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Plain sailing: seafood labelling is easier than you think
Clear, simple and transparent: How The Dock delivers seafood labelling with confidence.
[Music starts. The face of Glen Collins appears on screen talking to the camera in The Dock, a gastropub.]
Glen: So obviously being Canberra, we're landlocked, we're not on the ocean. Unfortunately we don't have fishing trawlers rocking up to the dock. It is a lake.
[Music continues. A view of the lake with apartments in the background, followed by a close up of chalkboard menu, and ‘The Dock’ written on a wall in the gastropub. Text appears atop the wall showing ‘seafood country of origin labelling’ with the sound of scribbling with texta.]
[Glen talking to camera, switching between showing close-up of his face and him sitting inside The Dock.]
Glen: The Dock, we're situated on the Kingston foreshore in Canberra, so one of the only pubs actually on the water.
[Lime being squeezed over a seafood dish, various prepared seafood dishes shown. Glen talking to camera inside the Dock.]
Glen: We have a pub menu, but we'd like to think it's a little bit elevated. We do have quite a few seafood items and it's quite seasonal as well. So the summer, we like to showcase Aussie tiger prawns, big buckets of prawns, always a bit of a hit for the customers.
[Bowl of prawns being placed by a Dock staff member on a table for the customer.]
Glen: As well, we've got battered fish, which we import our battered fish just due to quality and availability. And then we've also got stuff coming into the winter menu, so like pots of mussels, which we'll be getting from Port Lincoln, South Australia.
[Close-up of battered fish, Glen talking to camera inside The Dock. Seafood dish and wine glass shown on an outside table. Lake with apartment buildings, mosaic of pelican on a pier, Glen talking to camera inside The Dock.]
Glen: So the seafood country of origin labelling. So it's quite easy to understand.
[Prepared seafood dish on a table. Animated graphic of page turning. Text appears atop of the image showing ‘A – Australian, I – Imported, M – mixed’, along with the sound of writing texta.]
Glen: So firstly, AIM, A stands for Australian, I for imported and M for mixed.
[Glen talking to camera inside The Dock, close-up of the menu in edit mode on a computer with (A) being added next to a fish special. Several various angles of an up-close printed menu. Glen sitting at laptop and typing. Chalkboard showing text saying ‘legend, A – Australian, I – Imported, M – Mixed.’]
Glen: And like most menus now with, I guess, all your allergies and dairy free, gluten free, it's just going to be another little symbol once the customers see like a clear key down the bottom of the menu what the A, I and M will stand for. I think it'll be very transparent and also quite easy for the restaurant owner or the pub owner to implement.
[Hand appears with cloth to wipe off the ‘A’ on a chalkboard and replace with an ‘I’.]
Glen: Yeah, it can chop and change whether it's from Australia or imported. Of course, it's quite easy just to write on a specialist chalkboard, A if it's from Australia or I if it's imported. So it's definitely a very easy task.
[The Dock staff member writing on the chalkboard as it lies flat on a table. Glen talking to camera inside The Dock.]
Glen: We're definitely finding now that customers are probably seeking more information out of the restaurants they're attending and pubs. We almost feel like it's more of a level playing field because you're not trying to hide in anything or where it's from, you're just displaying exactly where it's from and sometimes the best products will be imported and we'll be showcasing that as well.
[The Dock staff member hanging the chalk board up inside the restaurant. Various close-up shots of the chalk board saying ‘Dock, Seafood Special’. Glen standing behinds beer taps at the counter of the Dock talking to a customer. Glen talking to camera inside The Dock.]
Glen: But yeah, to be transparent to our customers, we think for a very small change on the menu, our customer base is going to be informed to make the best decision.
[Close-up of hands typing on a laptop next to The Dock menu. Glen sits at an outside table with a laptop in front of him. The laptop screen is shown where ‘Seafood labelling laws are changing for hospitality businesses’ can be seen on business.gov.au. Glen talking to camera inside The Dock.]
Glen: I was able to source the right information just on business.gov.au. And it was a very clear and very practical way on how to display this information to the customer and how restaurant pub owners are able to do that.
[Bowl of prawns, Dock staff member talking, various seafood dishes shown on the table with staff member and customer. Glen talking to camera inside The Dock.]
Glen: I do think it's a win-win for both the business and the customer and it's not too much effort either.
[Glen standing in the Dock with his arms folded and smiling at the camera.]
[An animated line appears that expands into a rectangle. Inside, a magnifying glass with a small fish inside appears next to text showing ‘Learn more at business.gov.au/seafoodlabels.’ A mouse click sound.]
[The video ends with the Australian Government coat of arms. Music stops.]
End of transcript.
With the sounds of Lake Burley Griffin lapping in the background, The Dock is a Canberra-based gastropub that prides itself on serving the best seafood and supporting local produce.
‘Our menu is a little bit elevated,’ says owner Glen Collins. ‘We have seasonal seafood items, such as in the summer we like to showcase Aussie tiger prawns, and we import our battered fish due to quality and availability. Then we've also got the winter menu, with pots of mussels, which we'll be getting from Port Lincoln, South Australia.’
New country of origin labelling rules are mandatory for seafood in hospitality settings as of 1 July 2026. Glen has updated the menus to make it clear his customers know where their seafood is coming from.
It’s a bit of a no-brainer – a win-win for both the business and the customer.
The new AIM labelling model
The AIM model eliminates consumer guesswork about the origin of seafood in their meals. It breaks it down into 3 simple categories:
- A – Australian
- I – imported
- M – mixed, meaning it contains both Australian and imported seafood.
The Dock has chosen to use the single letter label (with a legend) option next to all seafood items on its menu and specials board.
‘It’s not too much effort to make it very visible and clear to the customer so they know where their food is coming from,’ Glen says. ‘It’s a bit of a no-brainer – a win-win for both the business and the customer.’
‘The seafood country of origin labelling is quite easy to understand,’ Glen explains. ‘Having a clear key at the bottom of the menu, to show what the A, I and M stands for, makes it very transparent and quite easy to implement on the menu.
‘It definitely has suited us because we have 2 menus – a winter and a summer menu – and it can be a bit of a cost printing out all the menus. But July is a good start date because we had enough time to implement the menu changes.’
Supporting Aussie suppliers
It may be far from the ocean, but The Dock likes to support local seafood suppliers where possible.
‘Being in Canberra, we're landlocked, we're not on the ocean. Unfortunately we don't have fishing trawlers rocking up to the dock, but we do our best to source our seafood from local fishmongers,’ Glen says.
As a proud Australian business, it’s important for the team at The Dock to keep things local where they can.
‘We’ve got local brewers, and our meats and seafood are ideally from Australia. We’re extremely proud to be an Aussie pub,’ Glen says. ‘We do our best to get the best product in front of the customer for an affordable price. You do get a lot of local Australian products along with imported products as well.’
The seafood country of origin labelling is quite easy to understand. Having a clear key at the bottom of the menu, to show what the A, I and M stands for, makes it very transparent and quite easy to implement on the menu.
Telling the origin story
Glen is enthusiastic about how the new AIM model creates a uniform standard when it comes to menu transparency.
‘We feel like it’s more of a level playing field because you’re displaying exactly where the seafood is from,’ Glen explains. ‘Our seafood suppliers are very transparent and they’re very clear on where our food is coming from, whether it’s imported or from Australia.
‘We like to be ahead of the game and display where our seafood’s from. We're definitely finding that customers are seeking more information from restaurants and pubs. The hospitality game has definitely lifted, especially in Canberra, and to showcase the quality of your product, the AIM model clearly illustrates that.’
I’d say to other business owners it’s not complicated. Jump onto business.gov.au – it's quite simple. It's just another couple of letters after seafood items on your menu.
A straightforward transition
For Glen and his team at The Dock, implementing the AIM model has been straightforward.
‘I've definitely got bigger pains than implementing the AIM model,’ Glen laughs. ‘Once you’re rolling out seasonal menus, it’s similar to most menus now with all your allergies and dairy free, gluten free. It's another little symbol after your prawns, battered fish or fish burger that says A, I or M.
‘Sometimes your seafood may change because of suppliers or a shortage, and when that supply does change your Aussie sandwich becomes imported for just one week or two. It’s easy to update your chalkboard temporarily, or put stickers on your menu to cover the A into an I for two weeks,’ Glen explains.
‘I’d say to other business owners it’s not complicated. Jump onto business.gov.au – it's quite simple. It's just another couple of letters after seafood items on your menu.’
Further information
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Learn more about the seafood labelling requirements and how your business can comply.
Labelling seafood in your hospitality business