SALMON GROWING (Salmo salar)
Salmon farming is concentrated in the Huon estuary area south of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. The waters in this area are pristine and produce disease free salmon of the highest quality.
Springs has flexibility of supply from developing long term contracts with several salmon growers. The main supplier is Huon Aquaculture Company and the owners Peter and Frances Bender are working closely with Springs to improve raw product quality in a sustainable environment, whilst planning to meet the increasing sales demands of the future.
Springs has direct input into stocking levels and the oil content of the fish pellets fed to the fish. The intention is to source only safe, premium grade raw salmon which in turn will secure the ongoing quality of our fresh and smoked salmon in the future.

Mature eggs are gently massaged from female salmon and hatched in fresh water. In Tasmania when the “fry ”weigh about 5 gms they are transferred to larger tanks supplied with crystal clear water from mountain rivers. It takes 12 months for baby salmon (smolt) to grow to 100 gms, before transporting them to the waters at the head of the Huon Estuary. As the fish acclimatise the cages are towed to the open sea lease sites to grow for 12-18 months before harvesting at 2.5kgs — 4 kgs.

Australian grown salmon are fed a low oil content pellet produced from the cleanest fish meal. Low production levels and Australia’s remote location and hence the isolation of our fish has resulted in the enviable position of having none of the serious diseases that are found in Europe and America. Consequently the use of chemicals and antibiotics has traditionally been very low (in most years non-existent) and antibiotics are only needed to control clinical disease outbreaks.

The Australian Industry does not use antibiotics or chemicals to promote growth. Free of all antibiotics and genetic modification Tasmanian salmon has been tested for P.C.B's and dioxins with results showing levels of only 0.02% of the Eurpoean Union Standard. This proves Tasmanian farmed Salmon to be the cleanest, safest and best quality in the world.

HARVESTING PROCEDURES

Harvested all year round, providing fresh fish most weeks of the year, thus enabling Springs to produce a better quality, fresher product. Fish are harvested daily and placed in large bins of iced water for transportation to an export registered facility. The salmon are gutted, the gills are removed and the fish are iced and packed for dispatch in polystyrene cartons.