If teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish, then starting a fish farm might be better still.
It has proven so for Peter and Frances Bender, the founders of Huon Aquaculture in southern Tasmania. The couple is likely to join the ranks of the next BRW Rich 200 with a joint fortune of at least AUD 288 million, based on the imminent listing of Huon on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Fish farming began as an experiment for the Benders back in 1986. Peter’s family owned a cattle farm with 11 kilometres of ocean frontage in the Huon Valley in southern Tasmania, while Frances came from a commercial fishing family.
“I was the one who came from the water base, while Peter came from the land base,” Frances says.
