A seafood guide by the Australian Marine Conservation Society has drawn criticism over its claims about certain Queensland prawn, scallop and bug varieties.
The guide reportedly states that Queensland prawn, scallop and bug varieties are fished in an unsustainable manner.
Seafood Industry Australia CEO Jane Lovell said the claim would “push Australia’s healthy and sustainable seafood off the menu for consumers”.
“The Australian Marine Conservation Society is a non-government organisation who is in no way responsible for the collection, collation or management of data, or the reporting of fish-stock levels for any of Australia’s fisheries,” she said.
Lovell said the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), alternatively, has labelled all Australia’s Commonwealth-managed fisheries as sustainable – something the Australian commercial fishing industry is “very proud of”.
Australia’s Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF), operating out of Northern Queensland, was awarded the internationally recognised Sustainable Seafood Certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 2012, for example.
