A community sentiment survey has revealed a striking gap in public understanding about how Australia’s commercial fisheries and marine parks coexist – a discussion piece that could have major implications for the seafood sector.
By Catherine Norwood
Even though nearly half of Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is classified as a marine park, most consumers don’t understand what that means or how it affects their seafood choices.
In 2023, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) funded a survey (2023-200) to gauge public sentiment and awareness of fisheries and marine parks. Conducted by Intuitive Solutions, the survey polled 1,000 Australian adults, and the results were eye-opening.
While 74 per cent of respondents knew that commercial fishers operated within fisheries, 64 per cent admitted they had little to no understanding of what a fishery is—including key regulations like catch limits, fishing zones, and sustainability measures. The same number of respondents were equally in the dark about marine parks, even though a quarter of them knew that fishing occurred within these protected areas.
When it came to purchasing, 71 per cent of survey respondents said they weren’t sure if they would continue buying their preferred seafood if they found out it came from a fishery inside a marine park.
When it came to the question of whether fishing should even be allowed in marine parks, the public was sharply divided: 59 per cent supported fishing under current regulations, while 41 per cent were opposed.
The survey was conducted alongside a government review of the Heard Island Marine Park, which proposed expanding the protected zone from 25 per cent to 100 per cent of the island’s EEZ. Austral Fisheries, one of only two companies licensed to fish in the area—located 4,000 km southeast of Perth—highlighted how their existing practices already met conservation standards.
Despite pushback, the government approved the expansion, which will take effect in the 2025 fishing season. While daily fishing operations won’t change significantly, trawl fishing areas have been halved, and new layers of oversight have been added. The real challenge however, lies in communicating this to the public.
“It becomes our issue to try to explain to the public that we are fishing in a marine park,” says Rhys Arangio, the Principal Investigator for the survey and a representative from Austral Fisheries.
“Commercial fishing in a marine park rings alarm bells for the average person on the street. You could argue that it is best practice, because of the additional measures and additional safeguards in place. But that’s a hard sell to end consumers.”
The survey results underscore a growing risk for the sector: public perception could dictate policy more than actual sustainability efforts. Without a clear, unified effort to educate consumers, commercial fishers operating within marine parks may face increasing restrictions, higher costs, and declining public trust—all because people simply don’t understand how these systems work.
This isn’t just a problem for Heard Island—it’s a problem for every commercial fisher in Australia’s marine parks, and ultimately, for every seafood consumer.
Related FRDC Project
2023-200: Consumer Sentiment Survey
