The cost of your catch: seafood sustainability

Australian researchers have spent decades trying to answer one of conservation's hardest questions: can we protect nature and feed a growing population at the same time?

This question is particularly challenging in the ocean, as seafood is an important source of protein for billions of people globally. Protecting marine biodiversity in the face of a growing economy is a global problem that requires fresh and innovative solutions.

Associate Professor Carissa Klein from The University of Queensland’s Centre for Marine Science is leading research efforts to improve the sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia and better protect marine ecosystems.

“Our research equips Australia with strategies for becoming a global leader in the production and consumption of more sustainable seafood,” Dr Klein said.

Fisheries reforms

Return of the fishing seiner after the catch. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Over 80 million tonnes of marine animals are taken from the ocean annually for consumption.

Fishing, either targeted or incidental, is the primary driver directly causing declines in marine biodiversity.

UQ research is supporting sustainability innovations in fishing practices by diving deep into ecological risk, economic trade-offs, governance inequity, and fisher decisions at sea.

“Our research addresses the challenge of feeding a growing global population without perverse outcomes for marine biodiversity and the people it supports,” Dr Klein said.

"Standard approaches to protecting marine biodiversity like enforcing protected areas, and fishing gear restrictions and regulations have not been sufficient to reverse species declines.

“Using advanced statistical techniques and computational procedures, we are able to obtain knowledge from existing seafood trade, commercial fishing, and environmental datasets to underpin new policies that regulate the catch and trade of threatened marine species.”

The research spans individual vessel behaviour to global seafood trade flows from the Great Barrier Reef to the Indian Ocean.

In the Indian Ocean, some of the ocean's most vulnerable creatures including sharks, dolphins and sea turtles are accidentally caught in nets and lines targeting tuna.

The research found leveraging fisher knowledge, rather than imposing costly regulation, may resolve bycatch challenges that have resisted conventional top-down approaches.

Fishermen in protective suits on deck Fishing vessel. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Seine with yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna at the side of a fishing seiner. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Fisher takes fish out of net. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Seafood trade

Sydney Fish Market. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Seafood is one of the most traded food commodities in the world.

Dependence on seafood imports is growing for many nations, with Australia importing around 60–70 per cent of domestically consumed seafood.

UQ research is helping our understanding of the risks and sustainability impacts of traded seafood.

Dr Klein and her team found 92 endangered and 11 critically endangered species of seafood were caught in oceans around the world after analysing global industrial fishing records.

Australian commercial fisheries catch and sell species listed as threatened Australian fauna under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, both as target and incidental catch.

Dr Leslie Roberson from UQ’s Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, who began her career studying fishing impacts on sea turtles and dolphins, said the problem extended far beyond the obvious species.

"From an ecological perspective, some species of tuna, sea cucumbers or lobsters deserve to be protected just like dolphins or sea turtles, but they are perceived as things we eat and not really as wild animals,” Dr Roberson said.

“Fishing for species that are threatened with extinction is legal and seafood does not have to be labelled according to its species.

“This means that the ‘fish’, ‘flake’ or ‘cod’ that Australians typically order at the fish and chip shop could be critically endangered.

"Australian seafood is not always as sustainable as consumers would like to think, and it's definitely not in line with many of the large international conservation agreements that Australia has signed to protect threatened species and ecosystems.”

IUCN Red List status for 92 threatened fish species recorded in global catch data from 2006–2014.

IUCN Red List status for 92 threatened fish species recorded in global catch data from 2006–2014.

To help save these endangered species, researchers propose three reforms to the Act:

apply the same protections to commercially harvested threatened species as to other threatened wildlife
mandate annual review of conservation or threatened/endangered status
assess species listed under global conservation conventions

Is it possible to buy sustainable seafood?

Dr Klein and her team assessed the sustainability of 8,497 seafood products from 1,050 restaurants, supermarkets, and takeaway shops in south-east Queensland, using Australia's GoodFish guide as their benchmark.

Of those identifiable, only 4.25 per cent were classified as sustainable, while 24.23 per cent fell into the "Say No" category.

The most commonly available sustainable product was Australian farmed barramundi. The most common "Say No" product was farmed Australian Atlantic salmon, a species many consumers assume is a responsible choice.

Sustainable seafood exists, but it is rare, poorly labelled, and hard to find.

Dr Carissa Klein and Leslie Roberson use the Sustainable Seafood Guide to make a better choice when ordering takeaway. — Dr Carissa Klein and Leslie Roberson use the Sustainable Seafood Guide to make a better choice when ordering takeaway seafood.

Dr Carissa Klein and Leslie Roberson use the Sustainable Seafood Guide to make a better choice when ordering takeaway seafood.

In 2015, Dr Klein and Dr Renata Ferrari from The Australian Institute of Marine Science audited the menus of 7 marine science and conservation conferences attended by around 4,000 people.

Seafood was served at all seven meetings with four plating up at least one unsustainable species.

Researchers found only two served a sustainable option.

"Sustainable seafood consumption is not commonplace, even in the marine science and conservation community,” Dr Klein said.

Australia has since passed legislation requiring the hospitality industry to label seafood items as Australian or imported which came into effect in July 2026 — a reform the researchers welcomed, but described as long overdue.

Fish and chips by the beach. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Fish and chips by the beach. Photo credit: Adobe stock.

Spatial planning for Fisheries and conservation

Most nations have pledged to protect 30 per cent of their ocean by 2030 – a goal that often conflicts with fisheries.

UQ researchers are aiming to prioritise areas for conservation and fishing value.

Dr Klein and her team have developed innovative planning tools and frameworks that balance the needs of biodiversity conservation with the needs of society and industry.

This work is having global impact and is pursued in partnership with government and non-government institutions involved in marine zoning exercises in Australia, UK, Papua New Guinea, USA, and Malaysia.

For example, Dr Klein and the team supported the Malaysian government in zoning their first multi-zone marine park (1.02 million hectares).

On the other side of the ocean, working with fishers, scuba divers, conservationists and managers along California's central coast, the team designed a reserve network that satisfied both ecological and community goals.

“Our work has the potential to benefit the over three billion people that depend on a healthy ocean for their health and their livelihoods by providing new knowledge to improve the global sustainability of seafood,” said Dr Klein.

Although the research is global in nature, the team is focused on improving the sustainability of seafood in Australia for current and future generations.

“Australia has experienced recent catastrophic declines in marine ecosystems at all latitudes, suggesting new marine conservation and fisheries management approaches are required,” said Dr Klein.

“We make science-based recommendations for regulating the catch and trade of threatened marine species and have designed an import control program to help prevent illegal seafood from entering Australia.

“We focus on Australia because it has the capacity and responsibility to lead a global shift toward more sustainable seafood.”

Associate Professor Carissa Klein is an ARC Future Fellow at The University of Queensland and Director of The Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science. She is a conservation scientist and leads a research group called The Ocean Conservation Team.

Download the Sustainable Seafood Guide.

Media:

UQ Communications,
communications@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 7575.