Australian Barramundi Farmers Association

2006 Shaping Up for a Busy Year
Like you all, I am back at work and looking for a big season ahead.
At ABFA we have been taking stock and that is what this news letter is about.

Townsville 1/2 year Workshop
The ½ year workshop is nearly upon us. If you have not already done so you must put the following dates in diary!

We will send out an agenda and brochure in the next few days with full details. This will include details of some recommended hotels. We had a great time at the Innisfail Workshop last year and if we get a good turnout the Townsville event will be as exciting.
Once again we have a full agenda of issues. We are arranging visits to local farms.

New Logo
You will see from the letterhead, we have finally got our new logo in use. John Hutton, our Western Australian representative did a great job with organising and delivering a range of options for consideration and the vote at the AGM at the Gold Coast.

We will now use this in a number of projects including membership cards and promoting the Association and our product.

Strategic Plan
It is time we had a look at the priorities for the industry and the Association. There is always a lot to do and time and resources always limited. I want to use the Townsville meeting and the opportunity provided by having most of the industry in the one room at the one time to work out what we need to be doing. We need a bit of strategic planning as the last time we did this was in 2004 in Cairns. Much of what was decided has been implemented.

Queensland Department of Primary Industries will be managing this project for us. It will be a very similar exercise to the Prawn Industry Development Plan.

Andrew Walls from QDPI&F has contacted most of the Executive for comment and input. A draft document will be forwarded next week to all members and this will form the basis for our discussions in Townsville.

I really appreciate the assistance of the Queensland Department. If we had to go to the market and engage outside consultants for this work, it would have cost tens of thousands.

Product Branding
Last year we finalised the Barramundi standards project. It was launched by Minister Ian McDonald at Innisfail. We are now in the process of going to wholesalers and distributors wit this document. It was also agreed that we would authorise members of the ABFA to use the logo on product and point of sale material if they “sign up” to the standards.

We hope to start implementing this in the next few weeks.

Queensland News
The Queensland aquaculture industry is meeting with the new Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister next month. The Minister has been invited to join the industry for lunch. On the menu is Barramundi in a Thai red curry. The Barramundi is being provided by Michael Lisle.

Recirculating Systems to be a Focus
I am aware there is something of a view that the ABFA is for pond and cage producers and that the recirculation systems have not received enough attention.

I am stating that that is not the case! Over the next few weeks will be reviewing our web site to make sure that we have plenty of detail on these systems. Also, our current “recirc” members have said they will be selling the association to producers who are not members.

Residue Testing
With the threat of cheap imports damaging the Australian Barramundi in the market place, we are very interested in ensuring that imports are required to meet the same standards. We do hear horror stories about food safety and environmental practices in some of the places where this product is sourced.

Graham Dalton is currently working on documenting exactly how much testing is done and what the risks are. We will look at this issue in Townsville.

Annual General Meeting in Adelaide 2006
This year the AGM will be held in Adelaide to coincide with the major international conference on aquaculture and the National Aquaculture council AGM. It will be a unique opportunity for members to see what is happening in Australia and elsewhere across the whole gamut of aquaculture.

The NAC conference is from Sunday August 27 to Wednesday 30. The Executive has agreed that the ABFA meeting be on Thursday 31 August and Friday 1 Sept. This provides an opportunity to visit to Steven Mawer’s facility (and of course, some McLarenvale wineries).

We have started organising for this event and will send out preliminary notices after the Townsville workshop.

Report on Seafood event in Sydney
Julii Tyson from Humpty Doo Barramundi organised our presence at the Sydney "AUSTRALIAN SEAFOOD ON DISPLAY”. She has provided a detailed written report on the event and that is on our web site. A summary appears below.

A number of ABFA members at the AGM/Conference on the Gold Coast agreed to participate in the Australian Seafood on Display exhibition on the 14 & 15 September 2005, in Sydney at a total cost of $2,750 GST inclusive. This event was a key component of the 6th World Congress on Seafood Safety, Quality and Trade.

The display provided an opportunity to showcase Australia seafood products and their producers to an international audience, made up of delegates to the Congress as well as international buyers attending the Fine Food Australia exhibition.

Each of these members as well as the ABFA contributed $458.33. Craig Foster and Julii Tyson organised the ABFA display, which included:

Austrade brought international buyers to Sydney for the Fine Food Australia exhibition and also coordinated a Business Matching Program for these buyers and Australian Seafood on Display participants.

ABFA was scheduled to meet with Wholefoods & Plitt Seafoods from the USA. Wholefoods have a chain of “top class” supermarkets/delis in the US & Plitt Seafoods are the seafood suppliers to Wholefoods. Questions asked by the US companies included:

Some of the issues raised included:

Julie says that as often is the case with such displays, no immediate business was done but a lot of interest was shown by the international buyers and delegates.

The ABFA’s participation in the Australia Seafood on Display provided a fantastic opportunity for the industry to promote itself to an international audience relatively inexpensively. The strength and depth of the Australian barramundi farming industry was emphasized as was:

I think we all owe a debt to Julii for all this work and this kind of promotion ends up benefiting everyone in the industry whether they are a member or not. Thanks Julii.

Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act a Concern
Queensland producers are lobbying hard to amend the regulations under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act. They have a rather unusual provision in that if a person or company is convicted of an offence under the Act, then it is mandatory for them to be refused a permit for mitigation against predators.

In effect, even a minor infringement by an aquaculture producer could out them out of business if bird attacks become serious.

Barramundi Naming
The Executive decided that we need more information about the government’s decision not to support us on having the name “Barramundi” exclusive to Australian product. I have written to the Minister asking for a copy of the advice from his Department that our request breaches WTO rule.

Executive Meeting
Just a reminder to members of the Executive: the next Conference call will be on 8 March Queensland time. And for those elsewhere than in the wonderful Sunshine State, Qld time does not always coincide with the time in NSW etc (we have no summer time). Please check your local time.

Changes to the Federal Ministry
With the reshuffle announced by the Prime Minister, there will be some changes in the people we work with. Senator Ian Macdonald has left the Ministry. I am writing to Senator Macdonald thanking him for his support for aquaculture. He was always approachable. We have a new Minister for Forestry & Fisheries (Eric Abetz from Tasmania), a new Parl Sec for Agriculture (Sussan Ley from Albury in NSW, replacing Richard Colbeck), and Malcolm Turnbull is a new Parl Sec assisting the PM on water policy. I know access to water is on issue for fresh water aquaculture and that includes many in our industry.

New Seafood CRC
Steven Mawer attended a meeting of the proposed Seafood CRC. He advises that ABFA should be are represented and seen to be prepared to commit funds in two years time when the CRC may begin. He has asked that this be discussed by ABFA and in the meantime he will continue to attend the meetings in Adelaide.
Shannon McBride, our R&D spokesperson is putting the subject on the agenda for Townsville.

Letter from the President: January 2006