AYR-based company Pacific Reef Fisheries has beaten some of Australia’s most famous fine food and wine producers to be named the best of the best in 2015 by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS).
Pacific Reef Fisheries was awarded with the prestigious silver heritage President’s Medal and $10,000 cash at the award’s tenth anniversary dinner at Sydney Showground’s intimate venue, The Stables, attended by Australia’s top food and wine producers and aficionados.
Pacific Reef Fisheries was nominated for its Sashimi Grade Pacific Reef North Queensland Cobia after winning Champion Fresh Fish, at this year’s Sydney Royal Spring Fine Food Show.
The Pacific Reef Cobia is a little known saltwater fin fish weighing about five to seven kilograms fully grown. It has a firm, flaked, sweet flesh with a high fat content, perfect in both sashimi and western cooking. It is a relatively new aquaculture species in Australia which Pacific Reef Fisheries founders, the Mitris family, started producing in partnership with the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The enterprise uses land-based seawater ponds fed by a constant flow of Coral Sea water.
Treatment ponds and mangrove wetlands form part of a world first water treatment technique being used to remediate the water leaving the farm and also produce human food grade seaweed in the discharge waters.
Robert Ryan OAM, President of the RAS, congratulated Pacific Reef Fisheries on its incredible win and achievements for excellence in food production.
“The President’s Medal recognises innovative Australian producers that create the highest quality products by sustainable means,” Mr Ryan said.
“Pacific Reef Fisheries has adapted an artisan farming technique to Australian conditions, and overcome significant challenges to become a tremendous success story producing a superb, premium quality fish suited to restaurant, catering and retail,” he said.
“The Pacific Reef Cobia has beaten a field of more than 5,650 entries from around Australia in the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food Shows.”
Simon Marnie, ABC 702 Weekends presenter and food lover, has been a member of the judging panel since the first President’s Medal was awarded in 2006.
“This year’s finalists again typified what the President’s Medal stands for. All producers demonstrated a deep understanding of not only their environmental and commercial setting, but the need to contribute to their local communities,” Mr Marnie said.
“Pacific Reef Fisheries is a company focused on a triple bottom line approach. It is forging new market opportunities and developing production systems that have the potential to revolutionise aquaculture world-wide. It is also a major employer in a town suffering from the decline of the traditionally dominant sugar industry,” he said.
“The company acknowledges that while it has taken a tremendous amount of hard work and a steep learning curve to bring them to where they are today, the creation of a new product widely regarded as a premium “five star” fish has been well worth it.
“As well, to have developed a production system that is returning water to the environment in as good, if not better condition than when it was pumped in, is incredibly exciting.”
The other five finalists in 2015 were: Serendipity Ice Cream, Marrickville, NSW; Australian Agricultural Company, QLD and NT; Tyrrell’s Wines, Hunter Valley, NSW; Soumah, Yarra Valley, Victoria, and; Yabby Lake Vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, VIC.
Simon Marnie and Michael Bullen, Department of Primary Industries, Deputy Director General, Agriculture NSW, visited each producer to review operations and observe their production practices to gather economic, environmental and local information on the production of each Champion product.
The President’s Medal is proudly supported by NSW Department of Primary Industries, Woolworths Supermarkets and World Kitchen.
Pacific Reef Fisheries was started by the Mitris family in 1998. Over the last 17 years they have built the business into a highly successful prawn and fish farming operation that produces around 1,000 tonnes of seafood per year.
Pacific Reef North Queensland Cobia became a part of the business six years ago. It is a new aquaculture species in Australia and was started in partnership with the Queensland Department of Agriculture.
