Some great news for Kath and Tom Long, association members and great ambassadors of commercial fishing in north Queensland.  Kath and Tom are headed to Brussels to experience the most significant seafood trade fair in the world.  They will be sharing stories on what they have experienced on their travels over the next two weeks.  Thanks to Kath for this post before they head off to Europe.

1. About Seafood Expo Global

Hosted annually in Brussels, Seafood Expo Global / Seafood Processing Global is the world’s largest seafood trade fair. The fair features more than 1 850 exhibiting companies from 79 countries. Over 26 000 trade visitors from 140 countries are expected to join Seafood Expo Brussels between 24 and 26 April 2018.

2. About TomKat Line Fish

We are first generation fishers operating out of picturesque Kurrimine Beach, Far North Queensland. We line fish in the pristine waters of the Outer Great Barrier Reef (GBR) for premium quality species such as Red Emperor, Rosy Snapper and Goldband Snapper. We are passionate about increasing consumer awareness of the provenance of their seafood and fishing sustainably to maintain the health and resilience of the GBR.

3. Our Journey to Brussels

In February this year, we were privileged to attend a Fish-X “micro-hack” (Fish-X is a joint initiative of the FRDC and X-Lab to help small businesses bring their ideas to life). Working with the dynamic Fish-X team over two intense days, we were challenged to develop our proposals and pitch our ideas. That was phase one.

We have since received the honour of being invited to join the next stage of the program: Phase 2 – Incubation Training. This program typically runs over 6 months and involves coaching from the X-lab team with key support from the FRDC. While not all phase 2 participants get invited to attend the Expo in Brussels, we were incredibly fortunate to have our passion and enthusiasm recognised by the team and will be joining Peter Horvat, General Manager Communications, Trade and Marketing, FRDC at the Expo.

4. Industry Investing in Your Business

For further information, or to find out how you could benefit from the Fish-X program, follow the links below.

X-Lab

Fish-X

Authors: Kath Long, TomKat Line Fish

Image Credit: Kath Long

The content of this post is provided for information purposes only and unless otherwise stated is not formal QSIA policy. The information on these posts are provided on the basis that all persons accessing the information undertake their own responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of it.