Huon Aquaculture’s Executive Director, Frances Bender, thinks that that Tasmania should be renamed the ‘Salmon Isle’.
Frances Bender, who co-founded the company in Tasmania’s picturesque Huon Valley 1986 together with Peter, says that “Tasmania’s reputation as being the ‘Apple Isle’ is thanks to the Huon Valley and today, the Huon is known not only for producing apples, but also premium-quality Atlantic Salmon”.
“A little over 30 years ago, Peter and I started farming with a single pen of fish and one employee,” Frances said.
“And today, we employ over 550 people and our salmon is consumed right around Australia every day of the year.
“To reflect on how far we have come is astounding so calling Tasmania the Salmon Isle would be very fitting.”
Huon Aquaculture produces more than 24,000 tonnes of salmon annually, the majority of which is consumed in Australia with the remaining exported to Asia. Fish is grown across Tasmania in three regions; the Huon River, Bruny Island’s Storm Bay and Macquarie Harbour on the state’s East Coast.
“Each farming area has unique environmental conditions so the way that we farm is tailored to each site. We achieve this by continually monitoring our farms using state-of-the-art equipment such as underwater cameras that monitor uneaten feed in the pens, and weather stations that check the water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels,” said Frances.
Huon Aquaculture has also invested heavily in new technologies including a double-netted Fortress Pen to keep seals out, and fish in. This $80-million-dollar investment, coupled with a robust mooring grid, has allowed the company to farm what they believe is the world’s most exposed lease site in Storm Bay.
“We have found that the salmon perform really well in more offshore and exposed sites as the conditions closely mimic what they would experience in the wild. This means that we are producing even better quality fish for our consumers,” said Frances.
While the company’s farming operations are now well-and-truly-established, 30 years ago it was a challenge for the fledgling industry to convince consumers to eat salmon.
“A lot of people’s first experience of salmon was with the tinned mushy variety so it is understandable that they took some time to come around. We are now at a point where salmon is a staple of Australian families and it goes with everything, including apples, so I guess we can compromise and call Tasmania the ‘Salmon and Apple Isle’,” Frances concludes.
Baked Huon Salmon with pistachio crust recipe
Preparation: five minutes. Cooking: 20 minutes. Serves: 4-6.
Scott Gooding has done all the work here – you just choose what you’d like to serve it with. Boiled new season potatoes, a simple salad or roasted vegies. This is a dish to take you right through the year!
Ingredients:
- 1 full side of Huon Salmon
- 2 fronds of fennel bulbs
- 1/4 bunch of dill
- 2 handfuls of pistachios
- 2-3 tbsp. Olive oil
- Zest of one lemon
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Lay side of Huon Salmon on some baking paper in a baking tray.
Add nuts, dill, lemon zest and fennel fronds in a blender or bar-mix and process on a low speed.
Oil should start to leech from nuts after 20 seconds or so.
Add more oil until the mixture holds together.
Spread the nut mixture over one side of the fish ensuring its spread evenly.
Season and pop in the oven for 20 minutes (times may vary according to size of the salmon).
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for five minutes.
