A new study calls for a rethink of Australia's regulatory environment to offer consumers more sustainable local catch, rather than the boatloads of potentially less sustainable imported products.
Despite being a coastal nation with around eight million square kilometres of fishing waters, Australia ranks 52nd globally in seafood production.
The dependence on imported seafood for the majority of consumption may be not just shifting the negative impacts, but amplifying them, according to a new study released by James Cook University on Wednesday.
"We've got a situation where we're contradicting ourselves," lead author and senior fisheries researcher at James Cook University, Andrew Chin, told AAP.
"We hold our domestic fisheries to very high environmental standards but we turn a blind eye when we're importing our seafood products.
"It's all one ocean."
One example is basa catfish - which Australia imports in the thousands of tonnes and is widely used as a low-cost alternative by fish and chip shops.
Basa is extensively farmed along Vietnam's Mekong River Delta and has been shown to contaminate the local area with excessive nutrients and antibiotics, as well as being a major drain in terms of feed requirements.
"You can't just close commercial fisheries and say you're doing it for environmental reasons, and then import tens of thousands of tonnes of basa from Vietnam," Dr Chin said.
"That's not environmental leadership, that's hypocrisy."
The authors of the JCU study called for stronger standards, labelling and certification requirements for imported seafood.
They also recommended investing in domestic commercial fishing and aquaculture, alongside regulatory reforms that balance sustainable production with economic viability both for operators and consumers
"We're definitely not promoting any unsustainable practices," study co-author and JCU adjunct senior research fellow, Jonathan Smart told AAP.
"But basically determining what is a sustainable catch level for each of our fisheries, and trying to maximise that where we can."
Dr Smart pointed to the phasing out of gillnet fishing in Queensland which he said had reduced Australian-caught barramundi and king threadfin being supplied to local markets.
"Those sorts of management decisions basically mean that we have to fill the shelves with imported seafood instead," he said.
Seafood Industry Australia chief executive, John Ackerman said most Australians and visitors to the country would love to be able to eat sustainably caught seafood and be shocked at the reliance on imported products.
"We want to be recognised as a seafood nation itself, not just as a nation surrounded by sea," he told AAP.
"We do a pretty good job of being able to be sustainable.
"There are always improvements there to be made, but I think we can be proud of how we actually operate."
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