For Australians who love seafood, summer favourites such as prawns, oysters, lobster and farmed barramundi are sustainable options for a festive feast or barbecue, according to the GoodFish seafood guide.
Stephanie McGee, the GoodFish program manager, says seafood is a popular choice during the holiday period.
“Seafood and summer are just perfect partners,” she says.
Now, with Christmas around the corner, GoodFish has released its “naughty and nice” lists to help support consumers in making more informed choices.
The searchable guide, developed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, rated the sustainability of different seafood options using a traffic light system. “Green is a better choice, amber is eat less,” McGee says. Red is “best to avoid entirely”.
The ‘naughty’ list
At the top of the naughty list is Tasmanian-farmed salmon, which was everywhere, but came with significant environmental impacts.
“The most urgent and crucial one is specifically in Macquarie harbour, where dissolved oxygen levels have been reduced so much as a result of farming that the Maugean skate is on the verge of extinction,” McGee says.
Prawns caught in Queensland and New South Wales, along with wild-caught barramundi, are among those GoodFish suggests should be avoided, due to the potential for other species – such as sharks, rays turtles and dugongs – to be caught as bycatch.
Scallops are also on the list because they were overfished, McGee says, particularly in Queensland where stocks were only at 15% of what they used to be.
The ‘nice’ list
People can still enjoy many of the classics, including prawns, oysters and barramundi, by choosing carefully and consulting the guide, McGee says.
“We’re really lucky to have Australian-farmed prawns, which have very minimal impact on the surrounding environment,” she says.
One wild prawn fishery in South Australia’s Spencer Gulf is also green-listed in the GoodFish guide. “They’ve really been quite clever about how they can mitigate catching anything that is protected or threatened,” she says.
Oysters and mussels – filter feeders that require minimal human input and no feed – are almost always a sustainable choice.
Locally farmed barramundi – instead of wild-caught – is also a sustainable choice. “They’re farmed in ponds and tanks, and have very minimal impact on the surrounding environment,” McGee says. “They grow really efficiently and fast and have quite a low reliance on feed.”
Australian salmon is another a native species caught with low impact net methods. “It’s something that’s really good in a variety of ways,” McGee says, as it can be baked, barbecued and even served as sashimi.
Rock lobster is usually a “treat”. There were good options available on all coasts, but consumers are encouraged to check the GoodFish guide.
Checking it twice
Laura di Florio Yotis runs the Fishmonger’s Son, in Melbourne’s inner north, with her partner, Anthony Yotis.
She says mindful and environmentally conscious choices are the best approach to such a business.
“We only order small volumes of the highest grades of fish every day,” she says, while off-cuts are chopped down and frozen to make fish pies and fish wings. Heads are also frozen for customers who want to make stocks.
Oysters and prawns are usually the top two items for Christmas, she says. Smoked fish such as gravlax is also a popular.
“I’ve also seen heaps of whole snappers this year come through on our orders, which is nice,” she says.
“They’re all really great, and easy options at Christmas, because they don’t need too much preparation.
“Really good seafood doesn’t need much. If you’re buying beautiful oysters, great prawns – pop them on the barbecue with a little bit of citrus, olive oil – you can’t go wrong.”
Sustainability is often an important consideration for customers, di Florio Yotis says. “We often get questions about the differences between wild-caught and farmed fish.”
She encourages people to ask questions about seafood – what species it is, where it comes from, and also how it’s caught or farmed – which McGee encourages.
“If you’re unsure, use the guide, chat to your fishmonger,” McGee says.
