Version 1
: Received: 9 December 2021 / Approved: 10 December 2021 / Online: 10 December 2021 (07:29:31 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 15 May 2023 / Approved: 15 May 2023 / Online: 15 May 2023 (10:50:22 CEST)
How to cite:
Vella, T.; Klein, C. Quantifying the Accessibility of Sustainable Seafood in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Preprints2021, 2021120164. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202112.0164.v1
Vella, T.; Klein, C. Quantifying the Accessibility of Sustainable Seafood in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Preprints 2021, 2021120164. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202112.0164.v1
Vella, T.; Klein, C. Quantifying the Accessibility of Sustainable Seafood in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Preprints2021, 2021120164. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202112.0164.v1
APA Style
Vella, T., & Klein, C. (2021). Quantifying the Accessibility of Sustainable Seafood in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202112.0164.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Vella, T. and Carissa Klein. 2021 "Quantifying the Accessibility of Sustainable Seafood in Southeast Queensland, Australia" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202112.0164.v1
Abstract
Seafood is a nutritious source of protein for billions of people around the world and is generally more sustainable than other animal-based protein sources. As the human population grows, seafood will continue to play an important role in feeding the world. The sustainability of seafood products differs, depending on the species consumed, origin, and production/fishing method. Having access to sustainable seafood products is essential to ensure future generations can continue to consume seafood. We aimed to determine the accessibility of sustainable seafood products to consumers in southeast Queensland, Australia. We surveyed 52,447 fresh, cooked, and processed (packaged) seafood products across southeast Queensland from 2110 establishments (restaurants, supermarket, takeaway shops). We investigated the species, origin and catch method of seafood products and used this information to determine their sustainability according to the Good Fish Guide developed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society. We found enough information to determine the level of sustainability for 36% (n= 18,709) of surveyed products: 4.9% were sustainable, 4.1% were classified as ‘Eat Less’, and 27% were classified as ‘Say No’. The 64% (n=33,737) of products that we could not assess was due to the lack of information at point of sale (16%) or the product was not included in the Good Fish Guide (48%). The top three most accessible sustainable products were Australian farmed barramundi, oysters and prawns. The three most common products to ‘Say No’ were Australian farmed Atlantic salmon, imported prawns and basa. We found that 44% (n= 12,040) of products listed in the Good Fish Guide were lacking origin information. Improving the labelling of species, origin, and catch method of seafood products at the point of sale, especially detailed information about a product’s origin, is essential to improving the accessibility of sustainable seafood.
Keywords
Labelling; Seafood Guides; Consumers
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
