The sideline business of kingfish farming by Clean Seas, a Port Lincoln-based fish farming company founded by seafood magnate Hagen Stehr, has taken off.
Though largely known for breeding tuna since 2005, the company's subsidiary kingfish farming activities have boosted the Clean Seas share price from the float price of AUD 0.50 (USD 0.45) to AUD 1.81 (USD 1.64) Monday.
With aquaculture a relatively new industry, Stehr's enterprises are earning widespread respect and investor attention, The Advertiser Adelaide reports.
The kingfish harvest has bounded from a weekly 300 kg to 50 tonnes worth AUD 500,000 (USD 453,499) a week and is slated to produce towards 200 tonnes a week in the upcoming years.
In the meantime, the farm-gate price of kingfish has surged from AUD 4.60 (USD 4.17) per kg to about AUD 10.75 (USD 9.75) per kg.
Russian and European markets in Russia and Europe are ordering up to 25 tonnes of the farmed kingfish at a time, while the fish is increasingly finding favour among domestic consumers. With global demand for seafood on the rise against a declining wild catch, observers believe the business is set to become a highly profitable one.
Following the farming of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania and tuna at Port Lincoln, kingfish has emerged as the third most significant finfish success of Australian aquaculture.
Stehr expressed confidence the successful breeding of the bluefin tuna will be achieved before too long, and stir additional growth for the industry.
The aquaculture sector is showing so much potential, the Primary Industries and Resources South Australia is forecasting an annual production of propagated tuna of 10,000 tonnes annually by about 2013.
With the annual farm turn-off from wild caught tuna forecast to be 10,500 tonnes by then, the local tuna sector's is expected to greatly expand.
Beyond contributing substantial economic benefits to the state, Clean Seas has increased employment from about 20 people to about 200
Clean Seas CEO assures investors of bright future
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
Clean Seas Tuna chairman Hagan Stehr asked shareholders for patience with the company's recent drop in share value as he spoke at the firm's general annual meeting in Adelaide this week.
"If you hang around long enough, you will all be millionaires," he said, pointing to the 250,000-tonne shortage of seafood expected by 2012.
Meanwhile, the Intermarche deal is set to kick off next week with a trial distribution of two tonnes of kingfish.
The distribution agreement will see Clean Seas products available in 1,500 French locations and 500 other stores in Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Bosnia, and Romania.
"This deal has taken us nine or 10 months, but in the end we have got there. If we are successful in this, (our sales) will be a lot higher by Christmas and after Christmas," Stehr said. "If you have Intermarche, you will get some of the others."
Clean Seas already has a distribution agreement with major British supermarket Sainsbury's.
Although the future of the company looks bright, shareholders won't see dividends for about two more years, Stehr said.
Market to receive Clean Seas bluefin tuna next year
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 02:40 (GMT + 9)
In other good news for the company, next week will mark the beginning of a kingfish distribution deal with French supermarket chain Intermarche. Clean Seas kingfish will be sold in 1,500 Intermarche outlets.
Company chairman Hagen Stehr is confident that demand for kingfish will grow rapidly following the initiation of the deal.
"From selling one tonne per week about three years ago, we are now getting towards 50 tonnes a week, every week to various markets around the world," Stehr said. "We are developing new products that are finding increasing acceptance in the market, and are now starting to shift whole sea containers frozen to the US and European Union. Our next target is 100 tonnes per week by the end of next year.
imo there is so much value in this company especially at current sp or even lower. If you do the maths this company is making good cashflow money on a weekly basis only selling Kingfish produces. Look at the the Overall Big Picture and forget the daily gyration as it will only frustrate you.
CSS Price at posting:
23.4¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
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