This unfortunately is the plight of our planet’s greatest habitat – our oceans. And our oceans they are. According to the UN, the oceans do belong to the people of Earth – not to the oil or gas companies, or to a fleet of super trawlers, but to us - our common heritage.

Yet despite this it feels far out of our control. Hidden from the eyes of the masses, our oceans are under constant pressure, threatened by the greatest predator the world has ever known–man.

An international group of ecologists and economists have warned that the world will run out of seafood by 2048. Fishing boats have grown into super trawlers with enough of the latest technology to ensure the fish don’t stand a chance. The mouth of the largest trawler net could fit thirteen 747’s. The global fishing fleets are 250 per cent larger than the oceans can sustainably support and yet only 0.6 per cent of the world’s oceans are designated as protected.

It is out of sight and out of mind and yet here in the west we have the power to make a difference. Being a concerned consumer means making thoughtful decisions about what we buy. As consumers in supermarkets we can affect the choices the store managers make by supporting sustainable produce or by asking for it.

‘Sustainable Seafood’ is fish or shellfish that gets to the supermarket with minimal impact upon fish populations or the wider environment. We need to help to create a demand for seafood that has been caught or farmed responsibly and importantly at fishing levels that allow fish stocks to maintain their populations. We also need to avoid those species that are threatened or close to collapse - even though many are still readily available to purchase.

Orange Roughy is a good example. Until about 30 years ago, Australia’s Orange Roughy remained relatively unaffected by fishing. However the discovery of this profitable catch led Australia’s South East Trawl Fishery to hunt them to the edge of commercial extinction. Orange Roughy does not reach sexual maturity until 30 years old and can live to be 150 years. It is now one of Australia’s most overfished species and yet is still being fished and still being sold, but under a different name – perch or deep sea perch.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society produces a Sustainable Seafood Guide to assist us to make good choices. These guides will be available at the first NSW showing of the world’s most important feature length documentary about the effects of over fishing – ‘The End of the Line’. Supported by the NCMG, this community release will be screened at Carroll College in Broulee on the 1st December at 6.30pm. Please contact the school or the NCMG for further details.

About 70 per cent of our global fisheries are now being fished close to, already at, or beyond their capacity and as many as 90 per cent of the entire ocean's large fish have been fished out. While we wait for governments to act we must act ourselves by endeavouring never to buy unsustainable produce.