Seafood processing training from Timor-Leste to Tasmania

August 20, 2026

The Crawford Fund for Food Security Tasmania Committee is supporting travel for people involved in seafood in Timor-Leste to visit Tasmania to learn about processing, handling and packaging. The latest two seafood industry trainees, Artur and Jenifer, braved the cold weather of Tasmania and visited this August.

Caleb Gardner interviewed Artur and Jenifer about their training experience in Tasmania, the knowledge they gained, and what it will mean for them when they return to Timor-Leste. Watch it here.

This training initiative builds on the success of last year’s scoping project investigating the  development of seafood handling practices in Timor-Leste to improve the livelihoods of local communities through better use of their local seafood resources.

“The opportunity for improving livelihoods through improved seafood production has been well established in Timor-Leste in previous visits and also by other agencies,” said Professor Caleb Gardner, who led the project.

“This training aims to develop the industry back in Timor-Leste, especially the premium high quality market segment which is currently mainly supplied by imported seafood, despite supply of premium local species. The missing link between supply and markets is high quality processing,” he said.

While in Australia, Artur and Jenifer visited processors for live abalone, urchin roe, scalefish, oysters, live lobster and octopus.

“We’re providing training and support to locals so that they can achieve higher prices by preparing products suitable for high-end restaurants and hotels,” he said.

“We wanted to learn more about the seafood processing especially the handling and also packaging, and one of the most important aspects is safety and also quality,” said Artur.

Jenifer really appreciated learning about preparing and packaging urchin and abalone, as they involved processes not used in Timor-Leste. Learning more about lobster catching, handling and packaging to share with fisherman back in Timor-Leste to deliver a higher quality product, was also a highlight of the training.

“No one knows about this process, how to handle it, and how to pack it, and so this will help me to contribute to my country,” she said.

Artur and Jenifer are looking forward to sharing the knowledge they have gained back in Timor-Leste, and in particular developing fish-filleting and packaging, and catching lobster, to maximise the seafood products available in the country and secure higher-quality markets.

Watch the full interview below: