OneFishTwoFish is helping the Corner Inlet Fishers Habitat Association become the first fishery in Australia to become Seafood Positive, by returning two baby fish for every flounder or flathead caught by fishers.
FISH SPECIES
The Corner Inlet Fishers Habitat Association (CIFHA) has partnered with Seafood Positive to trial a new circular economy approach to sustainable seafood.
In an Australian first, the project will support an assisted breeding program for Greenback flounder and Rock flathead, returning two juvenile fish for every fish caught by CIFHA commercial fishers over a two-year period.
The project aims to replace fish destined for Melbourne’s top restaurants with baby fish bred in SeaGen Aquaculture’s Phillip Island fish hatchery.
Adult fish are collected by the fishers before being handed over to the SeaGen hatchery for spawning to produce baby fish for release.
Commercial fishers use their expert knowledge to guide the release of thousands of baby fish into habitats where they have the best chance of surviving into adulthood. It’s expected that, only a small proportion of the realised fish are ever likely to end up on a dinner plate, with the majority living naturally, helping to keep fish populations in balance.
The program hopes to achieve Australia’s first ‘no-net-loss’ commercial fishery. If successful, it could expand to include other important fish species such as Trevally and Sand flathead.
