Fish for Food for the Future: The great crossover

Since the 1970s the Australian fishing industry2 has been characterised by the development of key exports for high value, low volume products such as crustacean (such as prawns and lobsters), molluscs and high value fish such as mariculture southern blue fin tuna. Although Australia imported larger volumes of fish in than that which we exported, nonetheless Australia maintained a favourable balance in relation to the value of exports over imports. In 2007-8 a key ‘cross -over’ event occurred, both the volume AND value of imports exceeded that of Australian production3. This cross-over represents a ‘game change’ milestone. For the domestic fishing industry it cements a long term shift towards domestic markets and consumers. Current trends point towards domestic markets and domestic consumers becoming the primary focus for the industry, with ongoing cost and productivity improvements the key strategic issue. These shifts require changes in industry and government if the fishing industry is to thrive