Aussie seafood companies awarded for sustainability
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international non-profit on a mission to end overfishing by setting standards for sustainable fishing and supply chain assurance, recently announced the winners of the annual Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia, run in partnership with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Coinciding with Sustainable Seafood Week that started at the end of March, a campaign to raise awareness of the MSC and ASC seafood certification labels, the awards celebrate the organisations and individuals working together to ensure seafood supplies are safeguarded for this and future generations.
The event, which was hosted by Alice Zaslavsky, an award-winning author, broadcaster, and tastemaker, saw a range of awards given, including:
- ALDI won the MSC Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket for their wide range of everyday affordable and accessible MSC-labelled products and their continued commitment to ocean health.
- The MSC Best Sustainable Seafood Product Award went to Austral Fisheries for their Karumba Banana Prawns available at Woolworths.
- The MSC Best Sustainable Petfood Product Award to Mars Petcare Australia for their DINE® Pulled Menu – Gravy Indulgence with Tuna.
- The prestigious MSC Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Manni Kalisperis from Simplot for his legacy in pioneering a long-term movement towards sustainable fishing and sustainable seafood.
- Goolwa PipiCo in South Australia was awarded the MSC Community Champion Award for their world-leading efforts in community engagement and first nations reconciliation.
- Brad Adams from Rare Foods Australia was named MSC Sustainable Fishing Hero for his leadership and pioneering approach to embedding sustainability values within the world’s first commercial abalone ranch.
Speaking at the Sustainable Seafood Awards, Rupert Howes, MSC CEO, said, “These leaders in sustainable seafood are creating a wave of change.
“The ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth, and Australia is home to the third largest marine jurisdiction in the world with an Exclusive Economic Zone covering 8.2 million square metres. There is huge potential for our ocean to feed and sustain us if sustainably managed.
“There is growing recognition that food systems must be transformed – that achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires shifting toward a system that is more diverse, resilient, and just, as well as healthier.
“These awards recognise what we’re seeing globally, signs that brands are stepping up their commitment to source only sustainable and certified seafood.
“Blue foods” – foods derived from aquatic animals, plants and algae cultivated and captured in freshwater and marine environments – have much to offer in securing the health and wellbeing of future generations.”
Australian consumers can now enjoy a wide choice of MSC-certified sustainable seafood, with over 300 products available across different categories, including canned, chilled, frozen, pet and health and wellbeing supplements. The MSC blue fish tick label on a product indicates MSC-certified sustainable seafood from healthy, wild fish populations.
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