A PROFESSIONAL fisherman from the North Queensland hamlet of Kurrimine Beach has won a national award for his quality catch.
Chris Bolton, of Chris Bolton Fishing, was thrilled to have beaten all other entrants in his category in the 2019 Delicious produce awards to take out the top gong in the 'from the sea' category with his wild red emperor.
Mr Bolton, who operates from a 7.5m boat with a crew of two, said he focused on quality over quantity to remain profitable in an industry dominated by larger players.
He credits his unique line-fishing and ancient Japanese killing method for the superior quality of his fish, which ends up in some of Australia's best restaurants within just 24 hours of being pulled from the sea.
"We only do short trips, 24 hour fishing trips, in waters between Cairns and Townsville," Mr Bolton said.
"When we come home, my boat's on the trailer and I park right beside the cold room and pack straight into airfreight boxes. We make sure every single fish we send is 100 per cent perfect and it is straight to the airport on to the next flight."
Mr Bolton's fish is packed fresh on ice, and sent to a wholesaler in Sydney who distributes it to the best restaurants.
"We only started this two years ago, it's a high end market and they've shown a lot of faith in our product.
"Before this everything was wholesale into Cairns, and it would sit in Cairns for a couple of days, then it would be road freighted to Sydney, by the time the chefs got our fish it could be a week old.
"Now, it is fresh on ice and when the restaurants get it a lot of the time its only 24 hours out of the water."
Mr Bolton predominantly catches red emperor, saddletail snapper, spangled emperor and coral trout.
"It is all line caught, one hook, one fish on a hand line.
"Everything is ikejime brain spiked, which is an ancient Japanese method which kills the fish instantly and reduces the stress and improves the taste."
Mr Bolton said he had to alter his business to compete against the big operators.
"There are some boats that catch as much in a week as we do in a year. It was either buy a bigger boat and catch more fish, or try to stand out and focus on quality and hit that premium market.
"I catch less fish than I ever have but we've got our own niche market now, and I think that's the only way we could have survived."
Mr Bolton, who is part of the Reef Guardian Program, said regulations were making it hard for small operators.
"The small blokes are dying out and it is sad. The small operators have a hell of a lot more care for the environment and fish stocks.
"It's like farming, you can't just flog one paddock, you use the whole area."
