When you are tucking into a piece of barramundi from your local fish and chip shop, there is a high likelihood it is imported from South-East Asia.

Key points: 60 per cent of barramundi consumed in Australia is imported, which is a surprise to many consumers, research says

60 per cent of barramundi consumed in Australia is imported, which is a surprise to many consumers, research says The food service industry does not have to label whether seafood is imported, unlike retailers such as supermarkets

The food service industry does not have to label whether seafood is imported, unlike retailers such as supermarkets Fish producers say they want country-of-origin labelling laws changed to have a better chance of competing against cheaper imports

Sixty per cent of all barramundi consumed in Australia comes from overseas and half the fish-eating population, according to new research, has no idea.

"Because it's such an Australian name, people don't even consider that it might be imported," said Meredith Lawley, a marketing professor from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

But the nation's naming laws prevent reclaiming the title of 'barramundi' as an Australian fish — fish of the same species must be called the same name when sold.

"The intent was to make it easy for consumers. But in the case of barramundi it's actually worked against consumers," Dr Lawley said.

"If only Australian barramundi could be called 'barramundi' and the imported fish as 'Asian sea bass' you wouldn't have this issue."

'Clear identification' needed when eating out

Dr Lawley said being able to identify Australian-produced fish and imported fish when eating out would go a long way to clearing the confusion.

Imported barramundi from Vietnam does not need to be labelled once it hits the restaurant table — unless you're in the NT. ( Supplied )

The food service industry is under no obligation to label whether seafood is imported or not, unlike retailers such as supermarkets.

And with 70 per cent of all seafood in Australia being imported, the seafood industry has renewed calls to have country-of-origin labelling — introduced three years ago — extended to the hospitality industry.

"They have had great success in increasing the consumption of Australian seafood," Dr Lawley said.

"[But] consumers need a clear identification of Australian barramundi."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 11 minutes 10 seconds 11 m Barra boom: The fourth generation NT family pioneering farmed barramundi

In a survey of more than 2,000 people who had eaten barramundi in the past year, half said they would change their buying habits now they knew most fish was imported.

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction to make it mandatory for dining venues to declare whether seafood is imported, after introducing legislation more than a decade ago.

At the fish and chip shop

Melissa Kidd, who has been running her fish and chip shop in Rockhampton for 12 years, has no issue with mandatory labelling.

Barramundi features prominently on the menu, and the fresh fillets displayed in the chilled cabinet are clearly marked as Australian.

Ms Kidd said it was becoming more important for her customers to know where their fish came from.

"People want to support local [produce], they want to know where their food is coming from."

Melissa Kidd runs a fish and chip shop in Rockhampton and says it's important for her customers to know where the seafood comes from. ( ABC Capricornia: Inga Stünzner )

Central Queensland is barramundi heartland, as not only does the name have its origins there, it is also home to a rapidly growing recreational fishing industry that culminates in a mid-year barra bash on the Fitzroy River.

There have even been suggestions that Rockhampton change its name from the beef capital of Australia to the barra capital.

The State Government has identified several pieces of land as development areas for growing aquaculture.

One of the largest areas is near Rockhampton where the local council is trying to attract investors in prawn and barramundi farming.

Thirty minutes' drive south, Jodi Besch and her husband farm barramundi in indoor tanks.

Jodi and Tony Besch run both beef and barramundi at Bajool, half an hour from Rockhampton. ( ABC Landline )

Jodi Besch says her barramundi is farmed sustainably, but they can't compete with imports without country of origin labelling. ( ABC Landline )

She said the Federal Government needed to address country-of-origin labelling laws to create a more even playing field for Australian businesses.

"We are currently trying to produce fish in one of the most expensive countries in the world, with the costs of wages, the cost of electricity rising, the cost of freight," Ms Besch said.

"It costs more than $7 a kilo — and that's being conservative — to produce in this country, yet our Government allows foreign barramundi into this country and sold off in the open market for under $5."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 9 minutes 18 seconds 9 m Beef 'n' barra, the Besch family farm barramundi in indoor tanks

Jo-Anne Ruscoe, executive officer of the Australian Barramundi Farmers Association, agreed that changing labelling laws would be a game changer.

"It's by far the biggest challenge to have that differentiation between an Australian product and imports, which come in at a far lower price," she said.

"While we're competing on price, it's the transparency that's halting us."

Mixed views on labelling laws

Wes Lambert from the Restaurant and Caterers Association said his organisation supported restaurants in their understanding of the importance of buying locally, and many already identified their sources for wine, beef, and lamb on menus.

"But hearing from the members, they don't want to be forced by Government to write on a retail menu the origin of every single product," he said.

"For example, a salad would have to have the country of origin of all the items in the salad."

Such regulation would have wide-reaching implications, Mr Lambert said, because many ingredients were sourced from around the world and it would become onerous.

The NT made it mandatory for dining venues to declare whether seafood is imported. ( ABC Rural: Matt Brann )

But Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) chief executive Jane Lovell disagreed.

"I think it's a bit of a smokescreen just trying to make it look more complicated than it truly is," she said, dismissing concerns that compulsory labelling would be an inordinate expense for the food service industry," Ms Lovell said.

"We know this to be a nonsense."

She said the SIA's proposal would be to only label the "hero" of the dish.

"The option that we've put forward is that you can call it out as Australian, and if it wasn't Australian you could simply indicate that it's imported seafood by an icon like a little 'i'," Ms Lovell said.

"We know that given the price difference between domestic and imported product, it's unlikely that a cafe selling imported seafood would substitute it for Australian seafood."

Government action

There have been a number of Senate inquiries on labelling, and Ms Lovell was part of a working group that looked at the issues around labelling for the food service sector.

"There's been an enormous amount of effort put into highlighting the hypocrisy of this situation to Federal Parliament," she said.

The working group last met in November 2017 and she is still waiting for its final report.

One option proposed is to only label the "hero" of the dish, like this piece of Australian barramundi. ( ABC Capricornia: Inga Stunzner )

Federal Minister for Industry Karen Andrews said, following representations from the seafood industry, the Government had begun consultations to assess whether country-of-origin labelling requirements should be extended to seafood sold in the food service industry.

"I appreciate the seafood industry's desire to promote Australian produce, and I understand the need to balance that with the burden that added labelling requirements would place on restaurants and small business," Ms Andrews said in a statement.

"I will continue working with stakeholders to determine the best approach."