Campaign for clearer seafood labelling by top enviro groups, chefs, academics, celebs

16 October 2015. Peak environment groups, top chefs, fishers, academics and celebrities are calling for more accurate labelling of seafood in Australia, with the launch of the ‘Label My Fish’ campaign in Sydney today.

The Label My Fish Alliance is demanding improved consumer protection laws to require clear labelling of all seafood, including what fish it is, where it is from and how it was caught or farmed. Clearer labelling in fish shops, takeaways and restaurants will help protect public health, boost the Australian fishing industry and preserve fish for the future.

Members of the new alliance include Greenpeace, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Taronga and Zoos Victoria and the SEA LIFE Conservation Fund, campaigning with Gourmet Farmer, chef and former restaurant critic Matthew Evans.  Prominent individuals backing the campaign include actor Richard Roxburgh, Quay Chef Peter Gilmore, MoVida chef Frank Camorra and NY Times best-selling ‘I Quit Sugar’ author Sarah Wilson.

A Senate Inquiry into seafood labelling is now underway, due to report on 4 December.

Greenpeace CEO David Ritter says,“Australia’s seafood labelling laws are weak and consumers are in the dark about what seafood they’re buying and eating. Most Australians think they’re purchasing Australian seafood, when the reality is we now import approximately 70 per cent from overseas.

“Simple measures, requiring labelling of what fish we are eating, where it is from and how it was caught, are long overdue and will bring Australia into line with the European Union.

“Recent research by Greenpeace shows, for example, that the Aussie ‘flathead’ we think we are eating may well be an imported, cheaper South American fish, of a completely different family, bottom trawled in Argentinean waters.  But there is often no labelling on your pub or fast food menu, or packet of frozen ‘flathead’, to reveal the truth.”

Gourmet Farmer, chef and former restaurant critic Matthew Evans said,“Imagine a menu that offered ‘mammal and root vegetable’, or ‘bird and green leaf’. It would be considered ridiculous. In Australia you can simply write ‘fish’ on a menu, without much of a problem.

“Some seafood we eat damages our marine environment, is produced by people under unfair conditions and may carry risks to our health.  

“What we really need is to know just what's on our plates. Only then can we make decisions about what we put in our mouths, making choices that will also help protect our oceans.”

Pavo Walker, a commercial tuna fisherman from Queensland, said, “Not every seafood product on the market is a good choice for consumers.  Giving the public more information about what fish they're buying and eating will help our oceans and local fishers".

Australian Marine Conservation Society Director Darren Kindleysides said,“AMCS has been producing Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide for a decade now. It’s clear that Australians want to do the right thing and choose sustainable seafood, but our current seafood labelling system means they are generally fishing in the dark.

“Shark, sold as ‘flake’ and popular in fish and chip shops, could be anything from Australian caught gummy shark to a threatened species of shark.

“As the public cannot tell if they are buying from seafood producers fishing with an eye on the future, it’s harder for sustainable fishers to reap the market rewards.

“These simple and inexpensive reforms are long overdue. AMCS have been calling for improvements in seafood labelling for a decade. We now have a real opportunity to take our labelling laws into the 21st century, so the public can know at all points of sale what fish they are choosing, where is came from and how it was produced.”

Visit www.labelmyfish.com for more information, a background report (includes detailed case studies of poor labelling) and a growing list of high profile supporters.

Contact: Alison Orme Greenpeace Media 0432 332 104 - alison.orme@greenpeace.org

Case studies: the impact of weak seafood labelling laws on consumers

Flathead. ‘Flathead’ is popular in fish and chip shops, restaurants and retailed as frozen fillets.  But when we buy ‘flathead’ it may well be an imported South American fish, of a completely different family (Percophis brasiliensis).  The imported ‘flathead’ is much cheaper - up to $20 per kilo less. But there’s often no labelling on your pub or fast food menu, or packet of frozen ‘flathead’, to indicate you’re not buying Aussie flathead, but a cheap imitation caught by destructive bottom trawling in Argentinean waters.

Barramundi. Australians rate barramundi as their favourite fish in restaurants.About 90 per cent of us believe the barramundi we are consuming is Australian yet over two thirds of the barramundi we eat is imported from Asia. 

Mercury in fish. Some fish contain high and potentially unsafe levels of mercury. Too much mercury can harm pregnant women and young children. For this reason government authorities recommend that pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children restrict the amount they eat of certain species, including shark (flake), catfish and orange roughy. If Australians are not told which species they’re eating they are unable to act on warnings.

Orange roughy. ‘Orange roughy’ (Hoplostethus atlanticus) is very sensitive to overfishing and has been overfished in the past. Environment groups advise against eating it but conscientious consumers can’t do the right thing because it goes by a number of names on restaurant menus, including ‘deep sea perch’ and ‘sea perch’.

Squid and octopus. Australian squid and octopus fisheries are generally considered to have healthy stocks that can be harvested in a way that causes relatively little harm to the environment. Despite what many of us think though, around 80 per cent of the squid and octopus we eat is caught overseas. The product comes from fisheries which are often overfished, subject to inferior fishery management schemes and harvested in a damaging way - squid via trawling and octopus via bottom trawling - leading to bycatch concerns. But can you tell an Australian squid or octopus from its imported cousin?