Recipes Quizzes and Songs to Celebrate Australian Sustainable Seafood Week

Australians enjoyed another successful celebration of responsible seafood with the 12th annual Sustainable Seafood Week last week, which even had its own specially composed anthem sung by a choir.

The week was organised by ASC and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) with help from seafood producers, retailers, food service companies and influencers.   

The week kicked off with a lunch for the people and organisations involved in the week, who were treated to a performance by the fifth grade choir from the Our lady of Fatimah Catholic Primary School in southern Sydney, who sang the Fish Forever Song – composed by Jacco Steendam especially for this year’s campaign (check out the lyrics below). The lunch also involved an art exhibition featuring beautiful images from some of Australia’s picturesque ASC certified farms. Naturally the food served included delicious and responsibly sourced ASC and MSC certified seafood.

“Seafood is hugely important to us here in Australia, and this week is about celebrating our love of seafood while also remembering that we need to protect our oceans, rivers and lakes if we want to continue enjoying seafood,” said Duncan Leadbitter, ASC Commercial Manager for Australia and New Zealand. “Every year Sustainable Seafood Week seems to grow, with more and more people appreciating the importance of responsibly producing seafood. The real impact comes from consumers though, and not just for one week but all year around, by looking for the ASC or MSC logo when you’re buying your seafood.”

As well as having its own theme song, this year’s celebrations also launched an ASC newspaper, the Seafood Standard, written and published by ASC featuring recipes, facts, quizzes and stories about certified farms. Other stories featured in The Guardian as well as on radio interviews with the ABC, the national broadcaster, a TV item in Tasmania and social media channels. Food bloggers and influencers played their part by creating recipes for locally produced certified salmon and kingfish.

Certified producers were also front and centre of the week. Mures Tasmania, a seafood business that is Chain of Custody certified, meaning it can process and sell ASC and MSC certified products, hosted a press lunch attended by Australia’s Assistant Minister for Fisheries, Jonathon Duniam. The launch featured Tassal salmon and yellowtail kingfish (a species of Seriola) farmed by Port Lincoln company, Clean Seas.

ASC also launched new social media channels specifically for Australia and New Zealand, and you can catch up with photos and updates from Sustainable Seafood Week, as well as future events, by following ASC Australia and New Zealand on Facebook and @ascaqua.au.nz on Twitter and Instagram.

Fish forever by Jacco Steendam

We want fish forever, forever we want fish
In rivers lakes and oceans, creatures we can’t miss

This wide brown land
Surrounded by blue
Three oceans to love
Still plenty of fish, for me and you

Surfing with the dolphins
Turtles passing by
Snorkelling the reef
Colours hit the eye

Without ongoing care
Will they still be there?
Will they still be there
Year after year
They should not disappear

The job of protection is for all to take action
From the water to the dish
We need to help our fish
Help our fish

We need fish forever, we need fish forever
In rivers, lakes and oceans, creatures we can’t absolutely, without question, never ever miss!