Businesses that trade in wild caught seafood can now access an online tool to help them determine the stock, environmental and management risks associated with the seafood they buy and sell.
Whichfish.com.au is a new website launched by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) specifically to assist seafood buyers make better informed decisions.
“Whichfish will make it easier for businesses to determine which seafood to source by providing them an independent assessment of the risks associated with wild caught Australian seafood,” says FRDC’s Managing Director Patrick Hone.
Each assessment includes an outlook section to indicate whether risks are likely to lessen, remain stable or worsen. Risk assessment reports are available online or the entire list can be downloaded at the site for future reference.
Whichfish.com.au currently features the first twenty-six Australian species including Saddletail Snapper, Eastern King Prawn, Balmain bugs and Deepwater Flathead; with more species due to be added throughout the year.
“Coles recognises well-managed and responsible fishing is essential for future sustainability of our marine ecosystems which is why since 2015 all our Coles Brand Fresh, Frozen, Thawed and Canned Seafood has been responsibly sourced. We are delighted with the FRDC initiative which will help continue the sustainability journey in our industry,” said James Whittaker – Head of Quality and Responsible Sourcing, Coles.
Whichfish uses elements from the GSSI Benchmarked Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Standard version 2.0, but is neither a duplicate of it nor a substitute for it. The site does show seafood products (from fisheries) that have been third party certified by a scheme benchmarked to the Global Seafood Sustainable Initiative Criteria.
The FRDC are working to add more species throughout the year and welcomes feedback on the site as well as suggestions for additional species for inclusion.