Graeme and Philip Byrnes are brothers and 4th generation master fishermen from Wallis Lakes in NSW. They are recognised industry trailblazers with a philosophy of catching less fish in favour of quality. Their notion of 'sustainability' means ensuring fish for the future is no different to ensuring longevity of their livelihood. The quality of their fish comes from the exquisite attention and care for the harvest, resulting in ‘sweet’ tasting fish with an increased shelf life
Graeme & Phillip Byrnes get in the water and hand draw nets to minimise impact to the seabed and sea grasses. They remove fish quickly from nets to reduce bruising, fish stress and by catch. Nets are larger than regulation size to minimise the capture of smaller fish. Careful hand removal of non-target species results in about 98% survival rate. Fish go straight into an ice slurry. This minimises stress, stops lactic acid AND ensures sweet tasting, delicate texture and increased shelf life
Located on Wallis Lakes in Forster NSW, Great Lakes Fisheries was recently built by industry trailblazers and 4th generation master fishermen Graeme and Phillip Byrnes. Great Lakes Fisheries has a goal of providing free ice to all its fishers and to become carbon neutral by literally creating ice from the sun through photovoltaic installations. Great Lakes is the brothers dream infrastructure facility. It is attracting likeminded fishers, local family estuarine and pelagic fishers who share their goal of taking less fish from the water in favour of handling and delivering seafood of an exemplary standard.
Over the last couple of decades, Joel’s honed his skills in some of Australia’s best seafood restaurants. He’s fastidious about the sources of his seafood, where and how it was caught. This comes from his unflinching commitment to quality and sustainability. Joel’s a communicator and enjoys sharing the tales of the fish’s provenance with customers. His knowledge and passion for sustainable seafood make him an ideal advocate to spearhead sustainable seafood in Bondi Beach
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