Consumers are being misled, with more than half of ‘barramundi’ eaten in Australia imported, claim fisheries groups

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Seafood producers are pushing for the name “barramundi” to be reserved for Australian fish only.

Australian consumers would be “horrified” if they knew that more than half of barramundi eaten across the country was imported, fisheries groups and experts say.

Rob Fish, head of the Northern Territory Seafood Council, says the name “barramundi” – an Aboriginal word meaning “large-scaled fish” – should be used for the Australian product only, and the imported fish should instead be labelled “sea bass” or “Asian perch”.

“People expect barramundi to be from Australia,” he told ABC news.



“But we have overseas companies selling barramundi internationally with names like ‘Australis’, and they have pictures of barramundi done in Aboriginal art.

“They’re selling barramundi produced in other countries based on the Australian image, and to us that is literally free-riding on our industry’s good name.”

An associate professor of marketing, Meredith Lawley, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, said barramundi was an iconic name for the Australian fish and that consumers were being misled.

She has spent the past five years investigating how best to promote Australian-farmed barramundi and develop the market here, interviewing seafood industry experts, fishmongers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers and chefs.



While many barramundi farmers were primarily production-focused, few realised how much consumers valued an Australian barramundi product, she said.



“They had little concern about their product after it left the farm,” Lawley said.



“What my research showed them is they needed to understand what people like about barramundi and what consumers value.



“About 90% of consumers believed the barramundi they were consuming was Australian and were horrified when they realised much of the barramundi they are eating is imported.”



However she said under Australian fish-naming regulations, fish of the same species must be called by the same name so as not to confuse consumers.



“Asian sea bass and barramundi aren’t considered genetically different enough to be called different species, they’re both know as Lates calcarifer,” she said.



“However it means imported products are also labelled as barramundi and it means people don’t realise the fish they are eating may be from Indonesia or Thailand unless they closely read product labels or ask.”

Marty Philips, president of the Australian Barramundi Farmers Association, said he was surprised by the amount of Australian pride in barramundi.

“People know it is an Aboriginal word and really think of it as an Aussie fish,” he said.

“The research has given us a lot of direction and focus and the momentum to go forward and develop the industry, which is currently worth around $50m at the farm gate.”