Is your seafood naughty or nice this summer?

For Australians who love seafood, summer favourites such as prawns, oysters, lobster and farmed barramundi are sustainable options for a festive feast or barbecue, according to the GoodFish seafood guide, an initiative of the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Stephanie McGee, the GoodFish program manager, says seafood is a popular choice during the holiday period."Seafood and summer are just perfect partners," she says.

Now, with Christmas around the corner, GoodFish has released its "naughty and nice" lists to help support consumers in making more informed choices.

The searchable guide rated the sustainability of different seafood options using a traffic light system. "Green is a better choice, amber is eat less," McGee says. Red is "best to avoid entirely".

The 'naughty' list

At the top of the naughty list is Tasmanian-farmed salmon, which comes with significant environmental impacts.

"The most urgent and crucial one is specifically in Macquarie harbour, where dissolved oxygen levels have been reduced so much as a result of farming that the Maugean skate is on the verge of extinction," McGee says.

Prawns caught in Queensland and New South Wales, along with wild-caught barramundi, are among those GoodFish suggests should be avoided, due to the potential for other species – such as sharks, rays turtles and dugongs – to be caught as bycatch.

Scallops are also on the list because they were overfished, McGee says, particularly in Queensland where stocks were only at 15% of what they used to be.

The 'nice' list

People can still enjoy many of the classics, including prawns, oysters and barramundi, by choosing carefully and consulting the guide, McGee says. "We're really lucky to have Australian-farmed prawns, which have very minimal impact on the surrounding environment," she says.

Oysters and mussels – filter feeders that require minimal human input and no feed – are almost always a sustainable choice.

Locally farmed barramundi – instead of wild-caught – is also a sustainable choice. "They're farmed in ponds and tanks, and have very minimal impact on the surrounding environment," McGee says. "They grow really efficiently and fast and have quite a low reliance on feed."

Australian salmon is another a native species caught with low impact net methods. "It's something that's really good in a variety of ways," McGee says, as it can be baked, barbecued and even served as sashimi.

Rock lobster is usually a "treat". There were good options available on all coasts, but consumers are encouraged to check the GoodFish guide.

Read the full article in The Guardian