Tasmania salmon producer Huon Aquaculture’s value-added processing facility project has received a AUD 3.5 million (USD 3.1 million, EUR 2.3 million) boost from the Australian government.
Through the Tasmanian Jobs and Growth Plan, the funding will go to providing fish processing equipment as well as smokehouses and other machinery for boning, skinning, portioning and mincing. It will also extend the existing factory building, parking lot and treatment facilities.
The facility will support Tasmania’s contribution to Australia’s aquaculture industry — one of its fast growing industries, accounting for 34 percent of the total gross value of seafood production — by producing 100 percent grown and processed salmon.
The facility will also create 100 jobs during construction and 60 full-time positions in the first year of operation.
The Tasmanian government is contributing AUD 1.5 million (USD 1.3 million/EUR 992,000) to the project and Huon will pay more than AUD 7 million (USD 6.3 million, EUR 4.6 million) to build the facility.
