Sustainable Seafood Guide

Your guide to sustainable fish and seafood in Australia and New Zealand

Choose sustainable seafood with the blue fish tick

Shopping for sustainable seafood can be easy. Just look for the MSC blue fish tick label on a wide range of wild-caught seafood products available at your local supermarket in Australia and New Zealand.

What is meant by sustainable seafood?

Sustainable seafood means it’s been caught at a level where they’ll be around in the future.

Fish need time to grow and reproduce – sustainable fishing allows this to happen.

Our sustainable seafood guide makes shopping for sustainable seafood easier. Just look for the MSC’s blue fish tick on wild-caught seafood, and you’ll be supporting sustainable fishing practices.

Where to buy wild-caught sustainable seafood?

You'll find wild-caught sustainable seafood with the MSC blue fish tick in your local supermarket, select specialty retailers and restaurants.

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Abalone

Abalone is a type of large, flat, sea snail, highly prized by Asian restaurants in Australia and overseas, making abalone one of Australia’s most highly-valued seafood species. Brownlip (Haliotis conicopora), greenlip (Haliotis laevigata) and Roe's abalone (Haliotis roei) are sold canned, frozen, and increasingly as fresh product, to key markets in Australia, Japan, China and South-East Asia.

FIND OUT ABOUT ABALONE WHERE TO BUY

Crabs

A crab is a decapod (10-legged) crustacean, which generally has a thick shell (exoskeleton) and a single pair of pincers. Find out more about crabs, crustaceans from the order Decapoda. Find out which crabs are sustainable and where to buy sustainable crabs.

FIND OUT ABOUT CRABS

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Hake

Southern hake (Merluccuis australis) is a member of the cod family. Hake flesh is moist and white with few bones and a soft, delicate texture. Hake, like its relative hoki, is often prepared as crumbed fillets and fish fingers.

FIND OUT ABOUT HAKE WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Hoki / Blue grenadier

Hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae), also known as blue grenadier, live in the waters around southern Australia and New Zealand. Find out which hoki is sustainable and where to buy sustainable hoki.

FIND OUT ABOUT HOKI WHERE TO BUY

Krill

Find out more about krill, a tiny fish found throughout the world’s ocean. Find out which krill is sustainable and where to buy sustainable krill.

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Lobster

Lobsters are large marine crustaceans, highly prized as seafood and found throughout the world's oceans. Varieties include clawed lobsters, spiny lobsters (which have no claws), and squat lobsters. Find out which lobster is sustainable and where to buy sustainable lobster.

FIND OUT ABOUT LOBSTER WHERE TO BUY

Mullet

A mullet is a type of ray-finned fish, meaning their fins are webs of skin supported by bony spines. Find out more about mullet, which Australian mullet is sustainable and where to buy sustainable mullet.

FIND OUT ABOUT MULLET

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Sardines

Australian sardines (Sardinops sagax) are small fish, silver-white in colour with blue green backs. They are found in large schools in temperate waters around the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Sardines are packed with omega-3 and vitamin B12, and are enjoyed fresh, dried, salted or smoked. They are also widely used for bait, fish feed, and fish oil.

FIND OUT ABOUT SARDINES WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Octopus

Octopus is an eight-limbed mollusc with a soft body and belong to the Cephalopoda class along with squid, cuttlefish and nautiloids. There are over 300 species of octopus inhabiting all parts of the ocean, from the shallows to the depths.. Find out more about octopus, which octopus is sustainable and where to buy sustainable octopus.

FIND OUT ABOUT OCTOPUS WHERE TO BUY

Orange roughy

Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), also known as deep sea perch, is a bright reddish orange fish with a round and slender shape. orange roughy are long-living, deep sea-dwelling fish found in New Zealand and Australian waters. Find out more about orange roughy, which are sustainable and where to buy sustainable orange roughy.

FIND OUT ABOUT ORANGE ROUGHY

Pearl oyster

The silver-lipped pearl oyster (Pinctada maxima) is the largest pearl oyster in the world. The best known Australian pearl oysters are found in Broome, and are valued for their white-silver colour with pink hues, while pearl oyster meat is considered a delicacy. Find out which pearl oysters are sustainable and where to buy sustainable pearl oyster.

FIND OUT ABOUT PEARL OYSTERS

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Pink ling

Pink ling (Genypterus blacodes) have eel-like bodies, pink and orange in colour with brown markings. Pink ling can grow to up to 2 metres in length and have long, eel-like bodies with small scales. Find out which pink ling is sustainable and where to buy sustainable pink ling.

FIND OUT ABOUT PINK LING WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Pipis

The pipi (Donax deltoides), also known as the Coorong or Goolwa cockle in South Australia, is a small clam-like bivalve (shellfish) that has provided communities with sustenance for thousands of years. Find out which pipis are sustainable and where to buy sustainable pipis.

FIND OUT ABOUT PIPIS WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Prawns

Prawns are crustaceans from the order Decapoda, meaning 'ten-legged' (or technically, 'ten-footed'). Find out which prawns are sustainable and where to buy sustainable prawns.

FIND OUT ABOUT PRAWNS WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Salmon

Salmon is highly valued in the human diet due to its nutritional value. Sustainable salmon is widely available in Australia and New Zealand. Just look for salmon products with the blue fish tick such as John West and Safcol tinned salmon.

FIND OUT ABOUT SALMON WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Scallop

Scallops are molluscs, a group of animals that also includes snails, sea slugs, octopus, squid, clams, mussels and oysters. Discover more about scallops, cold-water bivalve molluscs enjoyed as sashimi, sushi, or grilled. Find out which scallops are sustainable and where to buy sustainable scallops.

FIND OUT ABOUT SCALLOPS WHERE TO BUY

Sea Cucumber

Find out more about sea cucumber, an ocean floor dwelling echinoderm and Chinese delicacy. Find out which sea cucumber is sustainable and where to buy sustainable sea cucumber.

FIND OUT ABOUT SEA CUCUMBER

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Southern blue whiting

Southern blue whiting (Micromesistus australis) is a codfish that are widely dispersed most of the year but form dense schools when they come together to spawn. Find out which Southern blue whiting is sustainable and where to buy sustainable Southern blue whiting.

FIND OUT ABOUT SOUTHERN BLUE WHITING WHERE TO BUY

Swordfish

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are a highly migratory species. Their distribution is influenced by environmental conditions and water temperature. Find out which swordfish are sustainable and where to buy sustainable swordfish.

FIND OUT ABOUT SWORDFISH

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Toothfish

Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides, Dissostichus mawsoni), also known as Chilean seabass, live in deep waters in the southern oceans near Antarctica. Find out which toothfish are sustainable and where to buy sustainable toothfish.

FIND OUT ABOUT TOOTHFISH WHERE TO BUY

Available to buy with the MSC blue fish tick label

Tuna

Tuna belongs to a subgroup of the mackerel family. Tuna are nomadic species found throughout the world’s ocean. Find out which tuna is sustainable and where to buy sustainable tuna.

FIND OUT ABOUT TUNA WHERE TO BUY

Should I eat farmed or wild seafood?

To ensure we have fish forever, we need both farmed seafood that is responsibly caught and wild seafood from a sustainable fishery. Certified seafood can help feed a growing world population, maintain livelihoods and communities while minimising environmental and social impacts.

For responsibly farmed seafood look for the green ASC label.

For wild caught sustainable seafood look for the blue MSC label.

Choose certified seafood with the green ASC and blue MSC labels

Which fishing method is the most sustainable?

We hear a lot about different fishing methods being good or bad. A range of fishing methods are used in commercial fishing from pole and line to bottom trawling. Every type of fishing gear has some effect on the ocean environment. However, if carefully managed, virtually all gear types can be used responsibly and sustainably.

Understand more about different fishing methods and gear types

Are big fishing boats bad?

Each day thousands of fishing boats go out to sea, big and small. But which is more sustainable? We tend to think small equals beautiful and big equals bad, but that's not true. A fishery's sustainability does not depend on the size of its boats - but rather its impact on the marine environment, if populations of fish remain healthy and how it’s managed.

Find out more about 'super trawlers' and why big does not mean bad

Should I only eat FAD free tuna?

'FAD free tuna’ is tuna caught without a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD). Fishing with FADs can sometimes increase the likelihood of bycatch. However, if managed well FADs can increase the efficiency of fishing and be deemed sustainable.

Find out more about FAD free tuna

Why is seafood sustainability important?

According to the United Nations, over a third of all populations of fish are in decline and around 60% are fished to their limit. Sustainable seafood can help reverse this decline.

Key factors contributing to the problem are overfishing, illegal fishing and destructive fishing. The loss of species and ecosystems also has a serious impact on communities and food security.

Find out more about oceans at risk.

Is sustainable seafood healthy?

Sustainable seafood can be good for you and the ocean too.

Seafood is widely considered as a nutritious source of protein and is generally low in cholesterol. Fish are rich in vitamins and minerals such as zinc, iodine, potassium, and vitamin B.

Sustainably caught seafood helps to ensure healthy and resilient oceans full of life.

Explore our range of healthy sustainable seafood recipes.

Is seafood environmentally friendly?

When you choose fish and seafood labelled with the blue fish tick, it can be traced back to an MSC certified sustainable fishery. MSC certified fisheries are well managed and more prepared for environmental changes. These fisheries follow current scientific advice to ensure they catch fish sustainably.

Wild-caught fish is a low carbon food

Additional good news is that fishing has less impact on the climate than the harvesting of other proteins. A study of greenhouse gas emissions of wild fisheries found that each kg of fish caught produces between one and five kilograms of carbon. By comparison, red meat production is estimated to range from 50 to 750 kilograms of carbon per kilogram of meat.

There is also evidence that sustainable fishing helps to reduce carbon emissions by increasing efficiency. For example, increased catches mean that fishing vessels make shorter fishing trips, reducing their fuel use and carbon emissions as a result.

Find out more about climate change and fishing.

Eating a plant-based seafood diet with seaweed

Increasingly we want to lead healthy and sustainable lives and many of us are adopting a plant-based diet. Whether you're a pescetarian or adopt a 'seagan diet' (vegan + sustainable seafood), the rise of seaweed means its more important than ever that we sustainably harvest these carbon-sucking underwater forests.