– Unique seafood offering set to arrive on European shores
Australia has the world’s third largest fishing zone. Australia’s marine environment includes all five ocean climate zones: equatorial, tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, subpolar, and polar.
Australian waters contain over 3,000 known species of fish and at least an equal number of known crustaceans and molluscs. Only about 10 per cent of these are commercially fished.
A wide range of species are caught including scallops, prawns, sea urchins and squid.
Fisheries production focuses on high-value export species such as rock lobsters, prawns, tuna, salmon, and abalone. Australia is one of the world’s leading producers of wild-caught abalone and rock lobster.
Unique, premium Australian species on display at SEG Barcelona:
- • Austral Fisheries’ Patagonian Toothfish is caught 4,000km south of the Australian mainland in freezing 1-5 °C sub-Antarctic waters. The premium fish that has waygu-like characteristics. Its snow-white flesh and broad scalloping flakes display a clean and sweet flavour.
- • Fremantle Octopus is a unique product as the species is only found and commercially fished in Western Australia. Western Rock Octopus is regarded as the best in the world because of the quality and colour of its flesh when cooked. The succulent flavour and texture of this octopus has to do with its diet of abalone, rock lobster, crabs, prawns and scallops.
- • Spencer Gulf Kingfish is the global leader in full cycle breeding, production and sale of Yellowtail Kingfish and is renowned world-wide for exceptionally high-quality fish. Spencer Gulf Kingfish is indigenous to the icy, pristine waters of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf. The cold waters firm and tone the flesh to make a premium raw fish.
- • Boiling, steaming, barbecuing and sashimi are some of the most popular ways to enjoy delicious Western Rock Lobster. Western Australia’s iconic Western Rock Lobster became the first fishery in the world to be certified as ecologically sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) back in 2000.
- • In 2022, Rare Foods Australia received MSC accreditation for their wild-caught Greenlip Abalone operation. Indigenous to South Australia, the sweet, subtle flavour, tender texture and pearl white meat of the Greenlip make them highly sought-after. Abalone can be exporter in a variety of forms including frozen, cooked and canned. It is perfect for light frying and sashimi.
– Sustainability drives innovation in Australia’s seafood industry
Australia’s climate change legislation includes the national targets of cutting emissions by at least 43% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. The innovation we see coming out of Australia’s seafood industry directly supports Australia’s drive to net zero. Across our seafood industry, we see Australian companies leading the way when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint.
Companies such as Austral Fisheries and Western Rock Lobster fishery are global sustainability leaders. As the world’s first fishery to be certified as sustainable by MSC over 20 years ago, Western Rock Lobster fishery continues to be considered a world leader in sustainable fishing practices.
In 2016, Austral Fisheries became the first carbon neutral fishery in the world. In fact, Austral plants 220,000 trees every year in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor. They also employ the world’s first hybrid fishing vessel for use in the Southern Ocean. This is where they catch their world-renowned Glacier 51 Patagonian Toothfish.
Sustainably wild-caught Fremantle Octopus is MSC certified. Innovation and research play an important role. The Trigger Trap – developed and patented by Octopus wholly-owned Technologies, a subsidiary of Fremantle Octopus in Australia – has revolutionised octopus fishing. The trigger trap is designed to catch only octopus. It also ensures that other sea creatures cannot become trapped.
Another great example is Clean Seas Sustainable Seafood. The company uses SensoryFresh, a nitrogen freezing technology to rapidly freeze their premium Yellowtail Kingfish. The speed preserves the texture, colour, aroma, and taste. The technology also allows Clean Seas to use seafreight to ship to Europe. This significantly reduces their carbon footprint compared to airfreight.
The Australia Stand (4D201) at SEG Barcelona also showcases MSC certified Western Rock Lobster, Greenlip Abalone, Western Brown Tiger Prawns, Western King Prawns and more.
