East Gippsland Shire Council has commissioned a Seafood Market Opportunity Assessment to identify opportunities for growth, value-adding and increased market penetration within the region's seafood industry.

The assessment will be led by Tether Agency’s Rosie Love, who will work closely with industry stakeholders over the coming two months to provide independent, evidence-based market intelligence and identify potential opportunities for future industry-led development.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing are vital contributors to the East Gippsland economy, generating more than $670 million in annual output, supporting approximately 1,690 jobs, and contributing significantly to regional exports and economic activity. Within this broader sector, seafood is recognised as a strategically important industry, supported by East Gippsland's strong commercial fishing heritage, highly regarded seafood products and established industry expertise.

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor, Cr Jodie Ashworth, said the project is focused on supporting industry to identify opportunities and make informed commercial decisions for their future.

"East Gippsland has a proud seafood industry with a reputation for producing premium products. This assessment will provide industry with valuable market intelligence to better understand growth opportunities, emerging markets and potential pathways for value-adding within the region," Mayor Ashworth said.

"Council's role is to support industry by facilitating access to quality information and helping to build the evidence base needed for future industry-led investment and development opportunities."

The assessment will investigate current and emerging market opportunities, potential pathways for value-added processing, barriers to growth and investment, and opportunities to increase local value capture across the seafood supply chain.

The assessment will include engagement with commercial fishers, seafood processors, distributors, retailers and other key stakeholders to better understand current operating environments, industry pressure points and opportunities for collaboration.

Tether Agency consultant Rosie Love said meaningful industry participation will be critical to the success of the project.

"The seafood industry holds significant knowledge and experience, and stakeholder input will be essential in identifying both the challenges and opportunities facing the sector," Ms Love said.

"This work will explore opportunities to strengthen market positioning, improve value capture and identify practical options that can support the industry's long-term sustainability and growth."

Key areas of investigation will include:

• Current and emerging domestic and export market opportunities
• Potential for value-added seafood products and processing
• Opportunities to increase local value capture
• Industry growth and production capacity considerations
• Barriers to investment, growth and market entry
• Opportunities for collaboration and innovation across the supply chain

Industry stakeholders will be contacted or can reach out to Rosie throughout the assessment period and are encouraged to participate in interviews and discussions.

The findings of the assessment will help inform future industry and investment decisions and identify opportunities to further strengthen East Gippsland's seafood sector.

For enquiries, please contact Council's Agribusiness Development Officer, Kaylene Wickham, on 5153 9500.