FA R M P R O F I L E
Old trout fishermen’s saying: “The early bird catches the best fish (or at least has fun trying to)”.
Tuki Trout multi value-added produce Value-adding to most industry people means further processing of their fish, such as smoking, deboning, filleting or marinating. However, it also can be achieved by selling other products and experiences with the fish as the central item. A trout and tourism business north-west of Melbourne proves the sustainability of the concept.
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iven almost 27 years of experience in growing Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Robert Jones knows exactly what he needs to do to make money. “We have a sustainable, low pressure, niche operation,” he says. “Our family business hinges on people coming onto our property to catch a fish and then we value-add to that fish. We have a high turnover in dollars but a low turnover in trout and people.” Tuki Trout Farm, part of Tuki Retreat, is situated on historic ‘Stoney Rises’, a traditional sheep grazing property just 1.5 hours’ drive north west of Melbourne in amongst the Goldfields, Spa and Macedon regions. The two kilometre private drive becomes a real scene-setter with the trout and spectacular scenery working in concert to keep guests and their families coming back many times. 16 Austasia Aquaculture | Autumn 2012
Tuki’s seven stone cottages are situated in the middle of the property and offer a wonderful view of the Loddon-Campaspe Valley. The one or two bedroom, self-contained cottages are surrounded by dry stonewalls, landscaped gardens and established trees … with a private lake in front. All have open fireplaces, cathedral ceilings and a veranda to watch the sunset on. Magic! For larger families or two couples the Miner’s Cottage is a restored heritage weatherboard cottage with three bedrooms. Surviving the drought Tuki (first featured in Austasia Aquaculture in the February ’04 edition) is not located in the traditional trout growing areas of the Yarra Valley and eastern Snowfields. The closest trout are found
in Lake Wendouree at Ballart (40 minutes’ drive) which is regularly stocked from a small hatchery (AA 22.1 Summer ’08). Although the ponds and lakes at Tuki are supplied with beautiful spring water, the dry and hot conditions over the ten years of drought meant that growing trout was difficult for Robert, his wife Jan and son Alistair. “During the drought we had the same total numbers of stock, but we had to keep stocking densities down by having more stockings throughout the year,” Robert explains. “We purchase fry from Naragani and Buxton (AA 25.3 Spring ’11) Trout Farms. This meant our overheads were higher and we needed to be more conservative with the fish numbers. We had a dual system of aerators to reduce the vulnerability of the trout during hot spells.