Wild Barra Fisheries' Darwin barramundi processing facility aims to utilise 100 per cent of a fish
/ By Daniel FitzgeraldThe barramundi is an icon of the Northern Territory, but for a long time a lot of the wild-caught barra was sent to southern states for processing.
Key points:
- The first major fish processing facility opens in Darwin, developing more seafood processing capacity in the NT
- The facility will utilise 100 per cent of its fish and initially processing up to 1.5 tonnes per day
- A report says more seafood processing is needed in the NT
That meant fillets had to be trucked thousands of kilometres south and back again before they could land on a plate in a Darwin restaurant.
But this week, the Territory's first major commercial seafood processing facility opened its doors in the East Arm industrial area.
Built by Wild Barra Fisheries, which owns more than 70 per cent of the NT's barramundi licences, the facility aims to cut down on the distance the company's fresh seafood travels.
Director Cameron Berryman said the facility would help use up more of the company's catch.
"We saw an opportunity to get more value out of our product as we need to make things more sustainable," Mr Berryman said.
"We couldn't utilise everything we were processing at sea [on boats], so now barra skins are being made into leather, fish frames are being made into fish stock or fertiliser.
"It's 100 per cent utilisation of the product."
The facility will initially process up to 1.5 tonnes per day with the aim of ramping up to four tonnes per day over the next year.
Mr Berryman said Wild Barra Fisheries would be open to processing fish from other commercial fisherman and aquaculture companies.
"We've set it up so we can do all species [of fish] with a facility of this capacity," he said.
"Other species is something we're going to look at down the road."
Significant opportunity for more processing
A report commissioned by the NT government and the NT Seafood Council (NTSC) found a "significant opportunity" to develop more seafood processing capacity in the NT.
NTSC chief executive Katherine Winchester said "the NT seafood industry has the potential to contribute to real economic growth and value add by transforming the way NT seafood is processed".
"The Wild Barra Fisheries facility puts us firmly on the path to achieving that ambition and it is so exciting to see the achievements today," Ms Winchester said.
"With the introduction of high technology equipment to the Northern Territory, the Wild Barra Fisheries facility will revolutionise how the NT seafood industry process and portion seafood.
"This leap forward in efficiency and precision will enhance the industry's competitiveness in the global market."
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