Winter/Spring Edition – 2019
NATIONLEADING TECHNOLOGY – Feed for the future – A second life for by-product – Vaccines: a proactive approach to fish welfare
– ‘This edition highlights the many ways in which the company is constantly repositioning our operations to take advantage of the latest technology and learnings’
Introduction We’ve all heard the phrase “future-proofing” and depending on your life stage its meaning will differ (me; I’ve just turned 50 so I’m future-proofing my superannuation whereas members of my team have young kids so they’re future-proofing their property!). Given the importance of our 700+ employees and their families, and the hundreds of contractors, suppliers and businesses the company engages with, we think future-proofing is not only necessary and sensible but demonstrates our commitment to our workforce and the communities we operate within. This edition highlights the many ways in which the company is constantly re-positioning our operations to take advantage of the latest technology and learnings, constantly challenging ourselves on better ways to farm to protect the environment as well as sharing our learnings and resources with
our stakeholders. Every year we invest in research and development, leveraging the expertise of scientists who provide us with independent research; this edition highlights an important collaboration with the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, as well as our feed trial with leading feed company, BioMar. We acknowledge the impact of climate change on our practices and we hope this feed trial will provide the future direction for feeding salmon in warming waters. In talking about future challenges, this edition also outlines our recent financial results which highlighted the operational challenges faced during the past financial year. As every farmer understands (sometimes through gritted teeth!) there is very little that can be done to control the elements (be it weather or pests), so the key is to safeguard future operations. We have done just that with contingency plans in place to lower stocking densities at sites that were hardest hit by jellyfish last year while Huon’s bushfire preparedness is much improved having been through the emergency situation in the 2019 Summer. No edition of The Huon Story would be complete without highlighting the
cleverness of our workforce, who constantly strive to be at the cutting edge of their respective professions, demonstrated through the company recently winning the national iAwards’s prestigious Automation Technologies Innovation of the Year. While our ICT team was front and centre at the presentation ceremony, the award validates the hard work of all teams involved in the delivery of the feed system including ICT and data teams as well as our control room and onwater maintenance crews. We aren’t just focussed on internal futureproofing; as fierce brand “Tasmania” ambassadors, we produce premium food that is increasing in demand and that all Tasmanians can be justly proud. What better way to future proof the next generation’s future by creating a product that is the envy of many! Happy reading, The Editor — The Huon Story is proudly written, designed and printed in Tasmania.
THE HUON STORY
Winter/Spring Edition
– Looking towards the Hideaway Bay shorebase –
Sustainability and efficiently produce product
Striving to be leaders in our industry
Land of the rising salmon
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Engaging in our communities
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Nation-leading Technology
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Vaccines: a proactive approach to fish welfare
Whale Point kicking goals
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Giant (kelp) potential
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Be a workforce that seeks excellence and innovation
Feed for the future
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Our Compliance Team
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Fairbrother’s excellence in Civil Construction
Pathway to sustainable packaging
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A second life for by-product
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New home for salmon
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Huon’s RSPCA Approval
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Focus on consolidation
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New product: Huon Ocean Trout Caviar hits shelves
AquaNor: international learning opportunity
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Fish tales
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Around the Farm
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Provide the best quality of service possible Huon Ocean Trout in Coles COVER IMAGE: Storm Bay by Samuel Shelley
16 CONTACT: E: communications@huonaqua.com.au P: 03 6295 8111 Level 13/188 Collins St Hobart TAS 7000
huonaqua.com.au
– Tim Jackson, Angus Sprott and Dr. Tom Pinkiewicz at the awards –
Nation-Leading Technology Huon’s AI-based autonomous offshore aquaculture feeding system has taken out the national iAwards’s prestigious Automation Technologies Innovation of the Year. The awards are run by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the nation’s peak industry body for the technology sector and recognises the achievements of home-grown innovators who are the forefront of cutting-edge technology. The win comes on the back of success in Tasmania’s AIIA awards earlier this year which qualified the system to be in the running for the national awards. The feed system uses a combination of industrial automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to autonomously control feed rates in offshore fish farms by identifying and tracking feed pellets in the water column using machine vision and machine learning. This system means
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that at any one time, just four people are remotely feeding (from Hobart) every one of our fish regardless of location (Huon River, Storm Bay or Macquarie Harbour), which also creates a safer working environment particularly when the weather is too rough to operate from a feed barge. It also helps minimise the impact on the environment by preventing overfeeding resulting in less sea floor waste. “This award validates the hard work of all teams involved in the delivery of the feed system not just our ICT and data teams but also our control room and on-water maintenance crews. It also demonstrates this system is world-class both in design and implementation. We have other initiatives in the planning stages and recognition such as this helps us to secure the necessary support to progress these new developments.” A merit was also awarded for the feed system under the Industrial and Primary Industries category which made Huon the only 2019 nominee to receive recognition under multiple categories. Angus said now the excitement of the awards has died down, his team are back working on improving small elements of the
system so it can be further refined. “The team is focussed on small improvements to the function of the system and greater accuracy of pellet detection under severe weather conditions. The next stage will also look at improving the user interface for the feeders, the use of the SCADA system data for feed trend analysis, and the analysis of fish behaviour and fish health in predicting feed rates,” finished Angus.
– “Aside from the trophies, the iAwards has put our team in the spotlight to demonstrate that we are one of the best operational technology teams in aquaculture, and indeed one of the best technology teams in Australia. Huon Aquaculture was the only company to receive recognition in two iAward categories on the evening,” said Angus Sprott, Huon’s Information Technology Manager. – Huon is now in a select group of three Tasmanian companies who have won an iAward in its 26-year history.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Sustainably and efficiently produce product
– David Mitchell with one of the on-grown salmon –
Whale Point kicking goals The salmon are in excess of 1kg, matching the size of a small proportion of salmon grown on land by the world’s leading salmon companies based in Norway and the Faroe Islands.
In another first for the Whale Point Salmon Nursery, the largest hatchery-grown salmon in the southern hemisphere have been transferred to sea.
– “Whale Point is the jewel in the crown of our freshwater operations and sets a new benchmark for salmon farming in Tasmania,” said David Mitchell, Huon Aquaculture’s Freshwater General Manager. – “This facility is the first one in the southern hemisphere to grow salmon to such a large size on land before they go to sea. In the past, farmers have grow salmon to 100-150grams which then takes 14 to 15
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
months to grow them to harvest size. But by growing them larger on land, we can reduce the time to 9 to 10 months.” The reduction in time spent at sea is between 30-40 per cent meaning that salmon can be grown to harvest size in less than a year. The production trial will monitor fish performance as they grow to harvest size at 5-6kg. “The trial salmon were stocked into pens in the Huon and Channel where we are closely monitoring their performance to harvest,” finished David. Whale Point uses world-leading water recirculation technology that cleans and re-uses 98 to 99 per cent of the freshwater in which the fish are grown. This enables the water to be reused repeatedly with the remaining one to two per cent going to waste treatment. The nursery has zero discharge to the environment due to the collection and composting of the fish nutrients for use by farmers.
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Sustainably and efficiently produce product
– Adrian Steenholdt and Evie Callander on the trial pens –
Feed for the future Warming waters are a key challenge of salmon farming globally and a joint feed trial between Huon and BioMar, a leading feed company, aims to reduce the impact on stock by creating an easy-to-digest summer diet. The aim of the first set of trials is to help the fish digest and convert feed in summer temperatures that are higher than their preferred range, this will directly improve fish performance. The trial is being conducted at Huon’s Hideaway Bay trial pens, which have hosted in-house and commercial feed trials for many years and is headed up by Adrian Steenholdt, who has years of experience undertaking feed trials.
Adrian has support from a team of four colleagues who not only assist in the dayto-day running of the trial, but also in the evaluation of the results. “Feed trials can be a very successful means of measuring a diet’s efficiency. We can evaluate the diets individually and compare the results to what we see commercially. The process involves feeding small populations of salmon different diets and the results are assessed against key performance measures,” said Adrian. “The four main measures of interest are SFR (Specific Feed Rate), bFCR (biological Feed Conversion Ratio), SGR (Specific Growth Rate) and condition factor. These tell us how much feed the fish need to eat to attain their end weight, how much (relatively) they have grown over the trial period and how this changes their body shape compared to their length.”
The first milestone for the project was reached in August when the trial pens were stocked with 3kg salmon from Storm Bay.
– “My team has already started looking at the performance of eight different diets each with varying levels of digestible energy and protein. This trial is to see which existing highperformance diets perform the best.” –
“I have been in a fish health or technical role for most of my time at Huon and have been loosely involved with the trial pens since their inception. I ran the trials for two years, before heading to Zuidpool South (one of Huon’s leases in the Channel) three years ago and am looking forward to seeing them progress, particularly now that we are in partnership with BioMar,” said Adrian.
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THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Sustainably and efficiently produce product
The trial is being run in partnership with BioMar who are in the process of building their first Tasmanian mill near Devonport to service their Australasian clients. David Whyte, BioMar Australia Managing Director said their aim is to get a better understanding of how nutrition and feeding can help salmon cope and adapt to warming waters and different methods of farming. “From our perspective we share the same philosophy as Huon Aquaculture—do the right thing for the fish. This shared focus on fish welfare and performance is behind all of the research work we will undertake,” said David.
– “From a practical point of view, Huon’s salmon trial pens are located in Tasmanian waters which reliably see warm summers, allowing us to consistently conduct these trials in a scaled down version of the same pens that are used for production. The trial pens are complemented by state-ofthe-art experimental tanks that allow us to recreate summer warm water trials all year round.” –
The trial will run for three months at which point the fish will be weighed to assess their growth so the diets can be compared. “It’s vital for everyone involved in fish farming, fish farming technology and nutrition, to respond to challenges which arise, whether these are driven by changes to climate or market demands,” said David. “Huon have always been at the forefront of innovation, research and development and the joint trial is an exciting step towards a local solution for a global challenge,” finished Adrian.
– Adrian approaching the trial pens –
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
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Sustainably and efficiently produce product
– David Mitchell with Sam Tucker, Project Manager and Heath Lovell of Fairbrother –
Fairbrother’s excellence in Civil Construction Fairbrother has taken out The Tasmanian Master Builders’ Civil Construction Award for their work on Huon’s Whale Point Salmon Nursery. The award recognises the work that Fairbrother undertook on the construction of the entire build including the on-site 6.5 mega-litre dam and associated cooling system for the building. As the Whale Point site was contaminated by previous industry, careful management of the site and building materials was required.
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“The dam was lined with both a clay layer, along with a welded HDPE liner. A number of support buildings were also constructed as part of the project, including a waste treatment shed, intake water pump shed, and cooling water pump bunker,” said Paul Ransley, Fairbrother Divisional Manager.
– “The project was highly technical from a number of perspectives. The water holding compartments within the water treatment space alone has a capacity of 70 million litres, and consists of approximately 40 different concrete compartments.” –
To minimise the use of pumping, the system utilises gravity and a complex system to move around 10 million litres of water an hour. “This water system brings with it an extremely challenging services coordination task – large diameter pipework, hundreds of conduits and secondary pipe runs, and significant quantities of structural fill, and services bedding material,” finished Paul. Fairbrother have worked on iconic builds including Mona’s Pharos and the Saffire Freycinet Resort. This is the first time the Fairbrother have taken out this category of The Tasmanian Master Builder’s Awards.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Sustainably and efficiently produce product
Huon’s RSPCA Approval Over 1.6 million Huon Salmon have been farmed to the RSPCA’s standards for farmed Atlantic salmon in 2018. This is possible because Huon was the first, and remains the only RSPCA Approved Salmon producer. The journey to inclusion in the Scheme began four years ago when the development of an animal welfare standard for farmed Atlantic salmon was triggered by two factors: scientific evidence demonstrating that fish are sentient animals capable of expressing a range of emotions including pain, and the expansion of the Tasmanian salmon industry presenting an opportunity to improve the lives of salmon.
Also important is continuous improvement and adapting to ever changing farming conditions which is why Huon will continue to work with the RSPCA to improve our fish welfare every single day. This is evidenced by all of our farming practices and southern sites, from freshwater hatcheries to marine growout, having been assessed by RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme Assessors in the past year, resulting in changes to harvest processes, water quality monitoring, fish handling and predator management that have assured best practice welfare outcomes for all of our salmon. “The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme is a well-known accredited organisation in Australia and Huon Aquaculture achieving that accreditation is a fantastic statement about our quality of farming,” finished Neil.
The standard was developed through extensive consultation and research which has ultimately raised animal welfare standards for Huon Salmon to be even higher. Neil Kearney, Chair of Huon’s Board, believes that RSPCA Approval is a hallmark of ethical farming.
Dr Bidda Jones, RSPCA Australia’s Acting CEO said that Huon is committed to improving animal welfare and are highlighting this to their customers by their participation in the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. “As Australia’s only RSPCA Approved salmon producer, they have led the way by providing consumers with the option to buy salmon independently certified to detailed animal welfare standards,” said Acting CEO, Dr Bidda Jones, RSPCA Australia. Huon intends to phase out farming Huon Salmon in Macquarie Harbour, an area not currently covered by RSPCA Approval and once this is completed, all Huon Salmon will proudly bear the RSPCA Approved logo.
– Frances Bender and then-RSCPA Australia CEO Heather Neil at the 2018 media announcement –
“I think that all Australians care about how an animal is farmed whether it’s a sheep or a goat, or a salmon—I believe the way we farm by giving concern to the welfare of the salmon is very important,” said Neil.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
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Sustainably and efficiently produce product
– The Ronja Storm superimposed alongside a Fortress Pen –
Focus on consolidation What does any good farmer need plenty of? Resilience! Our recent financial results highlighted the operational challenges faced during the past financial year which contributed to a greater reduction in production volumes than originally anticipated. While not preferred, it is important to acknowledge there is very little that can be done to control the elements (be it weather or pests), as every farmer understands. The challenging environmental conditions included a long warm summer, a jellyfish bloom and bushfires impacting day-to-day operations. As a result of these and other factors such as higher operating costs, Huon delivered a net profit after tax of $9.5 million for the year ending 30 June 2019, a decrease on FY2018’s $26.4 million. To safeguard future operations, contingency plans have been put in place to lower stocking densities at sites that were hardest hit by jellyfish, and Huon’s bushfire preparedness is much improved having been through the emergency situation.
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The signs are evident that Huon is already well on the way to a strong recovery in FY2020 particularly as a result of the capital investment program. Whale Point nursery is completed, allowing Huon to increase production capacity, plus earlier this year a new 600 tonne feed barge, the Hogan, was moored at Storm Bay and a second generation well-boat, the Ronja Storm, is due for delivery at the end of the year. At Storm Bay, two of the four leases are in operation and the new East of Yellow Bluff lease (granted in May 2019) will increase the lease capacity of Storm Bay to 20,000 tonnes as well as deliver improved biosecurity by including further separation of year classes of fish. These represent some of the investments that have been made over the past five years to support Huon’s capacity to increase total production up to 30,000 tonnes. This process started in the first half of FY2019
with a major rebuild of our biological assets which is reflected in the 23% increase in the value of these fish stock assets (to $209.1 million) compared to the previous year. In support of our people, the Huon Leaders Program was introduced, which saw 42 employees complete the course, as was the new Innovation Program. Huon’s continued focus on Workplace Health and Safety also translated to an overall improvement in safety performance which is a fantastic outcome. FY2020 will be the first year since 2014 when Huon is not implementing change in some part of its business. Huon is now firmly focused on the future which is one of consolidation and working to maximise production and operational efficiencies. This phase is important to solidify the work done since the company was listed while securing success into the future.
– Hogan being Christened by Frances Bender –
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Striving to be leaders within our industry
“As a result, industry joined with the Tasmanian Government (DPIPWE), and in partnership with the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) to take on this role which is critical to the ongoing success and sustainability of the Tasmanian industry.” Vaccine research and development is undertaken at DPIPWE’s Animal Health Laboratories in Launceston.
– Vaccinating anesthetised fish at Forest Home Hatchery –
Vaccines: a proactive approach to fish welfare All good farmers take a proactive and holistic approach to safeguarding the health and welfare of their stock. Here at Huon, this involves feeding quality diets, good site management, fish husbandry, biosecurity measures and of course, vaccinating our stock. Vaccines are routinely used very effectively in livestock, pets and people to control a range of diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. Steve Percival, Huon’s General Manager of Fish Performance and Senior Veterinarian said that fish have a functional immune system that is similar to that in mammals. “This means that vaccinations can be used in the same way to improve fish health and welfare outcomes. Effective vaccines not only minimise or eliminate the illness or mortality that can occur with certain
diseases, they also minimise or eliminate the need to resort to antibiotic and chemical treatments and significantly improve the growth and performance of farmed salmon,” said Steve.
– Fish vaccines were first developed in the USA during the mid-1970s and are now widely used in fish farming around the world. – “The importance of vaccines was recognised early in the development of the salmon farming industry in Tasmania. However, the Tasmanian industry was (and still is) relatively small by international standards and Australia has very strict quarantine laws which prevent the importation of overseas vaccines.” This meant that there were no commercial vaccine companies willing to invest in the research, development and supply of vaccines for our farmed salmon.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
“Initially this was done in pretty basic laboratory rooms, however these have been upgraded and expanded over the years into what is now recognised as an international cutting edge facility known as the Centre for Aquatic Animal Health and Vaccines.”
– “Millions of dollars have been invested in vaccine development and industry now uses vaccines commercially to successfully control up to five serious disease pathogens.” – Vaccines contain either inactive disease organisms or parts of disease organisms. When these are introduced to the fish, their immune system is activated. Vaccination trains the immune system to protect them from disease with protection usually developing around 4-6 weeks after vaccination, and is life-long. Fish are vaccinated in one of two ways depending on the disease pathogen and size of fish. Small fish (<20 gms) are vaccinated by dipping them into a bath of vaccine for around 30 seconds with the vaccine being taken up by the fish through the gills and mouth. Larger fish (>30 gms) are vaccinated by injecting a very small volume (0.1 mL) into the abdomen of the fish (not into the muscle). Industry continues to invest millions of dollars into vaccine research and development in collaboration with the Tasmanian Government (DPIPWE) and the FRDC. “This ongoing effort will result in an increasing number of diseases being controlled by vaccines which subsequently underpins better fish health and welfare,” finished Steve.
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– Baby kelp growing in the lab. Photo by Dr Cayne Layton –
Giant (kelp) potential Giant Kelp has endless applications from being used in food and fertiliser, bioplastics, and high value nutraceuticals. It also has the added benefit of being extremely fast-growing, providing habitat for numerous other species, and soaks up nutrients in the water. There is just one problem: the warming Tasmanian waters have caused an alarming reduction in the size of the giant kelp forests in the State, in turn leaving valuable food-webs at risk. The strengthening of the EAC (Eastern Australian Current) is the primary reason for the decline in giant kelp; the current travelling down the East Coast of Australia is too warm for our cool giant kelp and isn’t providing sufficient nutrients for giant kelp forests. This is why Huon is supporting IMAS and The Climate Foundation to cultivate warmwater tolerant strains on our Storm Bay farm and assess their potential for restoration of Tasmanian kelp forests. Whether the ultimate goal is restoration or cultivation, identifying these strains is the important first step.
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The research is being co-led by Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Cayne Layton, whose team recently planted kelp seedlings on both Huon lease sites and control sites in Storm Bay. “The initial out-planting of giant kelp will allow us to trial methods and techniques for securing the kelp, followed by another round where we out-plant selected families of giant kelp that we have identified as more warmwater tolerant. In fact, those experiments to identify and select more warm-water tolerant giant kelp are currently underway in our lab at IMAS Salamanca,” said Cayne.
– Out-planting is the term used to refer to the transplanting of kelp that has been cultivated in the lab to a site at sea. –
– Natural giant kelp. Photo by Dr Cayne Layton –
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Striving to be leaders within our industry
– A natural giant kelp forest. Photo by Dr Cayne Layton –
Huon’s Jackson Bailey became involved in the project after hearing about it from Dom O’Brien, a consultant Marine Biologist. “I became interested in the project after running a tour with Dom of Trumpeter Bay and the Storm Bay 1 lease. I spoke with him after the tour about the project which got me keen to be involved,” said Jackson. “I’m from the East Coast so I thought that it would be a great opportunity to work with Dom, IMAS and The Climate Foundation.” The kelp was planted in October, ten metres below the surface on lines set up and deployed by Storm Bay 1 Works Crew, and the post set inspection was carried out by the Sub Sea team.
Most of the planning around constructing the control lines was based around using existing Huon gear and not having to purchase new equipment, which proved to be slightly more difficult than first thought. Nevertheless, the kelp was successfully outplanted and will be monitored.” The growth and survivorship of the out-planted giant kelp will be monitored for approximately twelve months across the range of different conditions and seasons. With a 95 per cent decline in the East Coast kelp forests over the last 60+ years, it is important to prepare for and put in place options to mitigate against further loss of this important habitat. “The loss of kelp impacts the whole community of animals and seaweeds that live in and are supported by kelp
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
forests, including species of economic importance such as crayfish, abalone and kelp-associated finfish. And while our out-planting of giant kelp in Storm Bay is not directly related to the restoration of endangered giant kelp forests, the science that underpins the breeding of thermallytolerant giant kelp for cultivation is the same that is needed for their restoration and conservation.” Since partnering with The Climate Foundation, the research has garnered national and international attention. “Our research into the selective breeding for warm-water tolerant giant kelp has also attracted considerable attention since it is some of the first to incorporate ‘future-proof’ initiatives (i.e. warm-tolerant individuals) in marine restoration,” finished Cayne.
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Striving to be leaders within our industry
Pathway to sustainable packaging We all know our number one priority at Huon is to deliver fresh product to the market in a safe, secure, and presentable manner. As the majority of our packaging is in direct contact with fish, which is a high-risk food product, it makes it more challenging to incorporate recyclable material in all cases. This means that we must focus on incorporating recyclable packaging wherever possible, and keep a close eye on emerging products that may replace items which are currently non-recyclable. This important job is part of Anita Harrison’s portfolio who is in the role of Retail Account Manager. “My first permanent role in Huon was in New Product Development, which incorporated our packaging. Not long in to the role a deadline arrived on my desk to complete the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) Annual Report. Prior to this moment I had never heard of the APC, and certainly nothing about what was involved in what I had just ‘inherited’,” said Anita. “This was in May 2015, and since then I have reported to the APC each year, and Huon continues to better our targets.” Huon have been signatories of the APC since 2011 and the covenant sets out standards and targets for industry. Fortunately, Anita is passionate about sustainability, waste reduction and increasing the amount of recycled or recyclable packaging. For example, we have reduced the amount of non-recyclable plastic by 15 per cent in our retail cold smoked products. “As we made the plastic pouch thinner, we added a cardboard sleeve. The sleeve protects the pouch, which serves the purpose of safely delivering our product to market—reducing damage also reduces food waste!” And while a 15 per cent reduction in plastic doesn’t sound like much, it is a positive step in the right direction.
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– Modified Atmosphere packaging with a cardboard sleeve or label – “In addition to this, all of our packaging is annually assessed against Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPG) and we are extremely pleased that major retailers are also committed to reducing plastics and waste.”
– It is fantastic to see the momentum building in this space, with our retail partners coming on board, and in some cases driving the need for change. Customer education is also paramount to drive this change. – Anita’s next short-term project is to revert the plastic wrap labels on MAP (modified atmosphere product) trays back to cardboard sleeves.
“This in itself would reduce over 2million plastic labels! My long term project, which is a goal for the business, is to find an alternative to poly boxes.” While the poly boxes are 100% recyclable, they can only be recycled at two or three depos around Australia so the barrier to access is a big issue. “We sent out 560,000 polys last year! And while this was down on the prior year—due to switching to bins for some customers, imagine getting these out of the system (and ultimately the environment) altogether!” Finding an alternative to poly boxes will help the business to achieve 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025. “This target is endorsed by the Federal Government and we are ramping up our efforts to meet it. Most importantly we must remember that we can all do something, even if it is as simple as a cardboard box under your desk for paper recycling, or better still resist the urge to print in the first place!” finished Anita.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Striving to be leaders within our industry
New product: Huon Ocean Trout Caviar hits shelves
New home for salmon Around 2.6 million juvenile salmon have been stocked in the newly-created East of Yellow Bluff farm in Storm Bay. The first fish went to sea in late July and the last of the fish went to sea in September, with all fish being transferred via well-boat. David Morehead, Huon’s General Manager of Marine Operations said the new cohort will stay at the lease for around eight months before being moved further south.
– “Once the salmon at East of Yellow Bluff have grown larger, they will be moved via wellboat five kilometres south to our existing Storm Bay farms where they will stay until they reach harvest size” said David. – The East of Yellow Bluff site is less exposed that the existing Storm Bay grow-out sites so it should be better suited for juvenile salmon.
“Keeping our younger and older year-class salmon separated is good for biosecurity and fish health and this new lease will enable us to have better separation of year classes than we did last year.”
– A year-class is the term given to a batch of fish and is determined by when they are due to go to sea. For example, fish earmarked to go to sea in 2020 will be called the 2020 year-class. – Before the salmon are moved south, each lease site is given time to rest and recover between stocking. “The processes of fallowing and resting marine farms is exactly the same as a farmer ploughing and resting their land between crops - we know it works and having the new lease helps us better coordinate and plan our activities and allow for longer fallow periods.” Salmon grown in Storm Bay are harvested when they weigh around 5 to 6 kg.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
What’s orange, glistens like a pearl and tastes like the sea? Our new Huon Ocean Trout Caviar. After over a year in product development, and many more years as a thought bubble, the new line hit shelves in late June and wowed chefs across Australia in the process. David Hall, head Chef at Melbourne’s Pure South Dining said that Huon Ocean Trout Caviar is a high-quality product and is on their menu alongside other premium Tasmanian produce.
– “With such a high-quality product there should be no aftertaste other than the lingering taste of the sea on your palette," said David. – “It’s about the mouth texture and the salty creamy pop when you put caviar onto your tongue and break the membrane.” Huon Ocean Trout Caviar is grown and carefully hand-milked at Huon Aquaculture’s Springfield hatchery in Tasmania’s north east. Once the Ocean Trout Caviar has been collected, it is taken to our processing facility at Parramatta Creek where it is cleaned, brined and sorted—leaving only the highest-quality pearls behind. Huon Trout Caviar can be purchased online at shop.huonaqua.com.au or in select stockists.
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Provide best quality of service possible
– New product line –
Huon Ocean Trout in Coles For the first time, Huon Ocean Trout is available to purchase in national retail—where the majority of Australians shop. Eight of Huon’s hot and cold smoked product lines have arrived in Coles stores including two Ocean Trout lines which are a first in Australian retail. Huon Aquaculture’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Callan Paske, said the supply into Coles has given consumers unprecedented access to Huon Ocean Trout. “We have invested significant time and energy into securing this supply into Coles which will see Huon Ocean Trout championed in the retail space across the nation,” said Callan.
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“As a company we are focused on bringing new fish species to the Australian consumer. Seeing Huon Ocean Trout in stores is a major step towards furthering this goal. The products include Huon Premium Hot Smoked Ocean Trout and Huon Premium Cold Smoked Ocean Trout.
– “Huon Ocean Trout is incredibly versatile and performs really well as a value-added product due to slightly higher oil content in the fish which means it retains more moisture after smoking. –
– We know that price is a big consideration for consumers when it comes to seafood which is why our range in Coles sits at an affordable premium—consumers will get a fantastic product at a great price from a leading Australian brand. – Callan believes that this is just the beginning of Huon Ocean Trout’s success. “We plan to see a range of Huon Ocean Trout products across the country in the coming years,” he concluded.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Provide best quality of service possible
– Callan Paske handing out samples –
Land of the rising salmon It is no secret that the Japanese are extremely passionate about fresh, delicious seafood—it makes up a large part of their diet and they excel at inventively incorporating it into just about every meal of the day. For Callan Paske, Huon’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing, his first trip to visit our Japanese partners, Bluelink, won’t be one that he will forget in a hurry. “I’d only ever talked about the Japanese market and our presence in it from what I saw in pictures and learned second hand from others that had been ‘in-market’. To go and see the differences in the market and to understand Bluelink and how they sell our fish was invaluable,” said Callan. For a country 1/23rd the size of Australia, but six times the population, the 22,000 supermarkets in the country indicate that there is plenty of opportunity to build a branded presence on shelf.
“Of particular interest to me was the sheer number of branded points of distribution we have in Japan. If you look at the size of a Coles or a Woolworths being approximately 800 stores (each) across Australia, it helps put into context that we are branded at over 300 points of retail in Japan.” Callan credits this presence to the emphasis placed by Huon on growing a strong presence in boutique, high-end retailers which was driven by the Benders and in more recent years by Rob Mann, Huon’s Export Manager who just so happens to be fluent in Japanese. “We have been supplying salmon to Japan for well over ten years and while we have a very small part of the large, fragmented seafood market, our buyers place strong value on our freshness credentials.” From being in the water, it takes just over two days for Huon Salmon to arrive in Japan for distribution. “The speed with which the fish is delivered to the markets, processed and then consumed is extremely quick and as a result
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
– Salmon in Store – our freshness credentials are valued in the firmness of the flesh of our fish as opposed to other regions. In the past we have even had complaints that Huon Salmon is too fresh!” said Callan. These credentials combined with an untapped market has caught Callan’s eye as a region where Huon could be very successful. “As long as we maintain consistent growing supply of volume to our partners in Bluelink there is significant untapped potential for us to take a larger share of the salmon market in Japan whilst still maintaining our premium brand position,” finished Callan.
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Engaging with our communities
Tasmanian Seafood Awards 2019
– The Kindergarten class and their teachers in their coveralls –
Queenstown’s St Joseph’s Catholic School
Anyone who has lived, worked or visited the West Coast of Tasmania knows that the weather is wet and wild so when St Joseph’s Catholic School reached out needing new coveralls for their teachers, we happily came to the party. The teachers can now take the kids out for fun in all weather!
Huon sponsored the People Development Award, awarded to the National Seafood Industry Leadership Program which is building a strong alumni who have knowledge in key areas including future issues impacting the industry and the tools and contacts to address those challenges and opportunities. The program has produced 31 strong alumni from Tasmania across wild capture, processing, aquaculture, research and governance, and most recently, Huon’s very own Development Manager Matthew Whittle completed the program.
Supporting Super Women Huon was a proud sponsor of the 2019 Football Tasmania Women’s Super League Player of the Year Award and our Corporate Affairs Manager, Pene Snashall, recently presented winner, Madison Chambers (from Olympia FC) with her $1,000 prize and trophy. Soccer is the highest participation sport amongst Tasmanian children aged 5–14 years, with one in 5 playing for their school or a club. The first recorded game took place in Hobart in May 1879 when the Cricketers Football Club played a scratchmatch among themselves (that’s right the men in white liked the round ball too!). Playing any sport requires good fuel, and we think Huon Salmon is the perfect protein fuel.
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As a user of Tasmania’s shared waterways, and a proud member of Tasmania’s Seafood Industry Council (TSIC), Huon was pleased to be a Silver Sponsor of the 2019 Tasmanian Seafood Industry Awards. The Awards are not only a celebration of the Tasmanian seafood industry, they also give individuals and businesses who have achieved outstanding success within the Tasmanian seafood industry the recognition they deserve.
– Pene Snashall with Madison Chambers – photo thanks to Solstice Photography –
This year’s event also highlighted the Stay Afloat initiative, a collaboration between TSIC and Rural Alive and Well (RAW), to provide dedicated on-the-ground support for Tasmanian seafood operators. TSIC have been instrumental in highlighting the challenges facing seafood producers and we encourage anyone facing difficulties to call RAW on 1300HELPMATE.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Engaging with our communities
– Adam Norris' 2018 Movember effort –
Doing it for the ‘mo Men make up nearly 80 per cent of our workforce and their good health is important to us, which is why Huon is once again getting behind the Movember campaign. On our behalf, Communications Adviser, Emma Tanchik joined national lobbying resulting in the creation of a new category, the Farmer’s Challenge. Sign up for Movember and join Huon’s team in the Farmer’s Challenge category (www.movember.com); we know many of you can grow some impressive mo's (while for others, we applaud your determination!). Apologies to the partners of those who undertake a “mo-grow”; it’s just for 30 days and it is for an excellent cause. As an added bonus, if this challenge is a success, next year it may become an official Movember Foundation global challenge! Together, we can make a difference and stop our fathers, brothers, mates and sons dying too young.
World Fly Fishing Championships Do you know what mouche, the French word for fly, and Huon Aquaculture have in common? More than you thought! Later this year, Tasmania will host the 39th world mouche de peche championships (that’s the World Flyfishing Championships) and Huon is proud to be a major sponsor. More than 25 countries are competing, sending their best teams of flyfishers to test their skills on Tasmania’s best freshwater fishing spots, some of which include trout grown at Huon’s hatcheries. We share the same goals to recreational anglers; preservation of wild fish stocks and protection of the natural environment. Best of luck to the Australian team which includes Tasmanians Christopher Bassano, Jon Stagg, Josh Flowers and Craig Carey (Captain).
Starlight Foundation – The Chef’s Dinner The Starlight Foundation has been bringing joy to sick Australian kids since 1988, which is made possible through their tireless fundraising efforts including their signature event; Starlight Five Chefs Dinners. At a recent event, the team from Brisbane’s Tartufo served Huon Salmon which was lovingly cured in orange and fennel with a pine nut crumble and beetroot. The Huon Salmon dish was included in a five-course degustation which saw each plate expertly paired with premium wines. Thank you to River City Seafoods for taking the time to fillet and supply the Huon Salmon for the event, and to the Starlight Foundation for their tireless fundraising efforts.
– The team from Tartufo –
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
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Be a workforce that seeks excellence and innovation
“We have been up and running for a little while now and have already seen an improvement in our environmental management systems which is good for business, good for communities, our people and the environment.”
– Millybrook Hatchery site inspection of water quality and flow –
The team provides a single point of contact for the business on everything to do with compliance and works closely with the relevant divisions within the company, and government departments and regulators. “A big part of the work that Katherine and I are undertaking is to essentially get every site audit-ready. This might sound a bit daunting, but audits should be viewed as a positive opportunity to identify where we can improve as a company and what actions we need to undertake to ensure we are fully compliant with any licence or permit requirements.” To reach this stage, Katherine will be visiting all sites in coming months to conduct an internal audit and identify any areas where we need to improve our practices. “Sometimes this can be as simple as making sure that copies of relevant licenses are kept in hard copy on sites or installing covered waste bins onsite to prevent litter escape,” said Matthew.
Our Compliance Team – Supporting Continuous Improvement As a fully vertically-integrated company, Huon’s compliance obligations span across all aspects of its operations; from managing emission levels from our processing factory smokehouse, to obtaining development approval for permitted building works, to monitoring nutrient outputs from hatcheries, to maintaining locations of on-water markers in our marine leases.
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To streamline this process and support our employees, a small centralised Environmental Compliance Team has been established. Matthew Whittle holds the role of Environmental Compliance and Development Manager and is supported by Katherine O’Connor as Compliance Officer. “The company recognised the need to manage our whole-of-business compliance more efficiently which is why the team was formed. We are not replacing existing employees who work in this area, simply providing additional resourcing and support to work towards a common goal,” said Matthew.
– Matthew Whittle, Environmental Compliance and Development Manager – Monthly meetings with a broader Compliance Management Group have also been established and provide an opportunity for people from across the business to collectively discuss compliance. “These meetings present a great opportunity to collectively work towards putting more robust processes and frameworks in place. So much of what we are doing in the compliance area is about mitigating risk for our operations and business and we are off to a very promising start,” finished Matthew.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Be a workforce that seeks excellence and innovation
– Tim Russell-Jarvie By-Product Innovation Manager –
A second life for by-product As a farming and processing company, by-product is a fact of life for Huon. Be it smolt which have been graded off at our hatcheries, or finding a use for salmon skins. Where some see compost, Tim RussellJarvie, Huon’s By-Product Innovation Manager sees opportunity. “I’m passionate about finding ways to utilise Huon’s by-product in all its forms. This has many benefits to the business including reducing our wastage, increasing our sustainability and having a positive financial outcome,” said Tim. In most cases, Tim’s work isn’t necessarily about finding ways for Huon to make money from by-products but rather, finding ways to reduce our costs by better utilising where the by-products end up.
– “By finding better end uses, we are adapting and changing our ways to better align with what the public expects from a good corporate citizen. A good example of this is finding a customer to take the salmon skins from our factory.” – “This means that we are no longer sending skins away for composting and instead, they are being sent to Vietnam to be made into salmon leather for use in products such as belts—one of which I proudly sport to work daily.” Tim has also been working extensively to find customers in the area of pet food who are now taking smolt and heads and
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
frames for their product lines—one of which will be launched soon by a major retailer. “There is still a lot of opportunity for Huon in the area of by-product innovation and I have some exciting projects in the works including using our recycled ropes in highend furniture, working with a feed supplier to use our mortalities in Kingfish feed, and turning the organics from our recirculation hatcheries into high-quality compost.” “It is really quite remarkable seeing attitudes across the business towards by-product change in such a short time. What was once seen as a nuisance, or went straight into the bin, now has a second life and a second chance,” finished Tim.
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Be a workforce that seeks excellence and innovation
AquaNor: international learning opportunity
– This year’s AquaNor delegation. Leigh is second from the left, front row and Josh is second from the right, back row. –
At Huon we believe in learning from our overseas counterparts which is why for many years, we have sent delegations of Huon employees to AquaNor, the world’s largest aquaculture technology exhibition held in Norway. This year, twelve Huon Employees made the journey including Marine Project’s Manager Leigh Savage and Josh McKibben, Storm Bay 2 Zone Manager. “I have learned a lot from AquaNor and am keen to get some of the ideas and technologies seen implemented onto the farm. While there wasn’t any “stand out” items this year there was more than enough to make it worthwhile,” said Leigh. An item that piqued Leigh’s interest was a pen collar cleaner raft built by Servi Group. “We had the opportunity to look at this machine on site and up close. It was
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impressive the way it used Dyneema rope winches to lift the pen up and over the wheelhouse, then lowered down onto the rollers. There are also large arms on each side of the barge that lift to assist getting over the gear on the barge,” said Leigh. Cleaning pen collars is currently a challenge for our on-water teams and seeing this new equipment has Leigh thinking about how this technology might be adapted for Huon’s operations.
– I spoke to the designer and they were open to the possibility of making some modifications to suit our operations. – AquaNor is a tempting opportunity to build up a formidable shopping list but for Leigh, it more importantly presents an opportunity to challenge and improve the way we operate.
“Huon is already leading the way in a lot of areas and I see a great deal of interest in how we are doing things. I believe that the ideas and information we got from the trade show, as well as the multiple site visits, will help us make our systems more efficient and improve the company as a whole,” finished Leigh. Josh McKibben, Huon’s Storm Bay 2 Zone Manager, said AquaNor was a great opportunity to see the latest technology and to meet with other fish farmers to discuss the challenges that they face. “This year there was an increased focus on offshore farming and the growing need to move to high-energy sites which is one of my main interests. There was also plenty of focus on mortality removal, back to barge systems, underwater feeding, pen and net systems and also a couple of new software options that can be customised to a company’s requirements to help improve accountability and traceability across a business.” Josh believes that Huon is still leading the way with pen technology but also
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
acknowledges that AquaNor has him thinking about new innovations and how they might be applied to Huon’s existing equipment.
winds. The day we visited, it was flat calm and sunny! They are farming 120m circumference pens, so their equipment was modelled accordingly.”
“Although we have had a few challenges with our 240 metre pen bird nets, our system came across superior to a lot of the trade show exhibition equipment/pen systems we saw in Europe, which are still very much suited and designed around inshore/sheltered waters farming.”
MOWI were short staffed on the day of the visit so Josh and the team had the opportunity to experience fish farming in Scotland first hand.
Post AquaNor, a group of ten Huon employees split-up into smaller groups to visit different farms and sites around the region. Midge Garland (Zone Manager Zuidpool South), Leigh Walford (CS Production Manager) and Josh visited some high energy farms, that had relevant challenges to the ones we face in Tasmania. “We were lucky enough to visit a MOWI (Formerly Marine Harvest) site on the Isle of Muck in Scotland’s small Isles and Hidden Fjord in the Faroe Islands.” “MOWI’s farm is a 12-pen farm seasonally exposed to southerly and northerly swell with significant wave heights of around 3-4m and regular strong
– The farm manager Neil Gregor and all his staff were a great bunch of guys, who were happy to share their challenges and exchange ideas and info on their operations. – Next stop for Josh, Midge and Leigh was Hidden Fjord’s new farms at Vagar and Sorvagur in the Faroe Islands which experiences waves of between 6-7 metres. “Hidden Fjord have been trialling equipment (an un-stocked pen, moorings and feed barge) at a high energy site for the
past year. Their feed barges are converted bulk carriers, so were moored into the direction of the prevailing weather, and we visited a 600t barge and also their new 1200t barge which were very impressive.” “Their fish nets were designed with a smaller circumference than the cage so they are held off the collars to reduce wear/contact with the collars. They also had a higher jump fence for keeping fish contained in rough weather. They were mainly running 120’s and 160’s—this would also benefit us as a way of keeping seals out of the inner nets if they breach the predator nets.” While in the Faroes, they also spent some time with JT Electric who produce feed barges, cameras, and feed systems, with Vonin who produce moorings, modelling and analysis, and KJ pen manufacturers— who also work closely with Hidden Fjord. “Overall, it was a great trip and we saw an increased emphasis for the aquaculture industry to move to high-energy/offshore sites which is really exciting. We took a lot of ideas home and if I was to compare us to the rest of the world, I think Huon are leading the way in many areas,” finished Josh.
– Hidden Fjord’s trial farm by Josh McKibben –
– MOWI’s farm by Josh McKibben –
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
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Fish Tales
FUN FACTS! Just like you might get a vaccination against the flu, so do our fish and it keeps them strong and healthy. Over five million people across the world participate in Movember. Kelp is one of the fastest-growing plants and in the right conditions, can grow over a metre per day! Kelp also has loads of uses from food, to medicine and even as a compostable plastic. There is such a thing as chips made from salmon skin. Would you try them? Japan is home to six times as many people as Australia!
Congratulations to Adam Careless, aged 3½, for his fantastic colouring in! For his efforts, he won a voucher and has spent many happy hours reading.
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THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Fish Tales
KIDS ONLY!
Colouring in Competition
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Colour in Gilbert the Gull to go in the draw to win a $50 gift voucher to Dymocks Bookstore. Parents/Guardians – please send an image of your child’s picture to communications@huonaqua.com.au with their name, age and your best contact details. The winner will be drawn randomly from all entries received by 21st November 2019.
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Baked Huon Salmon in Spiced Yoghurt A quick midweek meal serve this with steamed rice and chopped mint.
Ingredients
Method
4 Fresh Huon Salmon portions, skin off
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a baking tray with paper.
250g Greek yoghurt 2 tbs lemon juice Thumb size piece of fresh ginger, grated 2 teaspoons ground cumin
Dunk each piece of salmon to coat in yoghurt mix and place onto baking tray.
2 tbs ground coriander ½ tsp black pepper
Bake for 20 minutes. Garnish with green chillies.
½ tsp garam masala Sliced green chilli and extra lemon wedge
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In a bowl mix yoghurt, lemon juice ginger and spices.
Serve with basmati rice, lemon wedges, and your favourite chutney.
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
Around the Farm
Sunrise by Dallas Shane Savage
Bridport hatchery from the air
On-board a net cleaning boat
The Bridport team preparing trout for vaccination
Dolphins at Zuidpool South by Shea Cameron
To have your image included in the next edition’s Around The Farm email: communications@huonaqua.com.au
THE HUON STORY | Huon Aquaculture | Winter/Spring 2019
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