SEAFOOD
THE BIG PICTURE
A 2014 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation report stated that more than 90 per cent of the world’s fisheries are fished to their limit, depleted or overexploited.
As consumers, it can be hard to stay informed, but there are simple things we can do to shop more consciously and think sustainably.
Modern state and commonwealth fisheries laws are based on science, with most Australian fisheries operating to strict quotas. Internationally, a fishery is deemed ‘sustainable’ if it is fished annually at less than 20 per cent of the available biomass (how much there is of a given species before fishing). Most Australian commercial fisheries operate at less than 10 per cent.
Australia’s 1999 Biodiversity and Environment Protection Act prohibits the unsustainable catching or growing of seafood – legally binding fisheries to operate sustainably. New Zealand has a similar law protecting its fisheries.
A FLEXIBLE APPROACH
Go to the fishmongers with an open mind and ask what’s in important!) than having a good relationship with your hairdresser.
