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Fresh wild caught premium fish. 
Chris Bolton Fishing
Whether you are a chef at a 5-star restaurant looking to make every meal special, or a fisherman wanting to have the best chance of hooking that special fish, you won’t be disappointed with the quality of our product.
We bring to you some of the finest quality wild caught fish to ever leave the ocean.
Every single fish we catch is handled with the care and respect it deserves.
Every fish we sell is sashimi grade, the best of the best.
We are a small, family owned and operated fishing business based at Kurrimine Beach, Nth Queensland. I am the skipper and fisherman on every single fishing trip. With help from my partner Kim, my father Wayne at times, and 1 or 2 deckhands, I am hands on with every part of our business. From catching the fish, cleaning boats, taking orders, packing fish, or just having a good old yarn with customers, I am there. I believe this is the only way to ensure everything is up to the standard our customers expect.
Our line-caught reef fish are killed instantly and humanely using the ike-jime method. Fish are bled well and immediately placed into a salt ice brine to bring their temperature down to 2oC. Once this is achieved, every fish is gently hand-packed, one by one into our custom-made fibreglass eskies and covered with flake ice.
Having small, fast boats means we don’t catch large quantities. It means our fishing time is very short – very rarely more than 24 hours fishing before returning to port, with some trips as short as 6 hours.
When returning to port, we don’t unload at the wharf. Our boats are winched onto a trailer, towed by an ex-sugar cane haul-out tractor, and the catch is driven right to the door of our coldroom and packing facility, which was designed and made by myself to suit the way we operate. Our catch is unloaded from the boat and immediately packed for transport, with minimal handling and in the shortest possible timeframe.
Air freight is our preferred method of transport, unless we are supplying to the local area of course.
Premium Quality
We can have any and every fish we catch delivered to anyone, anywhere in Australia within hours of being caught…
All at premium quality.
Wild Caught Fish
Wild caught fish is one of the healthiest foods on the planet.
These fish aren’t fed processed pellets, or had any hormones or antibiotics in their system.
They have lived a life most of us dream of — a life in the clean waters of the Coral Sea, amongst the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.
Every day they are eating delicacies such as squid, sea urchins, prawns, sardines, fusiliers, garfish, crabs and more. Is it any wonder they taste so good?! 100% pure organic, natural food. The way nature intended.
If healthy eating, premium quality, and sustainability are your concerns, be concerned no longer.
Supplying Australia with healthy, sustainably and responsibly caught, premium quality fish is our job. And we take our job very seriously.
Sustainability
Proud to be Reef Guardian Fishers
As a commercial fishing business, we rely on a healthy, sustainable environment.
We believe if we do the best we can by the environment, the environment we rely on will do the best for us as well.
The Great Barrier Reef is more than just a place we rely on for our business, its our life, its our families life, and we want it to stay that way for generations to come.
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Another interesting one here.
We originally tagged this bluespot trout 22/7/23, recaptured 26/11/24.
493 days, 155mm growth.
Close enough to 1mm growth every 3 days!
Wasn't weighed the first time but I'd estimate it was around 900gms. Recapture was over 2kg.
Pretty impressive growth rate there.
I didn't keep exact coordinates, but it was recaptured very close to, if not on the exact same bommie as originally tagged!
Note the colour change. Every now and again I have someone tell me that they don't believe bluespot and 'footballer' are the same species......
Noice
Well that’s a great piece of info I always thought footballers were always footballers and to see the growth rate is impressive Did u let it go again
Didn't realise they could change patterns that dramatically
Wow I didn’t know that unreal
Thats unreal! How cool that you tagged it and caught it again yourself
Totally awesome to see the growth!
Cool stuff Chris Bolton Fishing
Impressive mate.
That’s awesome!!
Impressive
Amazing work The importance of protecting the little ones is displayed
Im a diver/spearo that goes to areas fairly out of the way compared to where most go. When we go to each area, we regularly see the same fish around the same bommie/crack/broken reef area. Footballers can completely go from red to white, black and yellow in about 30 seconds.
That’s coolπ
I heard Daniel Cooper can turn the red ones green.
That's awesome information mate
Are you based out of Townsville?
That’s very cool!
Baby sailfish. Every year we see a few at around this time, but there was literally thousands of them drifting through last night. Incredible to see!
I'm confident they were sailfish, but I know there's a few people that will be very interested in what I saw and to confirm they are sailfish and not marlin, so I scooped a couple up that I'll provide, along with some info, for research.
Good to see
Kyle Lane remember that trip
Wow
Wow
At first I thought it's tail had been bitten off.
Very awesome Chris Bolton Fishing, the yellow Pelvic fin indicates it's likely a sailfish, but there are only subtle differences at this like stage. Any chance I could get my hands on these for some genetics and potentially ageing work (back date the age to a birth date)
black marlin also have that long dorsal fin at that age and given that there is a concentrated spawning aggregation of black marlin on the northern reefs the last few months they are likeley to be juvenile black marlin
.
Man that’s cool
Julian Pepperell what are your thoughts?
Fantastic Chris Bolton Fishing Julian Pepperal is the man to help with that mate ππ
How amazing
Yes, I agree with Sam Williams. Most likely sailfish due to yellow(ish) pelvic fins – the stick-like fins under the body. It would be great though to obtain the ones kept for genetic verification and for ageing. Also, I may have missed it but exactly where were these caught?
Unreal man
That would’ve been a cool site.
Unreal it would be nice to get feedback on everything
I also see them this time of year while I’ve got the squid light out chasing fingermark off Cape Cleveland
Very cool
I Wounder how many actually make it to school size and onwards because if I was a Spanish mackerel that would look like a pretty tasty lunch.
Perfect Chris. Cool to see πππ
Awesome mate. Can you find out exactly where they go for me?π
Cool as.
Mint
Not the best pic but yea ..
What a privilege to see these little critters! Thanks for sharing Chris π©·
I regularly get asked how I'm going with line catching barramundi.
Now that the barra season has come to an end, I'll share a few of my experiences and thoughts from throughout the year.
Line catching barramundi, and making it viable is certainly no easy task. I knew from day 1 that this would be a huge challenge, but I was confident it was possible.
First challenge was, we had to have the market. A very common mistake I've seen, and still regularly see many many fishermen make is- catch the fish and then think about selling it. I regularly get calls or messages from fisherman saying they've got X amount of this or that fish, but they can't sell it. Can you help me sell it? π€
To me it's pointless catching fish without knowing you'll be able to sell it for the prices needed.
Kim and I are fortunate enough to have some of the best chefs and restaurants in the country supporting us, so the market wasn't a huge issue, but nonetheless, it was still a challenge to get high prices for barramundi- a species of fish that has by all accounts, a fairly poor reputation as a high end table fish (through no fault of its own.......). And barra being a fish that's mass produced in not only Australia, but all around the world, and produced very cheaply adds to that challenge. (60% of barramundi eaten in Australia is imported)
The next, and biggest challenge for us was catching the fish. I'm sure we all know someone that catches large amounts of barra every time they go barra fishing.... Well, I've found it's easy enough on certain days, but to do it day in day out is a whole different story.
We invested tens of thousands of $$ in new equipment and the latest technology to help us catch the fish. We've invested similar amounts doing fishing trips up and down the coast to learn different areas, how, when and where to catch them in reasonable numbers. There was very few days off for me this year. If i had a day or even a few hours spare i was barra fishing. Learning more and more. I'm not afraid to admit, I've done several days barra fishing this year where I'd come home empty handed. Empty handed but not broken, just more determined. A bad days fishing teaches me as much as the good days do.
Lastly I guess was the challenge of getting the fish to market in premium condition. You can't ask premium prices if you can't deliver premium product. Most of our barra fishing has been done in remote areas. To get fish from a very remote area of Cape York, to a restaurant in Sydney or Melbourne etc in premium condition is a huge effort. It also requires reliable and well maintained equipment, which of course comes at a huge cost as well. And it also requires a dedicated team not only fishing with me, but at home organising the logistics.
Numerous times this year we've caught fish in Princess Charlotte Bay today, had them on a restaurant table in Sydney tomorrow. Being able to do that, well you have to have your ducks lined up, put it that way.
Looking back on it, we had a lot of challenges, a lot of issues, and a few straight up fuck ups π€·ββοΈ But we gained a hell of a lot of valuable experience. And the more we learn, the more I'm convinced that commercial line fishing for barramundi can certainly be done viably. But it definitely can't be done without a huge investment in both time and $$. And it will never be done cheaply.
How far the line catching of barramundi goes will all depend on the general public paying the $$ I guess. I know we can do it because of the market we have, and our reputation for supplying premium quality. But to be honest, if we were to sell at Nth Qld prices, I wouldn't be able to do it. We'd go broke. Will anyone apart from high end restaurants pay the prices needed to make line caught barramundi viable? Time will tell I guess......
So anyway, thanks to all that have supported us in attempting to do something never done before. There's been many many commercial, charter, and recreational fisherman right around Australia that have helped in different ways, and the overwhelming majority of the general public are very supportive of commercially line catching barramundi. We greatly appreciate that help and support π
2025 you will see us step it up a notch or 2 π
Many important messages in this post.
I take my hat off to you guys. Line catching salt water Barra is by no means an easy proposition and to be able to do it and turn a decent return is considerably harder in my opinion. It’s all skill and knowledge then having all the environmental factors lined up at the same time. Never easy. Keep up the good work mate. πππ
Wow: you’re very open and reflective about your recent, forced manoeuvring in the industry.
Keep up the good work mate π
You’ve done a great job Chris just doing the research and putting in the time and effort to see whether it’s even possible @ all. I also believe as you do that it is still a viable fishery but think the prices will have to rise to match the increased quality of the line caught fish. It certainly isn’t an easy task though and the extra time, effort and cost won’t be something that all fishermen will be prepared to wear. Fingers crossed as the Barras reputation as a table fish increases that the consumers recognise this and are prepared to pay a little more for the line caught product. Strange how the meat industry in general has taken on increased prices for premium product (Organic, Free Range, Grain fed etc.) but it still a relatively new concept in the fishing industry. Hopefully it soon becomes the norm and ultimately as consumers we have the option of sourcing premium quality line caught product at our local fish monger and the industry thrives. We as Australians are lucky to have fishermen like yourself who are helping to try and keep our commercial wild caught Barramundi industry alive post netting as it would be such a shame for us to lose it completely. Keep up the good work Chris, Kim and the Bolton Fishing Team, very inspiring to see your passion π
One thing for sure the govt is not our friend. I’m amazed with the 60% imported , I thought farmed here. That’s just so crazy , we should not be importing any. The other day I discovered the calamari peppered I was buying from a seafood store in Innisfail was imported Vietnam or something. That’s the last time I buy that. Good luck with all you doπ
Congratulations Chris Bolton Fishing Chris & Kim on your motivation, passion, persistence & resilience. Your leadership in communicating the challenges and challenging the norms is inspirational. Thank you for what you do day in day out to change industry practices and consumer mindsets π
As a fish eater from Ohio, I've always admired your fishing practices and still do. But! How can travelling like 1500 miles each way to catch some fish be a good idea? Why not save all that time gas and special equipment and just catch some closer fish that doesn't have a bad reputation? Is it for the challenge?
Well done Chris Hard yards done and opening up new markets Don’t worry about the knokers theirs plenty of people who don’t put the effort in and want the rewards Well done mate
I tip my lid to you mate. I admire your passion and patience to do what you do. I personally cracked the shits and went back plumbing last few months because of price and a few wankers new to the game dropping it. Swings and round abouts hopefully. Good luck next season π€π»π€π»
Great to hear and yes I can imagine the challenges. Keep it up mate. Hopefully a lot of people can take up line fishing for barra and other species and we can breath some life back into this industry. It’s always been a wonder to me that with all the hostilities about commercial fishing that the only way to take a barra commercially was with a gill net.
Terrifying to hear the percentages of fish imported, that just seems like a huge slap in the face to the local fishery and fisherman if it's a well managed industry
Great work Chris - definitely a trend setter in the fishing industry now all for the betterment n sustainability of fish n seafood stocks for future generations πππΌπππ
It will be interesting to see how wild goes over farmed. Most punters have no idea what wild Barra tastes like compared to farmed. We need good labeling with this
Great work Chris
Chris Bolton Fishing in the media!
