Fresh Seafood

Taste the Waterway.

There is a word borrowed from the wine world – merroir (meh-RWAH). Just as a great wine carries the flavour of its soil, its climate, and its place, wild seafood carries the flavour of the waterway it came from. The temperature, the salinity, the tidal flow, the ancient geology – all of it lives in the flesh of the fish, the crab, the prawn. Hinchinbrook has merroir unlike anywhere else on earth.

The Waterways

Hinchinbrook is not one waterway. It is three distinct and extraordinary marine environments – each with its own character, its own species, and its own merroir. Together they form one of the most diverse and pristine wild seafood landscapes in the world.

The Hinchinbrook Channel

164 square kilometres of ancient mangrove forest, fed by the Herbert River as it drains 10,000 square kilometres from the Atherton Tableland down through rich volcanic soils to the sea. The water carries tannins from centuries-old mangrove trees, minerals from ancient mountain ranges, and the organic richness of one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet.

This is mud crab country. Our fishermen work tidal mud crab pots, baited with fish carcasses – a beautiful closed loop of zero waste, where nothing is discarded and everything is used. Pots are checked regularly, and every crab that comes out of this channel carries the extraordinary flavour of the waterway it called home.

The Tidal Creeks

Venture further in and the waterways narrow into a world few people ever see. Tidal creeks burrowed deep into ancient mud – where crocodiles move silently through the shallows and fish come to lay their eggs in one of nature’s most extraordinary marine nurseries. These are some of the most pristine, untouched waters in Australia – rich, wild, and teeming with life.

Our fishermen work inshore nets here, targeting barramundi, king salmon and mixed estuary species with turtle exclusion adaptations – ensuring that every other species sharing these waters is protected and respected. This is fishing in harmony with nature, not in competition with it.

The Great Barrier Reef

One of the great natural wonders of the world. An ancient coral reef of extraordinary diversity – home to some of the most prized wild fish on earth. Our reef fishermen work these waters one fish at a time – line fishing with a minimal footprint, taking only what the reef can sustain, leaving everything else untouched.

Coral trout, red emperor, nannygai – caught with care, handled with respect, and in our display within hours.

The Seafood

Hinchinbrook Shire is home to a remarkable diversity of wild seafood – reef and estuary fish, banana and tiger prawns, mud crabs, octopus and so much more. 95% of what you’ll find in our display was caught locally, by fishermen we know by name, from waterways we know intimately.

Fishing is seasonal, and we work proudly within those seasons – because that is what wild, sustainable seafood looks like. The beauty of wild seafood is that what’s in our display today reflects the very best the waterway is offering today. Everything is filleted on site, every single day — freshness is our absolute standard, one we uphold every single day.

What’s in the Display

Hinchinbrook Mud Crabs – cooked fresh daily from the channel that made them famous. Sweet, rich, and utterly unique to this place.

Fresh Reef & Estuary Fish – barramundi, fingermark, mangrove jack and more, filleted on site every morning.

Local Banana & Tiger Prawns – caught seasonally from our local waters and cooked fresh daily.

Tassie Oysters – flown in fresh every week and shucked daily for absolute freshness.

Dom’s Marinated Octopus – an institution. Local octopus slow cooked with herbs and onions, then marinated in oil and vinegar. Once you try it, you’ll understand why people drive hours just for this.

Our fresh and frozen displays are stocked to the brim — there is always something to discover.

Forgot your esky? We have boxes available and can ice your order down for you.

The best in local seafood
  • Locally Sourced Wild Caught
  • Barramundi
  • King Salmon
  • Whiting
  • Red Emperor
  • Large Mouth Nannygai
  • Spanish Mackeral
  • Coral Trout
  • Tuna
  • Octopus
  • Cuttlefish
  • Squid
  • Mudcrabs
  • Banana Prawns
  • Tiger Prawns
  • Endevour Prawns
  • Red spot King Prawns
The best seafood from around Australia and New Zealand

On our travels around Australia, we have connected with other small independent fishing families and we have got some amazing products in store including-

  • Pippies from South Australia
  • Sea urchin (kina)- New South Wales
  • Sardines- from Western Australia
  • Barking Crayfish- South East Qld
  • Southern Lobsters- Tasmania
  • Periwinkles- Tasmania
  • Oysters- Tasmania
  • Black Lip Abalone- Tasmania
  • Sandcrabs
  • Fresh NZ King Salmon – New Zealand
  • Greenlip Mussels – New Zealand
Made in our Kitchen…

We also make all our own:

  • Crumbed Products
  • Seafood Marinara
  • Cob Loaves
  • Pies
  • Frozen Pizza

From our YouTube Channel…

Wild Local