New technologies for sustainable fishing

[An animation image appears showing fish in an ocean and the camera zooms in on the fish]

Narrator: Achieving global seafood sustainability in modern fisheries is essential. It is also an expectation of our communities.

[Animation image changes to show a fish served on a plate with a knife and fork to the right of the plate]

But the path from a fishing boat to our plates is complex.

[Animation image moves to the left and a menu card displaying a fish appears on the right]

Are we getting the fish we paid for?

[Animation image shows the fish on the menu card moving off the screen and a different fish taking its place]

Has the fish been substituted for a poorer or cheaper product? 

[Animation image shows the fish on the menu card moving off the screen again and a different fish taking its place]

Is seafood quality maintained throughout the supply chain?

[Animation image shows the menu card disappearing and then the image changes to show a wedge of a lemon floating down through a school of fish in the ocean]

And is the seafood on our plate caught sustainably with low environmental impact?

[Animation image changes to show fish swimming beneath a fishing vessel and a research vessel on the ocean and then the image changes to show fish on a computer screen and text appears: Tracking, Date – 05/09/19, Type – Whiting, Destination – Le Petit Poisson]

At CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, we are using onboard cameras and tagging technology to track fish from boat to plate.

[Animation image changes to show a van being loaded at the dock from a fishing vessel and then driving away]

We can follow the fish from when it is caught, all the way to your plate.

[Animation image shows an inset box on the left displaying text: Species – Whiting, Count 50, Length 40.2 cm, Date – 05/09/19]

The data we collect and follow along the supply chain includes species, length and colour, region and date of capture, transfer locations, and storage temperature.

[Animation image shows the van parking outside a café and then the image changes to show a couple sitting in a restaurant and looking at the waiter holding a tablet displaying the journey of the fish]

With this information fishers, regulators, restaurant owners, fish sellers, consumers and everyone throughout the complex supply chain will know the history of their fish and look back at its journey from boat to plate.

[Animation image shows the waiter going away and then the animation image shows a plate of fish appearing in front of the man and woman and then the image shows them clinking their wineglasses]

With innovation and technology, we are developing tools to ensure that the fish you eat is what you’ve paid for, and addressing the challenge of sustainable fisheries.

[Animation image changes to show the CSIRO logo on a blue screen]