Australis Aquaculture Expands with New Barramundi Farming Hub in Vietnam

NHA TRANG, Viet Nam, October 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Australis Aquaculture, a leading producer of ocean-farmed barramundi, has secured sea leases for a new 30,000-metric-ton barramundi ocean farming hub in An Giang Province, southern Vietnam. The company has been granted 16 sea leases, which will more than double its total permitted capacity. Stocking of the first farm is underway, with the first harvest from the new sites expected in mid-2027.

The expansion comes as the company opens a new fully integrated processing facility, Blue Loop, in Khanh Hoa Province. The Blue Loop facility, which began commercial operations in September 2026, has an initial capacity of 12,000 metric tons a year. This new processing plant will allow Australis to have greater control over quality and specifications across its product line.

Australis' announcement follows the 33rd Groundfish Forum in Nice, France, where delegates were shown global wild whitefish landings forecast at 6.6 million metric tons in 2027, essentially flat on 2026. Gains in Atlantic cod, haddock, and hoki only offset a 90,000-metric-ton drop in Alaska pollock. According to an IntraFish report, barramundi is emerging as a key whitefish alternative, with the potential to fill the whitefish gap left by years of falling cod supplies.

Global barramundi supply now exceeds 200,000 metric tons, and production has expanded substantially over the past two decades. Most barramundi is consumed locally, with limited quantities available in export markets. In North America, it has been one of the fastest-growing seafood species in recent years, with growth of nearly 300% over the past three years alone. Although relatively new to European retailers, barramundi is quickly gaining traction as buyers look for sustainable, reliable, and commercially viable whitefish alternatives.

Australis believes barramundi is best positioned to follow salmon's path to global consumer acceptance: scaled marine farming that delivers consistent size and year-round supply. The company has been operating in Vietnam for nearly 20 years and has steadily built a fully integrated production system. The new farm sites in An Giang and Blue Loop are how Australis scales supply so that buyers can plan around a whitefish source that isn't at the mercy of quotas.

The new hub covers 16 ocean farming sites that have been secured through 30-year leases issued by the An Giang Provincial People's Committee. Supporting infrastructure includes a World Bank-funded fisheries and aquaculture improvement project on a neighboring island and expanding port and support facilities on the mainland. Stocking of the first farm is underway and will be completed by year-end, with fish stocked earlier this year targeted for initial harvests beginning in mid-2027.

Australis will continue to process at multiple facilities and has secured an option on an additional processing facility in An Giang, providing further capacity as the hub ramps up. The Blue Loop facility is designed around automation, quality, and precision, offering continuous, real-time yield monitoring across processing lines, intelligent portioning to cut exact-weight portions to customer specifications, nitrogen tunnel freezing to lock in texture and quality, value-added lines for breaded, coated, and tray-packing, and a circular design that converts trimmings and byproducts into pet products and produces fish hydrolysate for aquaculture feed.

The barramundi grown in the ocean can reach harvest weights of 3-4 kg in 18 months, delivering the size, eating quality, and processing flexibility that whitefish markets demand, with year-round supply. The company's integrated operations in Vietnam reflect long-term investment in hatchery, ocean farming, and processing. Australis offers a full line of barramundi products under The Better Fish® and Clean Harvest® brands. Its ocean-farmed barramundi carries BAP 4-Star, ASC, and FairTrade certifications.