There is growing producer and consumer interest in, and demand for, environmentally sustainable seafood products, both nationally and internationally. Australia is a world leader in sustainable fisheries management and the Australian fishing industry is highly supportive of ecosystem based management. However industry continually bears the cost of implementing measures to improve and demonstrate fishery and environmental sustainability, without deriving the benefits which can flow from demands for sustainable seafood.

It is therefore imperative that Australian fisheries progress rapidly to eco-certification, to derive benefits from existing best practice applied in management of our fisheries, encourage continual improvement in fishing practices, and to provide a clear point of difference in the marketplace to cheaper imported products which are typically not subject to the same strict environmental and management constraints.

In order to achieve this there is a pressing need to address the existing policy vaccuum at government level regarding third party eco-certification for fisheries, including development of funding mechanisms which will facilitate the pursuit of third party eco-certification.

Key drivers for the development of this proposal include:

- Increasing focus from the fishing industry on the need to pursue eco-certification as a means of differentiating Australian seafood in domestic and international markets to maintain market access, increase market demand and maximize competitive advantage.
- The opportunity to better inform consumers about the sustainability of Australian seafood and inform choices that consumers make when buying seafood