Tasmania is home to some of the best salmon in the world, but there’s one brand that’s leading the charge in delivering a premium product by doing the little things right. The way salmon is farmed, right down to the pens they’re grown in, makes a difference to the final product, not to mention to the surrounding environment. Huon Salmon is intensely aware of the challenges and concerns the industry is facing and is leading the pack in raising aquaculture standards both in Tasmania and around the world.

To start with, Huon is farming with the lowest stocking density by any commercial fish farm in the world. Fish are farmed in pens in the ocean, not tanks, and each Huon Salmon pen contains 99 per cent water to just one per cent salmon. The company also farms in the most exposed offshore sites in the world, and is constantly looking at ways to innovate and improve.

Where the family founded business really excels in the commercial fisheries market is in its harvesting approach. Huon Salmon is harvested by night so that it gets to market at peak freshness. By doing this, the salmon don’t have to sit in delivery to distributors for unnecessarily lengthy times (which ultimately leads to a deterioration in freshness). It’s also harvested to order, meaning that unlike other commercial fishing operations, Huon is able to reduce its waste by minimising the risk of oversupply.

From the hatchery to the farm right through to the smokehouse, Huon pays considerable attention to its ethical responsibilities as salmon farmers. As such, the company has developed the Huon Method, a unique philosophy that guides its approach throughout the farming process.

The Huon Method begins with the health and welfare of the fish – salmon are raised in pristine waters and are given a premium-quality feed. New feeding equipment allows Huon Salmon to be fed to appetite and with advances in feed composition Huon is now a net marine protein producer (which means they produce more salmon than wild fish used in feed!).

Next up is the salmon processing, which the Huon Method dictates must be carried out in the most humane way possible – that is, by using equipment that has been awarded for welfare outcomes by the RSPCA UK.

Finally the Huon Method stresses a total respect for the wider environment, as well as its natural inhabitants, and as a result Huon Salmon is the responsible choice when choosing salmon to feed your friends and family.

So while Tassie salmon is arguably some of the world’s best, not all salmon is Huon – there’s a lot of thought, respect and innovation that makes every mouthful special.