Choose Australian seafood for your Easter feast

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Richard Colbeck, is encouraging consumers to buy Australian seafood this Easter – or catch your own!

“Easter is a time of year when many Australian families enjoy a traditional meal of seafood. To make sure you’re getting the best quality and most sustainably sourced seafood this Easter, I urge you to buy Australian,” Senator Colbeck said.

“Or you could spend some time with your family in the great outdoors and have a go at catching your own seafood feast.”

“Recreational fishing is a great activity and has been shown to have a range of benefits for health and wellbeing – regardless of whether you catch anything or not!”

Senator Colbeck said Australia is internationally recognised for excellent fisheries management practices and this was reflected in the latest ABARES Fisheries status report which shows no solely Commonwealth managed fish stock is subject to overfishing.

“Consumers can have confidence that our fisheries are sustainably managed and are in great shape,” he said.

“Our fisheries industry also makes a big contribution to the Australian economy, particularly in regional areas and ABARES predicts the gross value of Australia’s fisheries to hit $2.7 billion in 2015–16.”

Senator Colbeck said his thoughts this Easter are also with coastal communities who have been affected by the recent cyclones, including northern Australian indigenous communities.

“I hope you have a safe and happy Easter with family and friends – and have the chance to enjoy a feed of excellent Australian seafood.”