What is it?
Long Jetty Seafood is a small, family-owned fishing business based in Corner Inlet in South Gippsland. The Anedda family targets species such as King George whiting, garfish, flounder, tommy ruff, leather jacket and yellow-eyed mullet, and catch, ice, pack and send the fish direct to restaurants around Victoria. Known for their sustainable practices, they’ve embraced blockchain technology to ensure 100 per cent transparency and traceability of their products.
Who is it?
Luke Anedda heads out in his small aluminium fishing boat Smoking Joe when the weather on Corner Inlet is calm enough to fish. His family arrived in Australia from Sicily in the 1940s, and his grandfather went to sea fishing in Port Phillip and Bass Strait and sailed his boat Peppyana around Wilsons Promontory to Corner Inlet in 1967. Anedda’s father Nick watched fish die in nets in the warm shallow water and thought there had to be a better way. Along with other fishers, Nick Anedda developed a new net called a ring seine that kept fish alive as they were being hauled aboard. This meant all the bycatch could be returned to the water alive. Luke Anedda continues this method and is also involved with the local Landcare group resowing the underwater meadows with seagrass for fish to breed in. “This isn’t about me,” says Anedda. “I want my kids to be able to consider a future as a commercial fisher. I want Victorians to have sustainable, locally caught seafood as they have done for ages.”
Where is it?
Corner Inlet is a 620 square kilometre bay to the east of Wilsons Prom, protected from the pounding seas of Bass Strait by a series of sandy islands. Important country to the Brataualung people of the Kurnai nation, it’s recognised as protected bird habitat and is popular with recreational fishers. While channels can reach 34 metres in depth, much of Corner Inlet is only a few metres deep. Historic fishing villages at Port Albert and Port Welshpool have shipped fish to Melbourne since the middle of the 1800s.
Why is it different?
Anedda’s business Long Jetty Seafood uses blockchain technology to label, trace and track every fish from the time it hits his boat to the minute the box is opened up at the restaurant. Packed in recyclable cardboard and wrapped in biodegradable wool-based cool blankets, Anedda has teamed with Two Hands to distribute his seafood.
Who’s a fan?
Trevor Perkins from Hogget Kitchen in the hills above Warragul speaks to Anedda every week. “I ask him what he has caught,” says Perkins, “so then I can work out how to use the fish on the menu. It means a lot to our diners to have real Gippsland seafood on the table.” Rosa Mitchell from Rosa’s Canteen is a co-founder of Slow Food Melbourne and a sustainable seafood advocate. “We buy local fish, and we tell our customers Luke’s story,” says the Sicilian-born chef. “It’s so fresh when it arrives, I need to do very little to it.” Mitchell dusts fillets in a little four, pan fries them in olive oil and serves them with a little salmoriglio, a fresh sauce of lemon, garlic, olive oil and oregano. “People love it,” says Mitchell, “I just wish we could get more fish like this.”
Where can I get it?
You can find Long Jetty Seafood at O.My, Soda Fish, Hazel, and Lilac Wine.