The Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia recognise organisations and individuals making a significant contribution to ensure we have fish forever. The annual awards are run by the Marine Stewardship Council in partnership with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
Eligibility
The awards are open to MSC and ASC partner organisations registered and based in Australia as well as individuals based in Australia who have made a significant contribution towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aligned with MSC's vision and mission and/or ASC's vision and mission. More information on eligibility is listed within each category.
Scoring
The MSC and the ASC will assess the applications to fact-check any claims. Where applicable, an independent panel of judges from outside of the MSC and the ASC will then score the applications based on a balanced scorecard.How and when to enter
- To ask questions or apply for MSC award categories, please fill in the relevant form below and email it to [email protected].
- Your entry or nomination must arrive before the closing deadline of 6 pm AEDT Friday, 26 January 2024.
- You may enter more than one category, but you must complete a new application form for each entry.
Award categories and criteria
This award goes to a supermarket with the most significant commitment to MSC-certified sustainable seafood during 2023, based on the following areas:
1. Sourcing policy and commitments
The Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket has an up-to-date, robust, and ambitious seafood sourcing policy that prioritises MSC-certified and labelled seafood.
- Demonstrates a preference for MSC-labelled own-brand seafood across multiple categories (wet fish counters, chilled, frozen, ambient, pet, health, beauty, and wellbeing).Demonstrates an MSC-certified/labelled seafood requirement for third-party brands.
- Effectively communicates the policy on MSC-certified and labelled seafood to the public.
- Reports on progress toward commitments laid out in the sourcing policy, e.g., sustainability reports, etc.
- Supports small-scale and/or commercial fisheries on their pathway to MSC certification.
- Outline how your policy contributes towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG14, “Life Below Water”.
- May have received external awards, rankings or recognitions that acknowledge commitments and performance in seafood sustainability.
2. Growth in MSC labelled portfolio
Offers a diverse, growing range of MSC-labelled products, including private label and proprietary brands.
- To provide current data of MSC labelled seafood in 2023 (no points incurred for this)
- Total volume
- Total SKUs
- Number of species
- Categories
- Provide Year on Year % growth (2022 vs 2023):
- Volume of MSC-labelled seafood
- Volume of MSC-labelled seafood against total seafood offering
- Volume of MSC-labelled seafood in privately labelled products
- Number of MSC-labelled products
- Number of Species with the MSC label
- Categories using the MSC label
- Has made a commitment to source MSC-certified seafood in new categories, e.g., pet food, health supplements, etc.
3. Communications & Engagement
The Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket is celebratory, informative, and visible about its MSC-certified seafood range.
- Internal channels: Demonstrate how the MSC’s messaging is integrated across various departments and communications platforms:
- Magazines/catalogue
- Instore activations: shelf, freezer, decals, etc.
- Instore radio
- Online shopping
- Website
- Own social/digital media platforms
- External channels: Demonstrates how the MSC label and messaging features prominently in high impact / high reach outputs across the calendar year, e.g., above-the-line and below-the-line outdoor billboards, out-of-home advertising, PR/Media, etc.
- Has actively participated in MSC-led campaigns, e.g., World Ocean Day, World Tuna Day, Sustainable Seafood Week and others.
- Has included messaging on MSC-certified fisheries in their communications activities.
- Ensure that in-store retail staff understand the MSC via training initiatives and educational materials.
- Examples of how spokespeople and organisation ambassadors talk with pride and knowledge about their organisation’s MSC commitment.
Applications are encouraged to include narrative, support materials, case studies, and reference materials.
This award recognises a seafood product launched in 2023, that has the MSC blue fish tick visible and correctly applied on the pack, and:
- Communicates the sustainability story behind the product and runs promotions to drive awareness;
- Demonstrates innovation within the industry e.g. first of its kind, new technology used, a new category;
- Considers other aspects of its environmental impact, such as packaging, carbon offset
This award goes to an individual in the Australian fishing industry that has shown leadership, courage and commitment towards MSC certification and sustainability in the 2023 calendar year.
Eligibility:
- An individual stakeholder supporting an Australian MSC-certified or engaged fishery.
- From a fishing industry background, regulatory, research or wider supporting role.
The award is open to any organisation who has impacted the local community in the 2023 calendar year with ocean sustainability and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
This could include, though not limited to, events, festivals, education seafood expos, outreach, local media, competitions, or campaigns.
Meet the MSC external judging panel
The MSC judging panel includes seafood and sustainability experts from within Australia and around the world.
The judges are looking for authenticity, passion, creativity, impact, inspiration and commitment.
Graz van Egmond, Chief Executive Officer Banksia Foundation
Graz leads the Banksia Foundation team to communicate inspirational solutions and promote optimism and action. She has experience in the Health, Tourism and Telecommunications Industries, creating the Telstra Business Women’s Awards and heading up Telstra’s Small Business Development division.
Dr Chris Calogeras, Director, C-AID Consultants
For over 35 years, Chris has brought people together to foster seafood success. He has engaged with the broader Industry from many vantage points and in 2022 was inducted into the National Seafood Hall of Fame. He holds a Doctorate in Business and a Masters in Marine Resource Management.
James Whittaker, Technical Director BPO Manufacturing
James is an experienced food industry professional with over two decades of expertise in the global food manufacturing and retail industry. He holds a Master of Science Degree from Bristol University's School of Veterinary Sciences in the UK.
Jo-anne McCrea, Sustainable Seafood Specialist
Jo-anne is a fisheries scientist with 25 years experience dedicated to environmental management in the seafood industry. Jo has had significant roles in government, conservation organisations, research institutions and sustainability auditing firms, and currently sits on numerous state and federal advisory committees.
Katherine Short, Partner at Terra Moana Limited
A life-long nature lover, Katherine worked with WWF for 17 years globally growing sustainable seafood momentum. Via a Masters in natural capital and ecosystem services at Imperial College London, she returned home to New Zealand in 2011 and continued working with WWF’s tropical fisheries teams on global tuna. In 2013 she co-founded Terra Moana Ltd (TML) with Tony Craig.
Manni Kalisperis, MSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2023
Procurement Category Lead for Seafood at Simplot Australia for over 20 years, who was recently awarded the prestigious MSC Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.
Minnie Constan, CEO Foodservice Suppliers Association Australia
A seasoned, respected and accomplished foodservice professional with over 20 years of industry experience. Dedicated to providing opportunities for others in the foodservice industry through networking, education, and professional development.
Paul Maguire, Director Education at Taronga Conservation Society
Paul has worked at Taronga Conservation Society for 27 years. Paul has a Bachelor of Education (PE & Health and Science) and is passionate about nature, conservation, youth, Indigenous issues and behaviour change.
Sissel Rosengren, Managing Director at Food Industry Foresight
With more than 30 years of experience, Sissel leads the Food Industry Foresight’s extensive work in supply and demand modelling, brand valuation, competitor analysis, growth prospects, and strategic planning for global and national food and beverage providers.
Valentina Tripp, accomplished CEO and Non-Executive Director
An accomplished Chief Executive and currently a Non-Executive Director for the MSCI Board, providing oversight on initiatives focused on sustainable seafood, ecolabel licensing, and public education. Valentina's extensive leadership background includes roles at Davey Water, Murray River Organics, Simplot Australia, and KPMG.
What winners will receive
Winners will receive:
- International Recognition as Sustainable Seafood Australia Winners
- Award trophy
- Unique marketing claim
- Certificate
- Awards graphic and Media Assets
- PR and marketing support to communicate your win
- Speaking engagements and preferential marketing opportunities
- Opportunity to represent as a judge for another country's sustainable seafood awards event
Highlights from the 2023 awards event at Melbourne Zoo
Terms and conditions
Disqualification may occur if your entry does not meet these terms and conditions.By entering the Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia (the Awards), you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. The Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (the Organisers) are the joint organisers of the Awards.
1. The Awards are open to partners of the Organisers who are registered and based in Australia as well as individuals who are based in Australia and who have made a significant contribution to the vision and mission of the Organisers. Each category will state if it is for an organisation or an individual.
2. The criteria for each award category is listed with its description on the awards web page at https://www.msc.org/en-au/what-we-are-doing/the-sustainable-seafood-awards-australia for the MSC and at https://au.asc-aqua.org/campaigns/the-sustainable-seafood-awards-australia-2024/ for the ASC.
3. Your entry must be factually correct. Upon reviewing your application, the Organisers will fact-check against its own records. Only factually correct applications will be submitted to the judging panel for judging.
4. To enter the Awards, you must complete the entry form and submit it by post to The Marine Stewardship Council, PO Box 61, Caringbah, 1495 NSW, or email to [email protected] before the closing date and time. Late entries will be accepted at the discretion of the Organisers.
5. You may apply to enter more than one category, but you must submit a separate form for each category.
6. Your entry must relate to a relevant activity that took place during the 2023 calendar year. Supporting evidence should be supplied.
7. You agree that your application and supporting evidence can be shared with the relevant judges.
8. Entry submissions open on Tuesday, 2 January 2024, and close on Friday, 26 January 2024, at 6 pm (AEDT) for MSC awards. The winners will be announced and listed on the MSC website and can start communicating their award win from 12:01 am (AEDT) on Monday, 18 March 2024.
9. There is no entry cost for the Awards.
10. Each entry must have a single contact person to communicate with the Organisers.
11. You agree to provide supporting evidence including but not limited to imagery, video, weblinks, and data in the format requested by the Organisers.
12. You agree to the Organisers using any or all of your application and supporting evidence for internal purposes without prior consent. The Organisers will work with winners to communicate their award(s) and reserve the right to freely mention award winners in any and all correspondence.
13. Some award categories will be judged. Awards judges cannot be entered in the category they are judging.
14. If any awards judge has a conflict of interest regarding an entry, that judge will not judge that entry and may be removed from judging the category in which that entry is entered. The Organisers will decide whether there is a conflict of interest and welcome any information you might have to support this decision. Once the decision has been made, it will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. Judges will judge based on a scorecard. There will be a pass/fail mark, and so entries achieving over the pass mark will then be eligible to win. Each category will have at least two judges assessing the entries. Scores will then be averaged per entry. The entry with the highest average score will win. Where relevant, runner-up positions will be based on the next highest scores. In the event of a tie, the Organisers will take a deciding vote. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
16. If evidence emerges at any time that shows misconduct, such as (but not limited to) influencing the judges or falsifying evidence, then the Organisers reserve the right to remove an application or award at any time.
17. The Organisers reserve the right to change the dates or cancel the Awards or to amend these terms and conditions without prior notice.
18. You (individual or organisation) must not be under investigation by any Australian or international statutory body during the application process.
19. If there are zero applications for a category, or if the only applications entered do not meet the criteria, there will be no award for that category. The Organisers will use their discretion, and any decision is final with no correspondence entered into. The Organisers will do their best to encourage entries.
20. The Organisers accept no responsibility for failed delivery of an application. You are welcome to check that we have received it by emailing [email protected].
21. These terms and conditions are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Courts of the Commonwealth of Australia will have exclusive jurisdiction.
22. Privacy: The Organisers may collect personal information from you (such as your name, home/business address, and email) for the purpose of facilitating your participation in the Awards. It may be provided to the Organisers partnered delivery agents to assist with the public communications of the Awards. If you wish to opt out of this, please indicate the personal information you would like to withhold within your application.
23. Data controller: The Marine Stewardship Council is the data controller and will store and process your data in line with its privacy policy on behalf of the Organisers.
Last updated: 19 October 2023
2024
Coles was named the MSC's Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket, and the ASC awarded ALDI the Best Responsible Seafood Retailer title. MSC’s Best Sustainable Seafood Product - Shelf went to John West Salmon Bowls. I&J was named ASC’s Best Responsible Seafood Brand, and Birds’ Eye Frozen Steam Fresh Fillets took the ASC’s Best Responsible Seafood Product award home.
Read the full list of the 2024 award winners
2023
ALDI, Simplot, Austral Fisheries, Goolwa PipiCo, and Mars Petcare are amongst the winners named in the seventh Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia, run by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Read the full list of the 2023 award winners
2022
Coles, ALDI, Tassal, Simplot, Tuna Australia and Mars Petcare are amongst the 18 winners named across 13 categories in the sixth Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia, run by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Read the full list of the 2022 award winners
2021
Austral Fisheries Glacier 51 Toothfish has taken out the title of Best Sustainable Seafood Product for the second year running, this time shared with the newly Marine Stewardship Council certified Fremantle Octopus range. Meanwhile, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council certified Australian Clean Seas kingfish scooped the accolade for Best Responsible Seafood Product.
Read the full list of the 2021 award winners
2020
Coles, ALDI, Woolworths, Taronga Zoo and Austral Fisheries were amongst those named in the Marine Stewardship Council’s 2020 Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia.
Read the full list of the 2020 award winners
2019
Coles, John West, IKEA and Taronga Zoo are celebrated in the national awards.
Read the full list of the 2019 award winners
2018
There were no awards this year.
2017
Simplot, Sealord, Taronga Zoo, Coles and Mandurah Crabfest all take home awards.
Sustainable Seafood Week Australia 2024
An annual event which champions action to protect fish and marine life, 18 March - 1 April, forming part of the Super Seafood campaign.