How to choose sustainable seafood and support healthier oceans

Australians love seafood. So much so that consumption has doubled since the 1960s. And it is no wonder why – seafood tastes great, is rich in nutrients and even has a lower carbon footprint than chicken.

But the booming demand for seafood is increasing pressure on marine populations, making sustainable choices more important than ever.

For Miss Earth 2024 and environmental journalist Jessica Lane, life has revolved around the ocean – from fish and chips on the beach to Christmas prawns. She shares why small choices at the checkout can help support healthier oceans, so Australians can continue to love seafood for generations to come.

When buying seafood, it can be difficult to know where it has come from and whether it has been farmed or caught sustainably.

“Around 70 percent of the seafood Australians eat is imported, making transparency more important than ever,” said marine and coastal conservation expert Assoc Prof Carissa Klein from the University of Queensland.

Australia imports most of its seafood because domestic production cannot keep pace with the growing demand. But trade partners tend to have less stringent sustainability, biosecurity and food safety controls than Australia, and there is little transparency on where, when and how seafood is caught or farmed.

Even with domestically-produced seafood, the environmental impact can differ based on individual sites or companies and the species that are being harvested.

So how can consumers make the right choice?

“Making a difference for our oceans can be simpler than many people realise, with one small choice at the checkout – looking for sustainably certified seafood,” said Jessica.

With more than one-third of global fish stocks estimated to be fished at unsustainable levels, certification programmes have been developed to ensure farmed and wild-caught seafood meet globally recognised sustainability standards.

Organisations like the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) run independent certification programmes to provide transparency on seafood sustainability to consumers.

MSC’s programme focuses on wild-caught fish, with the goal of ending overfishing and restoring fish stocks for future generations. ASC’s programme looks at farmed seafood, ensuring that animal welfare is prioritised, feed is responsibly sourced and the environment is protected.

“When you're going to buy seafood, fish and chips or going to the supermarket, look for the MSC blue tick that means it’s Marine Stewardship Council Certified seafood and you're more likely to get something that's sustainable,” said Assoc Prof Klein.

Join Jessica in choosing seafood with the MSC blue tick or ASC certification to help support healthier oceans and marine biodiversity.