Catch a fish, release a fish

AUSTRALIANS eat more than 356,000 tonnes of seafood each year.
And now there is a simple way for seafood lovers to give back to the ocean via OneFishTwoFish, a new program which aims to return two fish to the sea for every fish or seafood equivalent cooked, sold or consumed.
The world first program was developed by Seafood Positive, an early-stage social enterprise with a mission of no net loss of marine life, to provide finance for ocean conservation programs that measurably improve fish and marine life. 
Marine biologist, ocean conservationist, and OneFishTwoFish founder Dr Chris Gillies said he started the program to address the challenges of seafood sustainability. 
“OneFishTwoFish helps seafood restaurants, businesses, retailers and consumers balance their seafood consumption by replacing each fish they serve, sell or eat with two more in the ocean,” Dr Gilles said.
OneFishTwoFish is helping the Corner Inlet Fishers Habitat Association become the first fishery in Australia to become Seafood Positive, by returning two baby fish for every flounder or flathead caught by fishers over a two-year period.
The project aims to replace fish destined for Melbourne’s top restaurants with baby fish bred in SeaGen Aquaculture’s Phillip Island fish hatchery.
Adult fish are collected by the fishers before being handed over to the SeaGen hatchery for spawning to produce baby fish for release.
Commercial fishers use their expert knowledge to guide the release of thousands of baby fish into habitats where they have the best chance of surviving into adulthood. 
It’s expected that, only a small proportion of the realised fish are ever likely to end up on a dinner plate, with the majority living naturally, helping to keep fish populations in balance.  
The program hopes to achieve Australia’s first ‘no-net-loss’ commercial fishery. 
If successful, it could expand to include other important fish species such as Trevally and Sand flathead.
 OneFishTwoFish is funded by annual subscriptions that can be bought by either members of the public or businesses, and is proudly launching with a platinum selection of foundation supporters including Taronga Zoo, Melbourne’s Stokehouse restaurant, Stomping Ground Brewing Co, Two Hands and The Happy Apple supermarkets. 
For more information abou OneFishTwoFish, please visit seafoodpositive.org. You can also follow OneFishTwoFish on 
social media, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn