5 Tips to Sustainable Seafood:

by Diana Baric, Keep Australia Beautiful Copywriter – Volunteer

As we enter December and approach the festive season, it is an important time to think about the delicate ecosystems that make up our oceans. We can help protect these ecosystems by making sustainable choices when shopping for seafood.

Heading into the warmer months and the festive season, many of us will be indulging in delicacies like prawns, oysters and salmon, but are these the best choices we could be making to support our environment?

Here are 5 basic tips to sustainable seafood:

1. Choose seafood that is responsibly sourced and sustainable, including such species as abalone, Australian Herring, Australian Sardine, Australian Salmon, Mullet, octopus, oysters, squid and mussels.
2. Avoid species that are overfished, including Bluefin Tuna, Shark, Swordfish and Deep Sea Perch. These fish take longer to bounce back from overfishing as they breed slowly.
3. Buy fresh and unpackaged seafood, as it is more likely it has been caught locally and has a lower carbon footprint than something that had to be transported. The less packaging it has, the less plastic we throw out.
4. Choose smaller species of fish, as they breed faster and are less in danger of overfishing. Try sardines over flake or tuna.
5. Whatever you buy, ask your fishmonger if seafood is sourced from Australia. We import a lot of seafood from other countries whose practices may not be as well-regulated as those of our fishing industries. Buy Australian wherever possible!