The Australian Government’s new plan to closely monitor seafood importation will not be able to prevent illegal seafood from reaching Australian consumers without critical improvements, local NGO the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) warned recently.
AMCS said the government's plan comprises a welcome review of seafood import data and a commitment to continue Australia’s existing work supporting anti-illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing measures.
The group added, however, that despite years of consultation, international advice and a detailed expert report, the plan omits a traceability scheme, a key measure needed to verify the provenance of imported seafood.
AMCS said the scheme would have mandated the collection of sourcing information from higher-risk items, such as squid and sharks, to verify that these were caught legally.
The group emphasised that the changes fall short of the best-practice traceability systems implemented in the EU in 2010 and Japan and Korea in 2020, leaving Australia at risk of becoming a dumping ground for illegally caught seafood.
"The decision to look more closely at the data collected on our imported seafood is a good first step, but does not replace the need for robust traceability, especially for products the government acknowledges are at higher risk for IUU fishing, in particular squid, sharks, sardines and surimi – products being imported right now," said Dr Kim Riskas, Fair Catch Program Manager for AMCS.
"The Australian Government must now deliver a best-practice seafood traceability system, in line with the conclusions of the government’s own report and global best practice. Without this system, Australia is still at risk of importing from illegal fisheries."
Dr Riskas added that Australia imports nearly two-thirds of its seafood. Without scrutiny at the border, this seafood is coming into the country and onto consumers' plates without checking whether it was produced legally.
"In addition to fuelling unsustainable fishing and modern slavery overseas, this lack of scrutiny also undercuts Australian fisheries doing the right thing."
