- Buy local and support Western Australia’s seafood industries this holiday season
- Buy West Eat Best labelling helping consumers to identify local seafood options
Local seafood is set to be the centrepiece for many Christmas menus this year, thanks to Western Australian fisheries offering some of the world’s best produce at retail stores and fresh off the boat from across the State.
There is a vast array of sustainably sourced seafood on offer including western rock lobster, Fremantle octopus, Shark Bay prawns, scallops, blue swimmer crabs and fresh fish such as red emperor, pink snapper, dhufish and Spanish mackerel.
Western Australians are expected to purchase large quantities of local seafood in the week leading up to Christmas Day, which directly supports the State’s seafood industries from the Kimberley down to the South Coast.
A number of local seafood retailers, wholesalers, restaurants and industry organisations are members of the State Government’s Buy West Eat Best program to help consumers identify and buy local options.
Any seafood products carrying the distinctive bite mark BWEB logo provides confidence the product has been 100 per cent grown, farmed or fished right here in Western Australia.
In November this year, the Federal Government also announced that mandatory country of origin labelling would be introduced for all hospitality venues across the country, to clearly identify on menus where seafood has been sourced.
Western Australia’s Back-of-Boat lobster sales have again proved popular, with more than 6,000 lobsters already sold this month directly from fishers to the public.
The best opportunity for BOB lobster sales in the metropolitan area is on 23 December, covering locations such as Mandurah, Hillarys, Fremantle, Cervantes, and Port Coogee. People are encouraged to pre-order online at https://backofboat.com/
Demand locally for octopus has grown almost 20 per cent in 2023, with Fremantle Octopus being only one of two MSC certified octopus fisheries in the world.
WA’s octopus catch has grown from less than 40 tonnes in 2008 to more than 700 tonnes in 2023.
A list of BWEB members can be found by visiting https://www.buywesteatbest.org.au/
For a list of recipes using fresh WA ingredients visit www.buywesteatbest.org.au/recipes/
As stated by Fisheries Minister Don Punch:
“Western Australia is a world leader in sustainable fisheries management, with 12 of our fisheries carrying the Marine Stewardship Council blue tick of approval.
“This means WA’s seafood industries are supplying local consumers with high quality, sustainably sourced seafood including rock lobsters, octopus, crabs, prawns and oysters.
“Seafood is always popular on Christmas menus and I encourage all Western Australians to support our local seafood industries by buying local all summer long.”
As stated by Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis:
“The State Government’s Buy West Eat Best food and beverage labelling program plays an important role, providing consumers with clear information about where food comes from and the benefits of buying local.
“There is a vast array of local seasonal produce available at this time of the year to accompany seafood dishes this Christmas.
“There’s a range of mouthwatering summer stone fruit and seasonal vegetables to inspire summer salads, which pairs perfectly with selections of WA olive oils, butters, salt and garnishes.
“Keep an eye out of the distinctive bite mark logo and buy local this holiday season.”
