Good fish, bad fish for Easter

Easter is one of the most popular times of the year for eating fish. But are you choosing seafood that align with your values?

Some of Australia's most popular seafood choices are linked to overfishing, impacts on threatened species, and habitat damage.

GoodFish - an independent guide to sustainable seafood - is urging Australians to think twice before choosing some seafood staples for their Good Friday menu.

The GoodFish list of popular choices to avoid includes Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon, imported squid, some wild-caught prawns and some flake (shark), although most gummy shark is sustainable. 

“Australians love seafood, and most expect what they’re buying over Easter to be sustainable, but that’s not always the case," says sustainable seafood guide program manager Adrian Meder.

“Some of our most popular seafood options are linked to serious impacts like overfishing, bycatch of threatened species including dolphins and sawfish, as well as serious habitat damage. Armed with this information, shoppers have the power to take their dollars elsewhere and reward fisheries doing the right thing.

“In Australia, we are really lucky to have sustainable alternatives readily available. People often feel sustainability is out of their hands, but with seafood, a simple swap at the counter genuinely makes a difference.

“Our free GoodFish app puts that power directly in shoppers’ hands. Sustainable seafood doesn’t have to be complicated. We’ve made it quick, practical and accessible for everyday shoppers, using a clear traffic light system so people can easily choose seafood that has a light touch on our ocean.”

Among the fish to say "no" to are Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon. 

Goodfish says this industry is linked to serious and ongoing environmental issues, including pollution, killing protected seals, contamination of wild fish, and mass fish kills, and antibiotic use so heavy that fishers have been warned to stay kilometres away from some sites.

"Most critically, salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour could drive the extinction of the Maugean skate – a critically endangered species found nowhere else on Earth."

GoodFish says Atlantic salmon just aren’t suited to Australian oceanic conditions. Tasmania is the warmest place in the world where salmon are farmed on an industrial scale, and rising water temperatures place increasing heat stress on the fish. This weakens their immune systems and allows disease to spread rapidly through the crowded pens, hence the widespread use of antibiotics.

Instead, diners are encouraged to look at NZ-farmed king salmon, Australian-farmed barramundi, Murray cod or native Australian salmon.

Others to avoid include wild-caught barramundi from Queensland and the Northern Territory, which are caught using gillnets, which are known to entangle and kill a wide range of threatened marine animals, including dolphins, dugongs, turtles, hammerhead sharks, and critically endangered sawfish.

Fishy business: Rick Stein to open flagship Sydney restaurant

Star seafood chef and TV personality Rick Stein has announced that he will be opening his Australian flagship restaurant at Coogee Beach in Sydney later this year.

British-born Stein and his Australian publicist wife Sarah have unveiled plans for Rick Stein at Coogee Beach.

Known for his ethos of "fresh seafood, simply prepared" Stein will locate his new 224-seat eatery at the recently announced InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach, and the space will include the signature restaurant, bar dining and courtyard terrace.

The new restaurant will join the couple's Mollymook and Port Stephens locations that they opened together in 2009 and 2018 respectively, 

“Coogee Beach is yet another stunning coastal location for our Australian restaurant portfolio - perched by the sea and full of the laid-back charm we’ve come to love so much here," Stein said.

"It’s especially meaningful for me as my wife Sas grew up in Sydney, so opening a restaurant in her hometown makes this venture all the more special for us both. 

“There’s an abundance of top-quality seafood in Australia and we’ll be championing local, seasonal produce with the benefit of accessing the biggest fish market in the southern hemisphere. 

"We’ll continue to utilise the relationships we’ve built in our regional locations to source that same produce in Sydney. It's the best of both worlds.”

The menu will seafood including mahi mahi caught off the coast of Nelson Bay, Stockton pipis from Port Stephens, line-caught mackerel from Ulladulla and Nelson Bay blue swimmer crab for Stein’s signature Singapore chilli crab.

The venue will also offer fish and chips, prepared in the traditional British style complete with mushy peas and hand-cut chips.

The new venture will be in collaboration with Australian partners Salter Brothers, who acquired Bannisters Group in 2024.

Paul Salter, managing director of Salter Brothers, said: "We are very excited to be bringing Rick Stein to Coogee Beach and build on our existing partnership.  I can't think of a better location in Sydney to showcase his distinctive, yet approachable, fresh seafood experience."

Rick Stein at Coogee Beach is scheduled to open in November 2025.