Their faith in fish has paid off. Murray cod is today on the menus of some of the best restaurants in Australia and the world, including those run by Heston Blumenthal and “fish butcher” Josh Niland, along with Peter Gilmore’s Quay, Tetusya and Clare Smyth’s Oncore in Barangaroo.

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Murray cod is a freshwater fish from the perch family with firm, yet fatty flesh that has a taste profile somewhere between coral trout and the Patagonian toothfish. “It’s all the Michelin Star chefs who wanted the product, and we discovered that by accident too,” said Anderson.

Convincing world-class chefs to get on board wasn’t difficult. The fish’s provenance already told a compelling story: Murray cod isn’t only unique to Australia but is native to the Murray River region, distinguishing it from salmon or tuna, which are found around the world.

Once Anderson managed to convince hospitality heavyweights to try a well-prepared sample, they were hooked. “It was no special skill on our behalf. All it really was [was] the quality of the product that sold itself,” he said.

“They realised that it doesn’t dry out; you can sit it on a table in front of people and it maintains its moisture and its texture and its silky smoothness.”

The company is now scrambling to keep up with demand. Aquna, which now has 50 ponds, was exporting about 40 per cent of its fish just before COVID hit to Michelin-star restaurants in the US, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Japan and more.

The pandemic put a halt to everything virtually overnight, including Anderson and Ryan’s confidence in breeding. “We became very conservative during COVID, and we didn’t put enough little fish in the water. That meant two years later, we don’t have enough big fish coming out of the water,” he said. It takes roughly two to three years to grow a Murray cod fish to full size.

“Our demand domestically is probably 10 or 15 times what we’re got available to sell at the moment,” said Anderson.

The secret to the company’s success is also its biggest vulnerability. The quality of Murray cod produced by Aquna – derived from ‘akuna’, an Aboriginal word that means flowing waters, but spelt with a ‘Q’ in a nod to best-practice aquaculture – is inextricably linked to the breeding and production practices that makes the final product taste good.

According to Anderson, Aquna’s investment in research and sustainability, water quality, fish feed and health checks sets the brand apart from other Murray cod producers.

“Through technology and innovation, you’re actually getting a better tasting product than you could get if you caught one in the wild,” he said.

“We want you to know who the fish’s mother and father is, what’s been in the water, what it’s been fed. We want to be able to tell you about every aspect of that fish’s life cycle from the day it’s born until the day it hits your dinner plate.”

It’s not just high-profile chefs who are on board: Aquna has also attracted some serious investors, including Tribeca Investment Partners. AustralianSuper, the nation’s biggest superannuation fund, has a 12 per cent stake in the company.

Boosting operations to expand production and meet demand will be Aquna’s main focus for the next few years. The company wants to add another 40 or 50 ponds this year alone and hire hundreds of people in the next few. “We’re looking to double in size each year,” said Anderson. The aim is to produce 10,000 tonnes of fish annually by 2030.

Those eager to try Aquna Murray cod in the near future will have to dine at the likes of Aria, Bentley Restaurant + Bar and Ester in Sydney, Melbourne’s Stokehouse, Society and Cutler & Co, and Brae in regional Victoria. Eager home cooks might be able to find it in some supermarkets.

If you’re passing by Griffith, the cod is still served at Limone, the restaurant where Anderson dined eight years ago.

“We still supply to them,” said Anderson. “It’s been a staple on their menus since 2015.”

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