There is growing producer and consumer interest in, and demand for, environmentally sustainable seafood products, both nationally and internationally. Australia is a world leader in sustainable fisheries management and the Australian fishing industry is highly supportive of ecosystem based management. However industry continually bears the cost of implementing measures to improve and demonstrate fishery and environmental sustainability, without deriving the benefits which can flow from demands for sustainable seafood.
It is therefore imperative that Australian fisheries progress rapidly to eco-certification, to derive benefits from existing best practice applied in management of our fisheries, encourage continual improvement in fishing practices, and to provide a clear point of difference in the marketplace to cheaper imported products which are typically not subject to the same strict environmental and management constraints.
In order to achieve this there is a pressing need to address the existing policy vaccuum at government level regarding third party eco-certification for fisheries, including development of funding mechanisms which will facilitate the pursuit of third party eco-certification.
Key drivers for the development of this proposal include:
- Increasing focus from the fishing industry on the need to pursue eco-certification as a means of differentiating Australian seafood in domestic and international markets to maintain market access, increase market demand and maximize competitive advantage.
- The opportunity to better inform consumers about the sustainability of Australian seafood and inform choices that consumers make when buying seafood
Final report
The project facilitated on-going discussion within industry on eco-certification for the Australian seafood industry.
The project demonstrated that clear benefits can be gained from eco-certification and that there are numerous certification programs available to industry. This is consistent with the outcomes of the October 2011 environmental workshop that future access to eco-certification programmes must be voluntary and non-discriminatory.
The project also highlighted that there are varying views within some sectors of industry, including the National Seafood Industry Alliance (NSIA) on the need for and the benefits of eco-certification.
The project has resulted in on-going support by the Commonwealth Fisheries Association (CFA) for the development of a whole of government eco-certification policy (including funding) for Australian fisheries. This position has been incorporated into a CFA policy paper as part of the CFA 2013 Federal Election policy platform.
The NSIA is still developing its position on the proposal for a government policy on eco-certification however at least two members (WAFIC and CFA) support the approach. A key recommendation in this report is that any FAO-compliant ‘Australian Standard’ which may be developed in the future should be available to commercial fishers on a voluntary basis under an eco-certification policy.
