Indigenous Australians have been fishing and eating giant freshwater prawns from creeks across the Top End for thousands of years.

And now an Aboriginal corporation in Western Australia's far north is hoping to share the local delicacy with foodies around the country and abroad.

After completing a three-year pilot project, Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation (ENAC) is set to become the first organisation to commercialise the breeding of what is known locally as cherabin.

"Our project to this point has very much relied on local Indigenous knowledge of country — where cherabin are, how to catch them, and at what times of the year.

"We've brought some brood stock we've collected throughout the region, brought it into the hatchery, [and have] been able to breed cherabin successfully in captivity probably about 40 times at our trial site."

An Australian first

Mr Burton said the organisation was ready to upscale after securing land and funding from the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) to establish a commercial aquaculture facility near Derby.

This Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation aquaculture pilot project pond holds 2,000 cherabin bred in captivity.

He said the project would not only provide opportunities for traditional owners but help to preserve the species which has been part of Aboriginal people's lives, diet, and culture for millennia.

The project will include a hatchery, 40 ponds, and a processing facility which at its peak could see up to 60 tonnes per year head to national and international markets.

"I think the measuring bar in prawns is usually a king prawn, which is probably 60-70 grams. We can grow cherabin up to 300-plus grams," Mr Burton said.

The ILSC and Emama Nguda have entered into a four-year lease agreement at the old Kimberley Turf Farm which is set to be divested to the group before the end of the lease.

Empowering future generations

ILSC Western Division manager Colin Slattery said it was expected the prawn farm would create up to 20 new jobs and 12 training positions for local Aboriginal people.

"They're developing the technology, they're training their people to be working on the farms through aquaculture courses.

"And who doesn't want to see a cherabin on a plate in a five-star restaurant earning money back here in the Kimberley."

Indigenous people have been cooking freshwater cherabin for thousands of years.

The project is expected to be in production by late 2020 with distributors, wholesalers, and high-end restaurants already showing interest in the unique product.

Indigenous produce rising in demand

Australian Native Food and Botanicals co-chair Amanda Garner said Indigenous-grown produce was becoming increasingly popular around the world.

"I think there's been a very strategic marketing plan with regards to bringing Indigenous stories and their foods and flavours to the forefront, and I think a lot of new chefs are looking for new flavours," she said.

"Tyranny of distance and the supply transport chain is probably going to be one of [the] biggest barriers to the cost of export.

Indigenous-grown produce, soon to expand with cherabin, is becoming increasingly popular amongst consumers around the world.

Ms Garner said she had been working with Emama Nguda on a plan to also diversify into a range of bush food crops, hydroponics technology, as well as using the existing turf farm to supplement income.

A recipe for success

Mr Burton said the group were hoping to replicate the success of an indigenous-owned prawn farm in New Zealand which had become a fully diversified business attracting thousands of tourists per year.

"The Huka Prawn Park has been in operation for between 20-30 years. They've got a lot of life lessons we can learn from," he said.

"Not only in the way they've resolved issues in the hatchery [but] also the way they diversified into tourism and hitting that end-to-end restaurant market which has become their core business.

Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation members celebrating at aquaculture project launch near Derby.

ENAC chairperson Arnold McKenzie said there was still a long road ahead for the project, but he hoped it could inspire other Indigenous communities around Australia.

"There is a buzz around town and I'm glad it has generated that kind of discussion around the place," Mr McKenzie said.

"But for me it's about translating that interest into people engaging with this project.

"In turn [it] then becomes a real rock-in-the-pool 'ripple effect' that happens within this community.

"For me, that's where I want to see this project having direct benefits for our people."