Aquaculturist Ben Hedderman and his father John arrived in Wellington almost three years ago after hearing the local fish farm was up for lease.

Since then they have worked toward making the business a profitable enterprise through selling to the Asian market in Sydney, but now they’re looking at expansion into the Chinese market and are also hoping to sell more fish locally.

Ben produces barramundi, silver perch and golden perch at the farm, but his next big step will be eel.

“What we have in the wings now is eel,” Ben said.

“We’re currently in discussions with Chinese exporters, who are very interested in an Australian product because we have a very good name in seafood.

“If you look at the product in China, it’s not as good. The water quality is not as good and they often use steroids.”

The primary benefit of eel production is the short time they take to mature.

Where a barramundi or a perch will take eight to nine months to reach maturity, eel can be ready to hit the plate in six months.

“Most of our fish are sent live to restaurants in Chinatown,” Ben said.

“They’re picked up in live holding tanks from the gate, but we’re now looking at changing that.

“This year we’re looking at supplying more to the local market.”

Ben said word of mouth was already travelling and they had been able to sell directly from the tank.

The fish are as good as it gets, according to Ben, who is in the process of installing a brand new filtration system and has sourced the latest in fish food technology.

Where farmed fish were traditionally fed on an animal meat meal, the product Ben is using is made entirely from marine proteins and claims to offer the flavour and quality of a wild fish.

In addition, the pure, clean bore water on the farm is perfect for raising clean-tasting fish.

“The feed we’re using helps to replicate the wild taste of barramundi raised in recirculated tanks,” Ben said.

“Purging the fish has almost become obsolete, but I still do it.”

Purging is the practice of not feeding fish for a period of time before they are sold to remove unwanted flavours produced through an unnatural diet.

Ben said the farm was open for anyone to buy fresh fish and he could be contacted on 0433 528 978.

The fish farm is located on the Ponto Falls Road at ‘Robynvale’.