Seafood plays a pivotal role within Australia's food system. It offers diversity of species, provides essential nutrients crucial for human health, drives continuous improvement and innovation, contributes to employment opportunities and is an iconic recreational pursuit.
However, the future of Australia’s seafood industry is facing uncertainty due to escalating cumulative impacts. Shifts in nature and climate, challenges in ocean access, emerging conflicts, diverging sectoral policy and regulatory directions, and evolving market and consumer trends are influencing where seafood is being farmed or fished, and what seafood reaches Australian dinner tables.
Today, the seafood industry is spearheading the Futures of Seafood study. Industry, research, government and community are collectively describing, mapping, and modelling the cumulative impacts on the seafood industry, providing evidence-based insights and charting a strategic course for Australia’s seafood industry.
This co-designed, multi-disciplinary, and nationally collaborative study is of utmost importance. It will serve as a single source of truth to inform government priorities, activities, and decisions related to the utilisation of the ocean estate. Simultaneously, it aims to reduce the burden on industry stakeholders, enhance investor certainty and build ocean and seafood literacy. This initiative represents a pivotal step towards collectively achieving food, climate, energy and biodiversity goals.