A seafood company has become the first in the world to gain sustainability certification for its Southern Rock Lobster in Australia.
Ferguson Australia was also the first company in the world to achieve Friend of the Sea certification for wild catch fishery and processing of Giant Crab, King George Whiting, Gummy Shark, Southern Garfish, Ocean Jacket and Deepwater Flathead.
Eliza Ferguson, export and marketing manager at family-run Ferguson Australia said: “We’re enormously honoured to be the first company in the world to achieve sustainable certification for these species – and particularly delighted that we alone have sustainability certification for our Southern Rock Lobster in Australia.”
Ferguson Australia is vertically integrated; sourcing supply from its own fishing vessels, as well as purchasing seafood directly from local fishermen and farms Australia wide, said the company.
All the certified species are fished in the 57 FAO Fishing Area using pots, trawl nets, dab nets, handline and longline methods.
Auditing of the company's produce is consistent with fisheries management practices from Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), which, alongside each of Australia’s state fisheries departments, manages and monitors commercial Commonwealth fishing to ensure Australian fish stocks and fishing industry are viable.
Ms Ferguson added: “The certification supports the sustainable fishing practices of some 100 South Australian fishing families."
Paolo Bray, founder and director of Friend of the Sea, commented: "Australia deserves recognition for its strict sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management program. In particular, the approval of the Gummy Shark fishery is a first in the world, which proves how shark fishing can be carried out in a sustainable and socially accountable way."
