While he might not know when his day will end, Chris Doumouras knows it starts at 5am.
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When many Tasmanians are still asleep, Mr Doumouras is speaking with fishermen about the wild fish they are catching for George Town Seafoods, preparing the seafood for customers and delivering it around the state.
“My job is handling the wild fish our boats catch,” Mr Doumouras said.
George Town Seafoods boats unload their catch at any one of four points – Triabunna, Hobart, Strahan or Beauty Point – and it is up to Mr Doumouras to get that produce back to the processing factory and out to customers.
“When the fisherman is heading out he’ll call me and tell me what he’s catching. If there’s enough volume to offer it to wholesalers I’ll tell them what’s available and then deliver their fish the following morning,” Mr Doumouras said.
“A normal start is 5am and I’ll work until 5pm, sometimes 8 or 9 at night, but sometimes I’ll finish at 3pm. It depends on the volume of fish,” he said.
Launceston market goers will also recognise Mr Doumouras’ trademark banter from the Harvest Market on Saturday mornings.
George Town Seafoods was established by the Doumouras family in 1993, and Chris Doumouras joined the business in 2002.
“I started out as a floor boy washing bins, sweeping the floors and labouring. I didn’t know anything about fish when I first came here, but I got to learn through experience,” he said.
After learning his way around the factory floor, Mr Doumouras wanted to be more involved in the business, so asked his father to give him more responsibility.
“Dad was doing everything [running the business] so I wanted to do more. I wanted to know what to do if something happened,” he said.
“I think it’s important to know how it works before you start ordering people around.”
The opportunity for Mr Doumouras to upskill came when a salesperson went on holiday.
“I asked Dad if I could do it and I started to learn more. You need experience with seafood to know if it’s fresh,” he said.
“I can tell by touching the fish. That came with experience – you just know.
“Every step has to be done correctly for it to work and you’ve got to be really on the ball to keep the standard up,” Mr Doumouras said.
This Tuesday is National Agriculture Day, a celebration of farmers’ contribution.
Tasmanian Farmer wants to showcase farmers. Take a photo on your farm on Tuesday and send to j.bakerdowdell@fairfaxmedia.com.au.