Good catch: Australia’s first artisan canned fish

A tiny Adelaide seafood preserving company is Australia’s first to join the growing ranks of the global craft canning movement with the release of three beautifully packaged tinned seafood products.

Little Tin Co. sources sustainable seafood from South Australia and hand packs them in gold-coloured tins inserted into cardboard boxes adorned with seafood characters drawn by well-known Adelaide artist Ingrid Mangan.

Canned fish is having a big renaissance driven by TikTok (where #tinned fish has had nearly 100 million views), a trend based in affordability and convenience.

The craft canning movement is analogous to the craft beer movement, in that small producers source top-quality ingredients and create products that stand out from the mass commercial version. In this case, a range of tinned mussels, sardines and smoked kingfish pate that sell for just under $16.

The founders of Little Tin Co., Daniel and Rachel Weeks, say they were partially influenced by the all-female ethical cannery Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. in the US and Von Alpen in Austria, specialising in preserving freshwater mountain fish.

Though they also say inspiration came from a stash of Ortiz anchovies they took on a three-month stint as park rangers in autumn 2020 on the remote Deal Island in Bass Strait, 100 kilometres south-west of Wilsons Promontory in Victoria’s east. COVID border closures saw them isolated with plenty of time to catch fish and contemplate next steps. “We said to ourselves, ‘Australia is surrounded by oceans full of amazing fish, yet we don’t produce the high-end tinned product that is made in Portugal, Spain’,” says Rachel Weeks.

The couple delved deep into research on preserving seafood, bought themselves a small canning machine and a machine to pasteurise the tinned fish. Through trial and error they developed the range led by Port Lincoln sardine, carefully hand-packed while raw and then pasteurised to retain the delicate oils.

Little Tin Co. smoky mussels are mixed with South Australian whisky and smoke seasoning, packed in oil, sealed and pasteurised and the fish pâté is a smooth mix of Harris Smokehouse kingfish, spices and vermouth. Another three products, based on sustainable fish species such as Australian salmon, snook and mullet, are in development.

Order at littletinco.com.au.