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The Tasmanian farmed salmon producer Huon Aquaculture was welcomed for the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) as a new member of the industry’s leading sustainability initiative. With the addition of Huon, GSI membership now includes 15 salmon farming companies alongside eight supply chain member companies. Together, the member companies are committed to advancing the sector’s environmental performance through greater transparency and cooperation.
“We join GSI with a commitment to engage in critical global dialogues on shared environmental challenges, participate in solutions-oriented technical discussions and contribute to industry-wide initiatives to improve environmental performance. This will further strengthen the sector’s resilience and commitment to responsible practices,” said Henrique Batista, CEO of Huon Aquaculture.
Huon previously was a GSI member between 2014 and 2017, and under new management, now re-joins the initiative, demonstrating the company’s commitment to collaboration for continued sustainability improvements. Huon Aquaculture, founded in Tasmania’s rugged far south, is a vertically integrated company that produces and sells high-quality Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout products to domestic and international markets.
Sustainability guides every step of the company
Huon Aquaculture is proudly operated by JBS Australia, which is part of JBS foods, the world’s largest food company and leading animal protein processor. “Responsibly-farmed salmon is one of the most sustainable animal protein sources and we look forward to sharing our learnings and expanding our knowledge through GSI.” added Batista.
“Sustainability is at the heart of Huon’s operations; it guides every step of production and processing, and we recognize how important this is to our stakeholders,” assured the CEO.
“Farmed salmon has a great story to tell as a contributor to healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient diets,” said for his part Sophie Ryan, GSI CEO. “In Tasmania, Huon is a major contributor to the local economy and is committed to continuous sustainability improvements and raising awareness about the health benefits of consuming salmon. This is where collective efforts like GSI can make a difference, by focusing in on the right trajectory and motivating and measuring progress to hold the sector accountable to its potential.”
A story that started in 1986
Huon Aquaculture started the business in 1986 in Dover’s picturesque Hideaway Bay as the Bender family business. In 1994, Peter and Frances Bender bought out the family and began to expand Huon by contract-growing salmon. They continued with this model until 2005 when they stepped out and began to grow, market and sell their own Huon Salmon and Ocean Trout.
Peter remained Huon’s CEO and Frances the Board’s Executive Director until November 2021, when after 35 years of creating a company to be proud of, it was sold to JBS Foods. Today Huon permanently employs over 870 around Australia, farms Huon Salmon and Ocean Trout, sells fish across Australia and internationally, and leads the world in farming technologies such as our smart feed system which uses AI to ensure zero pellet wastage to the sea floor.
Growing from 2013 to the present day
Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) is a leadership initiative established in 2013 by global farmed salmon producers focused on making significant progress on industry sustainability. Today, GSI comprises 23 companies that are fully committed to realizing a shared goal of providing a highly sustainable source of healthy food to feed a growing global population, whilst minimizing our environmental footprint, and continuing to improve our social contributions.
GSI member companies are now Australis Seafoods, Bakkafrost, Blumar, Cermaq, Salmones Camanchaca, Empresas AquaChile, Grieg Seafood, Huon Aquaculture, Multiexport Foods, New Zealand King Salmon, Nova Sea, Salmones Austral, Salmones Aysen, Tassal and Ventisqueros. GSI companies have a presence in Australia, Canada, Chile, Faroe Islands, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK).
GSI also has a number of supply chain Associate Members in both the pharmaceutical and feed industries, including Benchmark Holdings, BioMar, Cargill, Elanco, Merck, Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) Animal Health, PHARMAQ, Salmofood and Skretting.