Austral's 2021 Toothfish and Banana Prawn Seasons Begin

Austral's 2021 Toothfish and Banana Prawn Seasons Begin
April 01, 2021

Austral's South Passage Starts Banana Prawn Season     

 

Today we celebrate the start of a new fishing season for our Northern Prawn Fleet and Southern Fleet. 

There were no shortage of challenges in the lead up to the seasons commencing. The ongoing impact of the COVID pandemic created both logsitical and operational hurdles and for our Southern Fleet it meant 3 vessels returned to Fremantle for refit, upgrades and general season preparations - rather than their usual home in Mauritius. Up to the North and it was all systems go to prepare our fleet of 11 vessels. The newest addition, South Passage, underwent a major refit to bring it up to speed with the rest of the fleet, and we welcomed two new, young Skippers who are undertaking their first seasons in charge of their respective vessels.

Austral team members David Carter, Lesley Lleyland, Dylan Skinns, Jay Shoesmith and Oli Krcovski travelled to Cairns to meet with all NPF crew members before they boarded their respective vessels and departed for the season.

There they were greeted by our Cairns-based NPF team members Andy and Bryan to deliver briefings to the crew and be there for final preparations before the season kicks off.

A lot of hard work goes into getting the season off the ground, including vessel refits and upgrades; crewing; training and onboarding; safety protocols; COVID precautions, loading gear and supplies onto each vessel and more.

This all culminates in the final week before crews depart, where these briefings and updates take place.

A few things that were covered:

  • A message from CEO David Carter
  • OH&S
  • Sea Safety
  • Product Quality
  • Sales & Marketing updates
  • Fisheries Regulations and Sustainability
  • Crew sign on

It has been a monumental effort from everyone involved - including operations, management, contractors and of course our crew - to get these seasons underway.

From the Gulf of Carpentaria to the wild seas of the Southern Ocean, our crew are now out at sea working hard to sustainably and safely catch some of the world's finest wild-caught seafood. Including our Timor Reef crew, we currently have 181 crew at sea across 3 locations.

We wish everyone a safe and successful season and we look forward to receiving and sharing updates as they come.