Australian pioneers in aquaculture
Established in 1977, Uarah Fisheries is the world’s first modern Murray cod farm and large-scale Australian native fish hatchery. We are Australia’s premier producer of high quality Murray cod table fish for the restaurant and wholesale sectors, and native fish fingerlings for conservation programs in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Our farm and hatchery adjoins the pristine waterways of the Murray-Darling Basin, and we source our water from the snow-fed Murrumbidgee river catchment. We have full control over our entire production cycle from the nurturing of brooding stock to the hatching of larvae and the production of table fish. This allows us to ensure the selection of the highest quality table fish and fingerlings for delivery all year round.
While we are pioneers, we are a forward-looking organisation in a rapidly-growing industry. For 2017 onwards, we have set our sights on developing more sustainable fish husbandry and farm management techniques, and building a global market for Australian freshwater fish.
About Uarah Fisheries
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The fish of the Murray-Darling Basin
Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch are Australia’s iconic freshwater species, central to our history and culture. Yet their numbers have drastically decreased since the 1950’s due to overfishing, loss of habitat and conflict with introduced species. In the 1970’s, Uarah Fisheries and other restocking hatcheries were established to save these iconic species. Thus began Australia’s native fish aquaculture industry.
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The Murray cod industry
In this 2012 video documentary, aquaculture journalist Jereme Lane investigates Australia’s Murray cod industry.
Featuring Ian Lyall of the NSW Department of Primary Industries and our very own Bruce Malcolm, the “Codfather” of modern Murray cod aquaculture, this video provides a detailed overview of modern Murray cod farming from breeding to maturation.
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Meet our team
Led by the Farm Manager Edward Ogilvie and helped by the legendary founder and “Codfather” of the Murray cod industry – Bruce Malcolm – the Uarah Fisheries team has worked together for many years. Balancing experience, technical ability and scientific knowledge, together we are one of the leaders of Australia’s native fish aquaculture industry.
Why choose Uarah Fisheries
The quality of fish produced in aquaculture depends on a number of key factors, including water quality, quality of fingerlings and brooding stock, fish husbandry practices and equipment. Of these above factors, we can guarantee the highest quality of each and every one.
Water quality
Our water is sourced from pristine bores and the snow-fed Murrumbidgee river catchment itself – the natural habitat of our produced fish species. As research has suggested, this allows us to produce fingerlings and table fish effectively indistinguishable from fish caught in the wild – a unique achievement in the industry. Water quality doesn’t get any better or more natural than that!
Quality of fingerlings and brooding stock & timely delivery
We carefully nurture and maintain our own brooding stock to ensure a steady supply of high quality fingerlings. In turn, we directly source these fingerlings for Murray cod table fish production. Thus, we have full control over our entire production cycle, including quality control of our brooding stock and fingerlings as well as control over the timing of production. This gives us a huge advantage in our ability to ensure that we select the healthiest fingerlings and the highest quality Murray cod table fish for timely delivery.
Industry experience
We are the world’s first commercial large-scale native fish hatchery and the world’s first modern Murray cod farm. Furthermore, our operations team is led by the founding father of both of these industries – Bruce Malcolm. Overall, we have over 40 years of history in native fish breeding and over 25 years of history in Murray cod aquaculture. When it comes to fish husbandry practices, we have the have the longest history in the entire industry.
Fish husbandry knowledge and practices
Since the 1980’s, we have contributed to almost 40 formal studies on the native fish species of the Murray-Darling Basin – significantly more than any other private entity in the industry. Likewise, we have continued to conduct independent research into improving and specialising our husbandry practices for native fish species since our formation in 1977. Indeed, we are often consulted by government and university researchers as to our knowledge of fish behaviour and husbandry practices. Today, our continuing desire to improve our knowledge and techniques has allowed us to accumulate the greatest repository of working knowledge in Australian freshwater fish aquaculture in the world.
Specialised infrastructure and equipment
As the pioneers of large-scale commercial breeding of native fish species and Murray cod aquaculture, we had developed the foundational infrastructure systems required for both industries. Since our commencement of operations, we have continued to redesign, refine and specialise our production systems in line with our evolving practices to constantly improve our efficiency and quality of production. Today, we have the most specialised systems in place for native fish production in the entire industry.
Global market potential
As part of an ongoing investment and sales initiative commenced in 2015, we aim to provide fingerlings, table fish, technical expertise, and even active partnership for the global market. Indeed, we have experienced multilingual technicians working in our global team. Already with a foothold in the Asia-Pacific through two joint venture projects commenced since 2015, we have significant experience in producing, packaging and marketing for an overseas market. Given our ability to ensure quality of fish as well as our extensive technical knowledge and specialised fish husbandry practices and infrastructure, we have much to offer to any global partnership.
Our global projects
The global market is naturally the next frontier for Australia’s freshwater aquaculture industry. Australian agricultural produce is well-recognised across the world worldwide as a clean, high-quality and premium-tasting product. Likewise, Australian fish is highly sought after across the world.
In 2015, we commenced on our first joint venture project overseas – targetted at the Asia-Pacific market and centred on the vibrant southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Since then, we have continued to engage with overseas organisations, government bodies and businesses to supply fish, knowledge and technical assistance tailored as vertically-integrated solutions to local aquaculture needs.
What people are saying about us
What industry experts say
"Australian warmwater aquaculture is relatively new but it does go back to the 1970s. One of the pioneers, a founding father if you like, is Bruce Malcolm of Uarah Fisheries at Grong Grong, about 30km east of Narrandera in NSW's Eastern Riverina."
"Murray cod is without doubt the best known fish in Australia. Over the years Bruce has made the name Uarah synonymous with this premier fish of the Murray Darling basin. His knowledge of breeding and growing techniques is second to none. That knowledge has been acquired through personal experience without any government assistance."
John MosigAquaculture journalist, member of the advisory body to the State Government of Victoria on aquaculture matters, founding Secretary of the Victorian Aquaculture Council, former President of the Yabby Growers’ Association of Australia and the Warmwater Aquaculture Association
Mosig, J 2000, ‘Bruce Malcolm: the codfather’, Austasia Aquaculture, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 22.
What researchers have found
"[T]he chemical signature of the Uarah hatchery at Grong Grong, NSW, overlapped extensively with the Darling River basin chemical signature. Thus, it would not be possible to discriminate fish produced at the Uarah hatchery in 2004 if they were stocked into the Darling River."
Murray-Darling Basin AuthorityResearch publication regarding the chemical signature differences between wild fish and farmed fishThe study found that, unlike the fish from other farms in the study, the fish retrieved from Uarah Fisheries could not be distinguished from wild fish based off of their chemical signatures
Crook, DA, Gillanders, BM, Sanger, AC, Munro, AR, O’Mahony, DJ, Woodcock, SH, Thurstan, S & Baumgartner, LJ 2010, Methods for discriminating hatchery fish and outcomes of stocking in the Murray-Darling Basin, Project MD741, Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
What seafood wholesalers say
"The Murray cod is as Australian as fish is even going to get. A freshwater fish, it has been bred and farmed by Bruce Malcolm of Uarah fisheries since 1978 in Grong Grong NSW. What started out as a restocking exercise turned into a pivotal fish farming and supply business in the 80s. Otherwise known as the “cod father”, Bruce Malcolm knows a thing or 3 about growing the best Murray cod there can be. When it comes to fresh water fish, the most common concerns relate to their flavour, specifically “muddiness” which is a reflection of their habitats. In all the years we have worked with Bruce Malcolm’s fish, we have never had feedback relating to muddiness in the flavour. His contribution to aquaculture in Australia is immense. Ask for his fish by name."
Southern Fresh SeafoodPremium fish monger supplying to Sydney's finest restaurants
Nemitsas, C 2017, instagram post, Southern Fresh Seafood, @costa_nemitsas, 23 March, viewed 31 May 2017, https://www.instagram.com/p/BR9dtxehp_6/.
What Australian chefs say
"Successful aquaculture programs have been around for some years. One of the best is Bruce Malcolm's Uarah Fish Hatchery at Grong Grong, just east of Narrandera in southern NSW. He supplies Murray cod directly to top restaurants as well as retailers at the Sydney Fish Markets. It's expensive but, as a special treat, it's well worth it."
Stefano ManfrediRenowned Sydney chef, owner of The Restaurant Manfredi, and contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald
Manfredi, S 2010, ‘Murray darling’, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 January.