The Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia

Community champion - MSC

This award recognises a business owned by an individual or sole proprietor that:

- uses the MSC blue fish tick visibly and correctly;

- encourages staff to talk with pride and knowledge about sustainability;

- promotes its sustainability commitments;

- has multiple species of MSC certified and labelled fish available to buy;

- has demonstrated support to their local community as a result of their commitment to MSC certification.

- extra consideration is given for support of the ASC's vision and mission.

This award is from the Marine Stewardship Council.

Best supermarket - MSC

This award recognises a supermarket chain that:

- has a significant number of MSC labelled products (verified by data from the MSC);

- has a significant percentage of their seafood range MSC certified and labelled (verified by data from the MSC);

- uses the MSC blue fish tick visibly and correctly on product, in-store and online (where applicable);

- encourages its staff to talk with pride and knowledge about their MSC commitments;

- promotes its sustainable seafood messaging with the MSC in public channels;

- has a strong public commitment to continue and increase the sourcing of MSC certified seafood;

- has a comprehensive sustainable sourcing policy in place;

- demonstrates inclusion and support of MSC certified fisheries within Australia.

- extra consideration is given for support of the ASC's vision and mission.

This award is from the Marine Stewardship Council.

Best product - MSC

This award recognises a seafood product launched in 2020, that:

- has the MSC blue fish tick visible and correctly applied on pack;

- communicates the sustainability story behind the product;

- demonstrates innovation within the industry e.g. first of its kind, new technology used, a new category;

- considers other aspects of its environmental impact.

There will also be up to four highly commended awards. This category will be judged by MSC colleagues from around the world.

This award is from the Marine Stewardship Council.

Best product - ASC

This award recognises a seafood product launched in 2020 that:

- has the ASC logo visible and correctly applied on pack;

- communicates the sustainability story behind the product;

- demonstrates innovation within the industry e.g. first of its kind, new technology used, a new category;

- considers other aspects of its environmental impact.

There will also be up to four highly commended awards. This category will be judged by ASC colleagues from around the world.

This will be judged and awarded by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council

Responsible seafood importer - ASC

The responsible seafood importer award recognises a company that:

- has a sourcing commitment to ensuring that seafood imported into Australia is responsibly farmed and meets ASC standards for environmental and social parameters;

- imports product that is ASC labelled prior to entry to Australia, or there is evidence that the product is used in conjunction with the ASC label after import.

Note (1): the term importer may apply to any company in the supply chain that is involved in sourcing or selling ASC certified and labelled product produced outside Australia. The entity may be the actual importing company, a distributor with commitments to sourcing ASC products or a retailer/foodservice outlet. The product has to be farmed outside Australia – it cannot be an Australian product that is exported for processing and then imported.

Note (2): the importer may import the product in bulk and it may then be repackaged. The importer needs to be in possession of a valid Chain of Custody certificate and at least one of the buyers needs to make product available to consumers bearing the ASC label.

This will be judged and awarded by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Responsible seafood exporter - ASC

The responsible seafood exporter award recognises a company that:

- has a sourcing commitment to ensuring that seafood exported from Australia is responsibly farmed and meets ASC standards for environmental and social parameters;

- exports product that is ASC labelled prior to export from Australia, or there is evidence that the product is used in conjunction with the ASC label in the country where the final, customer-ready product is available.

Note (1): the term exporter may apply to any company in the supply chain that is involved in sourcing or selling seafood for export that is farmed on an ASC certified farm in Australia. The entity may be the actual exporting company or an Australia-based distributor with commitments to sourcing ASC product. 

Note (2): the exporter may export the product in bulk and it may then be repackaged prior to sale. The exporter needs to be in possession of a valid Chain of Custody certificate and at least one of the buyers needs to make product available to consumers bearing the ASC label.

This will be judged and awarded by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Lifetime achievement - MSC and ASC

This award recognises an individual that:

- has worked tirelessly to advance ocean and seafood sustainability;

- has made a huge impact on the industry and/or the general public;

- will leave a legacy behind;

- is well respected within their field.

This category is by nomination.

This award is from the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

View the full 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 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 

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 either by post to The Marine Stewardship Council, Building 6, 202 Nicholson Parade, Cronulla, 2230, NSW or email to alex.webb@msc.org 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 part during the 2020 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 Monday 18 January 2021 and close on Tuesday 23 February 2021 at 6 pm (AEST) for MSC and joint MSC & ASC awards. Submissions for ASC awards close on Friday 26 February 2021 at 6pm 9 (AEST). The winners will be announced and listed on the MSC website and can start communicating their award win from 9 am (AEST) 8 March 2021.

9. There is no entry cost for the Awards.

10. Each entry must have a single contact person for all communication 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 in any media, marketing, and promotional activities associated with the Awards without prior consent.

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 welcomes 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, then there will be no award for that category. The Organisers will use their discretion and any decision is final with no correspondence entered in to. 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 alex.webb@msc.org.

21. These terms and conditions are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, and 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: 16 February 2021