Mackerel icefish

What is mackerel icefish?

Mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) are long, slender, silver fish with a large head and mouth found in the Southern Ocean. Most Australian-caught mackerel icefish is exported overseas.

Mackerel icefish facts

• Mackerel icefish are part of a group of species found exclusively in the Southern Ocean known as ‘white blooded’ fish. These species survive without the red oxygen-carrying pigment haemoglobin in their blood cells, meaning their blood is colourless.
• Mackerel icefish are distributed widely in sub-Antarctic latitudes, mainly around islands.
• The Australia mackerel icefish fishery operates in the waters off Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI). 

Is mackerel icefish sustainable?

There is no such thing as a sustainable species of fish. There are only sustainable populations of fish.

The Australia mackerel icefish fishery located in the waters off Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI), is MSC certified sustainable.

Where can I buy sustainable mackerel icefish?

There are currently no mackerel icefish with the MSC blue fish tick label available in Australia and New Zealand.

Consumer demand is important. You can use your voice to ask your supermarket, fish shop or restaurant to consider stocking mackerel icefish with the MSC’s blue fish tick.

Find out more about where to buy sustainable seafood.

Learn more about mackerel icefish fishing

The Australia mackerel icefish fishery is located in the waters off Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI), a remote group of volcanic islands in the Southern Ocean, 4,000km southwest of Perth.

The fishery is managed in line with guidance from the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). This stipulates that over 75% of the available fish will remain uncaught, in order to maintain natural population patterns and to provide enough food for known predators.

The fishing method is demersal (bottom) and pelagic (mid-water) trawling. Trawl nets are limited to a minimum mesh size of 90mm when targeting mackerel icefish to enable juvenile fish to escape the net.

CCAMLR adopts both the 'precautionary approach' and the 'ecosystem approach' which require that all other living resources of the Southern Ocean are treated as an integrated system. It considers effects on the predator, prey and related species, takes decisions on sustainable harvesting levels on the basis of sound scientific advice, and avoids decisions that have a high risk of long-term adverse effects.

The HIMI region includes one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, covering 65,000km², with an additional 11,500km² being considered for inclusion. This means that 39% of all waters shallower than 1,000m around HIMI are no-fishing zones.

Explore more sustainable fish to eat

Find more sustainable seafood species that are MSC certified in Australia and New Zealand.

Explore the sustainable seafood guide.