Catch of the day … Peter Robinson trawls for squid in the Hawkesbury = River, near Patonga. Photo: Nick Moir
YELLOW-EYE mullet, red emperor - and green squid. The fish rainbow will = soon have a new colour in a scheme designed to give consumers easier access to sustainable seafood.
The architect of the Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Program, = the Australian Conservation Foundation, has given its approval to five fisheries with a proven conservation record, including one in NSW.
The ACF plans to add another 15 fisheries by next Easter, by which time it = anticipates growth in regional labelling of seafood products, in the same way = Australian wines are distinguishable by the grape-growing region.
Chris Smyth, the co-ordinator of the ACF's Healthy Oceans campaign, said = the program would establish a ''chain of custody'' from the fisherman through to = the retailer.
''It's a hopeful sign that we'll be taking the guesswork out of choosing sustainable seafood,'' he said.
Assisting the ACF is the University of Technology, Sydney, which is co-ordinating the team of independent marine scientists responsible for = setting the assessment criteria.
Mr Smyth said consumers could also support local fisheries by expanding = their seafood palate. ''We need to spread seafood demand across a larger range of species to take the pressure off those that are being overfished.''
Australians consume 390,000 tonnes of fresh fish each year, of which just 20,000 tonnes is produced in NSW.
Rolf Norington, who catches squid from the Hawkesbury River fishery that received ACF accreditation, said the program would bridge the gap between industry and the public.
He said the local industry was too heavily regulated. ''Meanwhile you have = the country flooded with imported seafood,'' meaning consumers and fishermen lose out.
''The state government is busy looking at ways to overregulate our = industry, so to achieve the recognition from an independent auditor is a breath of = fresh air.''
But the seafood industry has dismissed the program as ACF grandstanding. = ''If the community wants to know which fisheries are sustainable they don't need = to go further than the federal government's environment website,'' said Ted Loveday, the managing director of Seafood Services Australia.
He said the government had spent hundreds of millions on reforming the fishing industry including a rigorous sustainability testing for all = Australian fisheries that was based on science, not environmental ideology. ''Australia = has the best managed fisheries in the world. Where there have been sustainability = problems in the past they have been dealt with. For the ACF to come out and cherrypick is nonsense.''
Mr Smyth said the strength of the program was its independence from government, industry and other environmental groups.
The other products to receive the accreditation are the yellow-eye mullet from the Lakes and Coorong Fishery and the western king prawn from the = Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (both South Australia), and the Pilbara red emperor from = the Pilbara Trap Fishery and Cone Bay barramundi from Marine Produce Australia = (both Western Australia).
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