species a good choice, or okay to eat occasionally.
‘But five out of our top 11 favourite fish still come with a hefty environmental cost on our oceans.
‘The good news is that by making better choices, we can improve that record and work towards making our favourite seafood a better choice.
‘AMCS has assessed the full impact of seafood production on our oceans, with the Guide offering extensive information for consumers on how our seafood is farmed or fished.
‘Unsustainable fishing doesn’t just mean that we’re running out of fish, so the Guide looks at the impact fishing methods have on marine habitats and on threatened marine life like turtles and dolphins.
‘Although fisheries management is arguably better in Australia than in many other countries, around 75 per cent of our seafood is imported. Our seafood choices have consequences that extend far beyond our own shores.
‘Since the Guide was first published in 2004, we have seen some improvements, with the aquaculture industry in particular more engaged in the sustainable seafood debate, and sectors of the fishing industry innovating ways to reduce impacts on threatened species,’ she said.
Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide available online at sustainableseafood.org.au or download the app from ITunes or Google play.
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