News

Sydney venues will soon have to say where their seafood was caught

Restaurants, fish and chip shops and other hospo venues will soon need to label if their seafood was plucked from Aussie waters, internationally or a mixture or the two

Avril Treasure
Written by
Avril Treasure
Food & Drink Editor, Time Out Sydney
Fish and chips
Photograph: Anna Kucera
Advertising

Good news for those of us who are keen to eat more sustainable seafood and support local businesses: it will soon be compulsory for restaurants, fish and chip shops and other hospitality venues across the country to label where their seafood was caught. Essentially, diners and customers will be able to know whether their prawns and snapper have been plucked from Australian waters (A), are sourced internationally (I), or a mixture of the two (M). In Sydney, Josh and Julie Ninland's restaurant Petermen and Neil Perry's Margaret have been setting the gold standard for this kind of practice – their menus already outline where each piece of produce is from.

Crudo of scallops are fanned around a bowl, topped with native greens in a pool of olive oil
Photograph: Anna Kucera

The federal government announced that country of origin labelling would be made mandatory for the whole seafood industry after state and federal consumer affairs ministers voted unanimously for the change on Friday, November 24. It’s been a long time coming – in 2017 the West Australian government pushed to make origin labelling compulsory, and for many years the fishing industry has been an advocate for origin classification, acknowledging the growing trend of diners wanting transparency around where their food comes from. 

While the exact date for AIM labelling is not confirmed, West Australian commerce minister Sue Ellery reckons there will be around a 12-month transition period for businesses, as reported by the ABC.

How this change will impact businesses and indeed seafood prices we don’t yet know. But we do know that when it comes to buying and enjoying seafood, we will soon have more transparency, which will lead to more choice and agency in our decisions – and in our books that’s definitely a good thing. Support local!

RECOMMENDED:

These are the most sustainable restaurants, bars and cafés in Sydney

Check out our guide to the best fish and chips in town

Love seafood? We've rounded up the top seafood restaurants in Sydney

You may also like
You may also like
Advertising