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Do you know where your seafood has come from? Here’s why it matters

By Amber Schultz

Australians are in the dark about whether their Christmas lunch has been ethically sourced because of a lack of regulation on imported seafood, which makes up more than two-thirds of the country’s supply.

Poor practices by international shipping fleets have caused the number of overfished stocks to triple in the past 50 years, according to the United Nations, while the International Labour Organization has listed forced labour and human trafficking as a “severe problem” in the industry.

Sydney Fish Markets Innovation and Technical Manager Erik Poole.

Sydney Fish Markets Innovation and Technical Manager Erik Poole.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt said seafood caught via illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is making its way into Australia.

“While Australia already combats IUU fishing including through licensing and enforcement, monitoring control and surveillance, and regional and multilateral action, we do not have a national import control scheme to prevent IUU fishing product from entering the country,” he said.

“Despite some strong industry self-regulation, seafood supply chains are highly complex and it is likely IUU seafood is currently entering the country … [It’s] a global problem and one that we want to stamp out of Australia.”

The government is asking for feedback on its draft white paper, released earlier this month, on measures to prevent IUU seafood from entering the country.

The report found that 20 per cent of the global fish catch is from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, representing $23.5 billion lost to the global industry.

This means that Australian consumers are unaware if their seafood has been fished with unsustainable practices such as bottom trawling or using methods that ensnare protected species such as whales, turtles or dolphins.

Campaign Manager for the Australian Marine Conservation Society and member of the Fair Catch Alliance Dr Cat Dorey said people often did not know what they were purchasing because of “woolly” labelling requirements.

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While the European Union requires seafood to be labelled with the species name, scientific name, and how and where the item was caught, Australia only requires the country of origin to be listed, which may be the final location of the product’s processing rather than where it was caught.

“There are no requirements for disclosing any information, about what’s being imported … The only data we capture at the border is what kind of [seafood] it is, but the categories can be as broad as fish, along with the weight of what’s being input,” she said.

A lack of regulation means Australians often don’t know if their seafood is ethically sourced.

A lack of regulation means Australians often don’t know if their seafood is ethically sourced. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

A four-year investigation by the Outlaw Ocean Project published in October found China was forcibly sending Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group, to work in seafood processing plants with products sold to Western nations.

Fuzz Kitto from Be Slavery Free, an advocacy group which seeks to end modern slavery, said the lack of regulations meant Australians did not know if their Christmas prawns were a result of slave labour.

“A lot of [seafood producing countries] have not signed up to the International Labour Organization’s protocols on forced labour. Australians don’t want to be celebrating Christmas with products linked to slavery and human rights abuses,” he said.

The ILO estimates over 128,000 fishers worldwide are trapped in forced labour aboard vessels, often in isolated and dangerous conditions.

Kitto said consumers had power through their purchases: “Once you start to raise questions with retailers, fishmongers, markets and cafés, you get them thinking about their supply chain.”

Innovation and Technical Manager at Sydney Fish Market Erik Poole said Australia’s fishery management regime and labour laws meant local produce was caught ethically and sustainably.

“When you’re buying local it’s very, definitely fresher and [Australia] has pretty good management in place, so it’s sustainable, has less carbon miles and supports marine parks,” he said.

Oysters, lobsters and prawns are the most popular Christmas items, he said, much of which is sourced from Western Australia.

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While Australia has the third-largest fishing zone in the world at more than 8 million square kilometres, our seas aren’t particularly productive thanks to a lack of nutrients to support larger fish stocks.

“We’re a big fan of country-of-origin labelling because it makes it more of a level playing field for local producers,” Poole said.

As part of the government’s seafood reforms, restaurants will also be required to list seafood country of origin, as required by retailers from 2025.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/do-you-know-where-your-seafood-has-come-from-here-s-why-it-matters-20231221-p5et01.html