Stanley, Tasmania

Three Friends Abalone

Traveling along Tasmania’s costal Northwest coast one eventually comes to Stanley a picturesque seaside town, famous locally as a tourist destination, its colonial buildings, relaxed atmosphere, and the “nut” the remains of an old volcano which dominates the town.

Stanley is also home port to the rough and rugged fishing waters of the north-western corner and the west coast of Tasmania; the fishing waters are smack in the middle of the roaring forties here rough and rugged is the norm. These cold southern waters produce some of Australia’s absolute best seafood including rock lobster, abalone, sea urchins, octopus.

 

 

 

three friends brand The sign on the gate, says it all

Abalone farming

Down on the Farm.

Three Friends Abalone a land-based abalone farm situated on the western side of Stanley Raise and nurture hybrid Black lip and green lip abalone they are raised on nutrients from Tasmania’s surrounding clean oceans.

 

Abalone is a well-known source of selenium to strengthen the immune system as well as a good source of iodine, protein, and omega 3 fats.

 

 

Abalone farming Tasmania Three friends Abalone have over 100 growing pools with direct contact to the clean nutrient rich Bass Strait.
The pools with over 30 million abalone, growing from plankton sized hatchlings to table sized produce

Tasmanian abalone are more popular in other countries than at home.

The local unsung hero. 

Abalone is an extremely well-known shellfish in the northern kitchens of China, Japan, and Korea. Dried Abalone being popular in China and frozen being more popular in Japan. Tasmania produces 25% of the worlds wild caught abalone to a value of $100 million Australian.

Even though these northern hemisphere countries have their own “abs” most of their needs are sourced from cleaner waters with exports from the Southern Hemisphere with Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Chile being their main suppliers, wild fished Tasmanian black lip and green lip abs have always been a world leader. Diving for Abs is a dangerous profession filled with perils swimming in the deep as well as icy cold and rough seas.

Local abalone have always been the treasure of the local weekend divers and spear fishermen, but no real finesse in their preparation, cooking or eating has evolved here in Tasmania, they are only just stating to nudge their way on to menu's, it will take some creative chefs to eradicate the back yard pounding and beer barbecue that they have endured.

 

 

harvest ready 100g abalone 100g farmed abalone ready for havest
hybrid Abalone at Three Friends. Hiding under their houses, turned over and exposed and its of to the market we go.

Abalone farming

Three Friends.

Of late abalone farms have been popping up in various countries, farmed abalone themselves are slow growers taking two to three years to reach their harvest weight  they are harvested at 100g shell on against their 1kg cousins caught in the wild, the larger wild abalone are a $$$ product and thus have been economically and culturally hidden from us western and Tasmanian chefs, but time never stands still as they’re moving onto our western menu’s.

Even though many of these exports are destined for top line Asian restaurants abalone are becoming a challenge for many western chefs looking for new ideas and WOW ingredients. These chefs can often find themselves in deep water trying to be over creative.

The advantage with canned Three Friends Abalone is, they’re already cooked! These brine cooked abs are very easy to work with, each can contains even weighted “portion controlled” shellfish.

So as a chef in a top restaurant what should I do with these canned abalone, well forget that they are a canned product, they are as tender and succulent as if you cooked them sous-vid yourself. Keep it simple, look for inspirations from Asian countries they’ve been cooking them for 1000 years, or if you are a from a seafood country do your own thing. Serve them hot in the shell or presented as a starter, for a better presentation serve them nicely sliced and layered. Serving them whole will guaranteed be a bit of a culture shock. A well-presented nicely sliced portion makes a perfect addition to seafood platters or big seafood buffet, or sliced over a pepper berry spiced Tasmanian wagyu beef with garlic butter makes a great surf and turf. abalone, their size make them the perfect starter. These versatile and easily prepared shellfish are turning up on international brunches and buffets, sushi bars, fusion and cross over menu’s wherever they land.

 

 

three friends growing pools The farmed abalone take 2-3 years to reach a harvest weight of 100grams
canned ABALONE STRAIGHT FROM THE CAN The canned abalone, already portioned, slice them thin and use your imagination & don't forget the brine.

A long term farming investment

From hatchery to harvest.

The Three Friends Abalone farm in Stanley is one of these upstarts, the friends with 60 collective years’ experience in the abalone business they know their stuff. Three friends are well established in the export market with regular shipments being sent to many Asian capitals as well as London. Three Friends Abalone of 120g plus “the hungry ones” are graded for live shipment being sent to Australia’s larger cities to be distributed through regular seafood channels to their customers.

Three Friends Abalone bred their own stock they progress from the fertilised egg to larvae and tiny abalone, they grow to about two cm in their first 6 months, they feed on algae rich waters pumped in straight from Tasmania’s wild Bass Strait and a little cereal based supplement. They take 2-3 years to reach a harvestable size. So, this abalone farming it’s a long-term investment and not for the faint hearted. A quick return on investments? You’ll have to wait for it.

 

live export Hand sorting the hungry abalone, the 120g+ are destined for the Australian and international live seafood market.

Where can I get them?

Create your own demand.

Three Friends Abalone have great expansion possibilities “even though they take years to grow” and are looking for new markets, get in contact with them on their home page if you are interested.

Please Direct All Orders and Inquiries To:

Joel Gilby

Managing Director and one of Three Friends.

+61 499 145 281

www.threefriendsabalone.com.au

 

three friends abalone Exclusivily gift packed to make an impression.
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