Northern Beaches Council has teamed up with three popular restaurants on Sydney's Northern Beaches and the world-wide Marine Stewardship Council in an Australia-first pilot certification and labelling project that aims to preserve and protect fast-disappearing seafood species, threatened marine ecosystems and the embattled fishing industry.

Manly-based restaurants Ruby Lane, 4 Pines and Manly Ocean Foods have committed to choosing only sustainable fisheries, wholesale suppliers and fish species for their kitchens; and will encourage customers to make the same choices.

General Manager Mark Ferguson said Northern Beaches Council supports the program because it is committed to helping residents and local businesses live and operate sustainably.

"The 'Sustainable Seafoods' pilot program is a great opportunity to help locals make informed, sustainable seafood purchases. It also demonstrates the value and demand for sustainable fishing practices.

The global Marine Stewardship Council will publicly acknowledge the participating restaurants' 'Sustainable Seafoods' commitment through its independently audited labelling standard and certification process. This process focuses not simply on fish species that are under threat, but takes a whole 'Chain of Custody' approach, using an array of auditing techniques that monitor the sustainability of industry processes – from the fishing grounds to the consumer's plate.

A community engagement component of the program will provide restaurant customers and seafood consumers with authoritative information, helping them make choices about the sustainability of their seafood purchases.

"We hope to eventually roll out the program to as many local seafood restaurants and retailers as possible," said Mr Ferguson.

"I'm immensely proud that Ruby Lane can be a partner in this vital initiative encouraging responsible fishing practices throughout the restaurant and fishing industries – the first time the Marine Stewardship Council has partnered a project like this in Australia," said Ruby Lane Proprietor, Phil Dawson.

While Australian fisheries are generally considered well-managed by international standards, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics many of our fisheries are still considered 'overfished' or 'subject to overfishing'.

World-wide, the situation for fish species is much more dire. According to a 2015 study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund and Zoological Society of London, global stocks of fish such as mackerel and tuna declined by around 74 percent between 1970 and 2010.