Australia.- Fourteen Western Australian seafood industry stars last night scooped top honours at the WA Seafood Industry Awards for their professionalism and commitment to supplying some of the world’s finest seafood to local, national and international markets.
Every two years, the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) hosts the awards to celebrate the industry’s energy, its people, its history and looks forward to new sustainable seafood practices and innovation.
The trophy for the best in WA’s Seafood Industry, the Michael Kailis Leadership Award, was collected by Jim Mendolia for his decades of positive work as a fisher, innovator, processor and promoter. Mr Mendolia is acclaimed for putting Fremantle sardines on the culinary map.
Justine Arnold was crowned 2019 Young Achiever for her entrepreneurship in our State’s rapidly expanding aquaculture sector. New to the WA awards this year was the Deckhand Award which was scooped up by enthusiastic abalone deckhand Joel Benn.
Thirteen WA award winners will now compete in Melbourne in October at the biennial Seafood Directions Conference.
In 2017, WA won four of the national awards and Leonie Noble and the late Michael Kailis were inducted into the National Seafood Hall of Fame for their leadership, dedication and contributions to the Australian seafood industry.
Comments attributed to Fisheries and Science Minister Dave Kelly:
“I applaud the WA winners and awards host, WAFIC, for their commitment to this important industry that supports thousands of WA jobs, many in regional areas.
“These winners are innovators making the industry safer or more efficient and promoters of quality WA Seafood.
“There’s no doubt about the leadership qualities of Jim Mendolia, he’s been the friendly face of Fremantle fishing for decades and always strived to deliver quality seafood.
“He is certainly a very worthy winner of the prestigious 2019 WA Seafood Industry Leadership Award.
“Well done to Joel Benn for winning the newest Seafood Industry Award – the Deckhand Award. Joel is a young and enthusiastic abalone deckhand from WA’s South-West with a great work ethic.”
Western Australia’s seafood industry stars were shining brightly in Fremantle overnight, at the 2019 WA Seafood Industry Awards, with excellence acknowledged across 14 categories.
Source: Government of Western Australia
Editor at the digital magazine AquaHoy. He holds a degree in Aquaculture Biology from the National University of Santa (UNS) and a Master’s degree in Science and Innovation Management from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, with postgraduate diplomas in Business Innovation and Innovation Management. He possesses extensive experience in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, having led the Fisheries Innovation Unit of the National Program for Innovation in Fisheries and Aquaculture (PNIPA). He has served as a senior consultant in technology watch, an innovation project formulator and advisor, and a lecturer at UNS. He is a member of the Peruvian College of Biologists and was recognized by the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) in 2016 for his contribution to aquaculture.
