Cairns Little Seafood Market is proud to supply customers with sustainably caught Australian tuna, sustainability is more than just an expression it’s the way our family live.

We love our ocean and so do our children which is why it’s so important for us to have sustainable and transparent fishing practices that our customers can rely on.

Cairns Little Seafood Market’s primary fish supplier is their families business Great Barrier Reef Tuna (GBRT). GBRT has operated out of Cairns for over 30 years and currently runs a fleet of 3 vessels fishing in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery.

The Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery is governed by AFMA. To ensure sustainability of the fishery, AFMA have enforced strict guidelines for gear used, number of vessels and monitoring tools. A quota system is also in place limiting the total allowable commercial catch. Using these methods, there will not be any decline in the species survival over time.

There are 4 cameras aboard our vessels monitored by AFMA, each facing important sections of the deck and along side the boat to monitor our vessels catch. This information is checked against our logbooks maintained by the captain so that every catch is recorded and the cameras are always active while the boat is working.

This is one of the many ways we can provide data to AFMA who ensure our fishery remains healthy and sustainable and we can ensure our customers (you guys) that we are a transparent brand you can trust and rely on.

A circle hook is a fishing hook manufactured so that the point is turned perpendicularly back to the hook shank. This unique design allows it to hook in the corner of the mouth which is much safer for the fish and this hook has proven to have significantly lower bycatch to other fishing hooks used. This is a voluntary hook and we make sure that all of our vessels are using it.

More details on sustainable fishing practices used by Little Tuna’s suppliers can be found on the AFMA website under Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery.

Cairns Little Seafood Market is proud to be Cairns only independent MSC Certified Seafood Market and the only family owned intendant fish market on mainland Australia. We support sustainable fishers to keep the ocean vibrant and full of life.

What does MSC Certification mean?

MSC stands for the Marine Stewardship Council. This is an international non-profit on a mission to end overfishing by setting the world’s leading standards for sustainable fishing and seafood supply chain assurance. Over 700 fisheries worldwide are certified to the MSC’s environmental standard for fishing. The MSC program incentivises the adoption of sustainable fishing practices and helps create a more sustainable seafood market. For more information visit msc.org/en-au.