Restaurants could soon be forced to reveal what country their seafood comes from under a new labelling scheme being considered by the NSW government.
Under current federal laws, raw seafood vendors are the only group required to specify whether their fish has been imported.
"I think most consumers would be shocked to know that 85 per cent of the seafood they eat in NSW is imported," Deputy Premier Troy Grant said on Friday.
He said the government is working with the fishing, catering industries and retailers on how a source-of-origin labelling scheme could operate in the state.
The system would be similar to ones in place in the Northern Territory, where restaurants and fish and chip shops have to clearly identify whether their seafood is imported.
"Seafood caught in NSW is among the highest quality and most sustainably caught in the world and we want to make sure that all customers have the knowledge to choose our top-quality NSW products over cheaper, imported fish," Mr Grant said.
"Fresh is best and we've got a lot to promote with our sensational locally caught prawns, tuna, rock lobster and abalone all deserving star status on our menus," he said.
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