Third-party sustainability certification

Western Australia’s State Government works with the commercial and recreational fishing sectors to enhance the standing of WA’s fisheries and aquaculture operations through independent third-party sustainability certification.

The highly-regarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was selected as the preferred fisheries accreditation scheme, which sets the highest sustainability standard in the world. The MSC is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that works to ensure that fishing stocks and the surrounding ecosystems can be sustained indefinitely, even in the face of changing environmental circumstances.

As of October 2021, the State Government, in partnership with the WA Fishing Industry Council and Recfishwest have supported 11 WA fisheries to achieve MSC certification.

The MSC program has provided a range of benefits to WA, including enhanced community confidence in the sustainability of the State's fisheries and that their seafood purchases are sustainably sourced.

MSC certification also allows licence holders to use the blue MSC label ‘eco-tick’, which paves the way for new export markets and jobs growth in WA.

• Western Rock Lobster fishery, the first fishery in the world to be MSC certified and re-certified to the MSC standard for the fourth time in 2017.
• Exmouth Gulf and Shark Bay prawn fisheries, the first trawl fisheries to be MSC-certified under the program and recently recertified in 2020.
• Peel-Harvey Estuary blue swimmer crab and sea mullet fishery
• West coast Deep Sea Crab fishery
• Pearl Oyster, the first 'gem fishery' to be MSC certified
• west and south coast Abalone (Roe’s, Greenlip and Brownlip abalone)
• west and south coast Western Rock octopus fishery.
• Sea Cucumber fishery
• Abrolhos Island Saucer Scallops fishery, the first scallop fishery in Australia to be MSC certified.