About

In a clamshell…

The Happy Fish Project (HF) was started by volunteer Bondi Beach locals alarmed to discover the extent of fish and ocean ecosystem decline. Fast forward several years, Happy Fish has evolved into an independent environmental enterprise with deep industry connections.

Our Vision

Starting small and local, our vision is to make Bondi Beach the first of many sustainable seafood destinations.

Rewilding the Oceans

The big dream is to rewild the oceans, working with fisheries, local communities and research bodies to actively promote conditions for ocean regeneration.

Sustainability is just the starting point for Happy Fish; the big dream is to break beyond sustainability and explore how we can regenerate and rewild the oceans. Sustainability is about maintaining and protecting what we have but keeping things as they are. Regenerative is about creating the conditions for something to thrive and regenerate. It’s about providing the optimal conditions for natural systems to expand and thrive.

Our Mission

Support healthy oceans by making it ridiculously simple and fun for Seafood Sellers and Consumers to know WHAT seafood is sustainable? WHERE to get it? and TRACK seafood all the way back to the ocean. 

We don’t advocate eating fish, we advocate that if you do, eat it as sustainably as possible and enjoy it to the fullest!

Happy Fish reinvents the experience of seafood by rewarding businesses that make the extra effort and by creating unprecedented levels of connection and agency for everyone from the ocean-to-plate. Picture Seafood Consumers & Sellers with the ability to connect to fisher-farmers, and the agency to police the system to maintain verifiable sustainability, provenance and freshness. 

Our Values & Principles

Since the beginning Happy Fish has attracted the best in their field. This is a complex undertaking and many incredible people have given their time freely. We’ve experienced truckloads of generosity, good will and passionate advocates of their craft; without which none of this would be possible.

It’s a fascinating ecosystem from the marine scientists, ocean warriors, eNGOs, our incredible custodian fisher-farmers, chefs, seafood industry diehards and more. That’s what makes this a unique and compelling proposition! 

No-one is here for the money, we need to make it, but it’s not the main driver. This gives Happy Fish an independence from industry, government, venture capital and any other force that could compromise bringing this vision to life. The extraordinary goodwill and privileged position Happy Fish occupies separates this from business as usual.

Why Happy Fish?

• Most seafood lovers don’t know the extent of problems in our oceans, nor the solutions
• Most seafood lovers don’t know what seafood is sustainable and where to easily get it
• Businesses aren’t confident they’ll be rewarded for sourcing and selling seafood responsibly

What makes Happy Fish unique?

• A team of eminent, independent and concerned marine and fisheries scientists created a new benchmark for sustainability assessments, the Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Criteria. To support the application of the Criteria, the scientists recently established the not-for-profit company, the Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Limited (SASAL).
• SASAL’s Criteria are regarded by many as the gold standard. SASAL is fiercely independent and its assessment criteria and process are uncompromising in their commitment to improving the health of marine and freshwater environments. 
• To be called Happy Fish, produce must meet these stringent sustainability standards.
• The Scientists and Happy Fish are committed to facilitating unprecedented access for small scale artisanal fishers to high quality sustainability assessments, keeping it both targeted and affordable.
• Assessments are designed for Australia’s unique and diverse marine and freshwater environments and small-scale fishers and farmers, with seafood assessed at the local fishery and individual fisher-producer level for greater accuracy. 
• More than sustainability this is about regenerative fishing. The SASAL process is designed to leave each fishery in a better place than it was found.
• Tracking from ocean-to-plate is enabled by tagging each and every Happy Fish through the supply chain.
• The tracking’s magic lies in a short unbroken supply chain that addresses industry-specific vulnerabilities.
• Consumers scan tracking tags to verify provenance, sustainability and freshness, AND call out Fish Fraud.
• Seafood Sellers can clearly differentiate their offerings from other seafood sold, building reputation and value for making the extra effort and undertaking best practice.
• We celebrate Happy Fish’s journey to your plate and the faces behind the fish with an immersive user experience with narrative-based fish tales.
• A realtime Happy Fish Directory (updated daily) for where to find Happy Fish in participating restaurants and fish shops.
• Empowering and connecting fishers right through to the end Consumer to think and act sustainably when sourcing seafood.
• Creating a community of like-minded individuals and a groundswell beyond the marketplace.