EP seafood industry pushes forward

The region's seafood industry was a focus at the recent economic summit in Port Lincoln, organised by Civil Contractors Federation of SA.

Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association's Brian Jeffriess, who spoke at the summit, said there were plenty of positives for the sector which accounted for about 85 per cent of SA's seafood production.

"We are the most diverse seafood region in Australia, along with Tas," Mr Jeffriess said.

"Our kingfish sector in particular has tremendous growth potential."

The region also has the largest tonnage volumes for sardines in Australia.

"The tuna industry has been on a rollercoaster ride and it has now stabilised, but at a lower level," he said.

"The EP fits in well with the clean, green image the government is pushing. But, the main thing we have in this region is a group of entrepreneurs and risk takers, who are willing to push the industry forward.

"The first generation made a heap of money from seafood, but the good thing is, they have reinvested it back into the region.

"Another one of our main strengths is the very strong and flexible work ethic here."

Mr Jeffriess said there was major potential from Asian markets for the EP.

"It all seems to be about China at the moment, but getting into the market is harder than it looks," he said.

"China has no tradition of eating premium tuna but we are building the market."

Mr Jeffriess said historically there had been little marketing of the industry outside of Japan, and that needed to change to take advantage of growing markets such as China.

The $A hovering about the 70US cents mark was a plus for the industry.

"With the weak $A, let's hope it lasts, but we've got to be prepared for a stronger $A," he said.

Mr Jeffriess said the southern bluefin tuna stocks were almost destroyed by Japanese overfishing, but were recovering slowly.

"The EP bought some quotas from other states and now has about 92pc of Australia's quota," he said.

This equates to about 33pc of the global quota.

The sector generates about 675 full-time job equivalents and $264m in economic activity.

"But the real impact is across the EP, from new marina developments, to hotels, to tourism," Mr Jeffriess said.

"In 2011, it was a low point for the industry and it has just started to recover."

At the moment 6450t of southern bluefin tuna production comes from the EP, but the goal is to get that figure up to 7200t by 2021.

"The strength of the yen and the Japanese economy will be a major driver of the industry in the next 10 years," Mr Jeffriess said.

"We have competition, mostly from Mexico, Turkey and other Mediterranean countries, who operate from a low cost base and receive government subsidies."

Australia accounts for about 20pc of the global premium market for southern bluefin tuna, and is known for its quality.

Mr Jeffriess said many people often forget seafood was a relatively young industry,

"The southern bluefin tuna farming industry is really only 25 years old, " he said.

"When you look at industries such as cereals and livestock, which are more than 1000 years old, it's a very young industry.

"So, we will see steep movements up the learning curve from the industry."

Mr Jeffriess said industry gains were likely to come from game-changers such as improving the shelf-life and colour of seafood and keeping ahead of competitiors.

"Climate change will affect our competitors," he said.

"We're fortunate that we have Antartic currents, which means a lesser effect of climate change in the Great Australian Bight."