The reason this Brisbane restaurant won’t serve certain fish

It’s one of the hottest dining spots in town, but this Brisbane restaurant is making sure some popular fish species won’t be making its menu anytime soon.

BRISBANE’S hottest new dining spot ARC has joined more than 40 high-profile chefs from across the country to stop serving overfished species at restaurants.

The project is a partnership with the Australian Marine Conservation Society aimed to help regenerate red-listed seafood in danger of extinction.

“Those fish have been red-listed because they’ve been overfished, or the method that they’ve been fished with has been hugely damaging. So if we can shift away from doing that, there’s a much better chance that those fish stocks will have an opportunity to revitalise themselves,” said manager of the GoodFish Project Sascha Rust.

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ARC head chef Alanna Sapwell says we need to change the way we catch fish. Picture: Annette Dew

ARC head chef Alanna Sapwell said she was excited to be part of a project that would help secure the future of our oceans.

“I’m thrilled to be involved with this much needed project working with chefs I admire,” she said.

“Let’s encourage everyone to change the way we catch, cook and eat fish for the better.”

Taking part in the initiative are restaurants such as Brisbane’s Three Blue Ducks and the number 20th restaurant in the world, Attica in Melbourne, with chef-owner Ben Shewry named as the project’s ambassador.

Mr Rust said the program would make it easier for consumers to eat sustainably when out for a meal, with fish such as southern bluefin tuna, shark and Queensland pink snapper off the menu.

“What it means for consumers is that they can be certain if they’re dining in one of these restaurants that they’re dining on a sustainable species, which is really important,” Mr Rust said.

North Queensland-based commercial fisherman Chris Bolton, who supplies some of the country’s best restaurants with sustainably caught fish, welcomed the move.

“It’s very important that the chefs do this. I think what the chefs do determines what the fishing industry does. They have a fair bit of control over how we operate,” he said.

“If big-name chefs start doing things like that then the general public will follow.”