RHYS THOMAS
DAINTREE Saltwater Barramundi Fish Farms produces some of Australia’s highest quality saltwater barramundi, a fact which has been substantiated after the business scooped up multiple accolades at the prestigious Royal Fine Food Awards in Sydney recently.
Presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW at Sydney Olympic Park, the awards are the pinnacle of recognition amongst Australian producers – examining and celebrating truly inspirational, innovative agricultural food and beverage achievers.
The stakes were higher than ever in this years’ aquaculture competition, with barramundi competing alongside rainbow trout, Murray cod, John Dory, mulloway, ocean trout and salmon.
Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Fish Farms has been involved in the awards since 2006, winning its fair share of medals over the years and this year was no different as the FNQ business achieved the gold medal for their plate sized barramundi and a silver medal for their whole fish.
Located on the Daintree River, the farm is surrounded by World Heritage listed rainforest, the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef and uses this exclusive location to its advantage.
Daintree local Mark Hober oversees the farm’s operation as general manager and company director and said the careful and selective mix of water coupled with the farm’s unique location gives the fish a very distinct flavour.
“We carefully select fish from our ponds which are grown under stress free environment which mimics the natural waters of the Daintree River,” he said.
We draw our water direct from the Daintree River with a mix of saltwater from the ocean and fresh water from the oldest rainforest in the world – that is what gives us a unique flavour
Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Fish Farms general manager and company director Mark Hober
There are 12 production ponds, one fingerling pond, and one pond which is utilised for the tourist facility for recreational barramundi fishing.
Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Fish Farms is no stranger to winning awards for their prized fish, having received the Sydney Royal Champion Award and multiple Gold and Silver Awards for their plate-sized and whole fish since 2006.
Mr Hober was nonetheless elated to have once again received several awards for their barramundi especially since the awards also judged other species of fish.
“We are very delighted to have again achieved these awards at the fine foods show as this is testament to the quality our farm and our staff produce year in year out,” he said.
“We were a little surprise as we now compete with other fish species so the level of the competition has increased.
“We are very honoured to win at the Royal Fine Foods Awards as the protocols set by the esteemed judging panel are very high.”
This year’s judging panel was comprised of expert industry specialists and chaired by John Susman, CEO of seafood industry agency Fishtales.
Fellow judges include executive chefs Josh Niland from Saint Peter and Sean Connolly from Morrison Hotel, head fish butcher at Fish Butchery Bosley McGee, owner and chief fishmonger at Yellow Brick Road in New Zealand Martin Bosley as well as seafood sales and marketing managers and representatives from the NSW Departments of Primary Industries and Fisheries.
Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Fish Farms is located on the corner of the Mossman Daintree and Vixies Roads in Wonga Beach and is open Mon-Fri 8am-4pm.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: Cairns community champion retires and Police impersonator arrested.
