• The issue of muddy tasting framed barramundi has a long history yet has not been resolved. End chain customers have learnt to expect muddiness and this causes a negative barrier to purchase. The impact of market perception is farmed barramundi has remained at 7-$10/kg (farm-gate price) for >10 years, despite the species having an ‘iconic’ name with consumers.

• There is a huge body of information existing around freshwater algal bloom growth resulting in production of muddy taints in water and fish. There is also existing experience in freshwater farm systems of mitigation methods, although not all of these will be appropriate to farmed food production. This wealth of information needs to be summarised in a concise document as a basis of relevant knowledge for the industry.

• The overview needs to be pulled together in a simple summary of aspects pertinent to Australian fish farming conditions, from which best practice options can be selected for trialling in situ within the different grow-out systems used in Australia.

• Specific protocols to manage water quality for the prevention of taint occurrence are needed to:
- assure the flavour quality of farmed barramundi
- underpin quality standards being developed within the ABFA Code of Practice
- meet requirements for certification as written into the ABFA EMS standards
- underpin other current initiatives, for example repositioning barramundi in the marketplace

This project proposal seeks to address these needs by summarising current knowledge, identifying likely effective mitigation protocols and trialling selected protocols on-farm and assessing the effectiveness. Additionally, there is an opportunity to further assess the potential to enhance barramundi flavour.