Lukina Lukin, Australia’s “first female tuna boss”, reveals how innovation, new sustainability initiatives & a supportive team helped Dinko Seafood flourish.
Port Lincoln’s seafood industry is small but mighty, with southern bluefin tuna being South Australia’s highest-value, major export earner. Following the passing of Dinko Seafood’s founder, Dinko Lukin, in 2011, his wife Lukina became the guardian of her husband’s legacy.
Today, Lukina is known as Australia’s “first female tuna boss”, who continues to explore ways to innovate, be more sustainable, and break barriers within a male-dominated industry.
Lukina says she was met with resistance when first entrusted with the company, due to her initial lack of expertise in tuna farming. Despite this, and adopting a business that was $32 million in debt, Dinko Seafood is now flourishing. How? Lukina chalks up her success to persistence and her strong, supportive team.
“People resisted [me taking over] because my husband was a strong, confident man. But for me, I do a bit of give and take. We listen to each other and work together,” says Lukina.
“I’m not out there every day; it’s my team out there. They see more and know what processes would make the job easier or more efficient. When they have suggestions, we’ll do one tuna cage and see if it works. If it works, we’ll do all cages.
“[When in a male-dominated industry] you’ve got to show your capacity and not give up. You’ve got to give it 100 per cent and be present. I kept moving forward and didn’t take a step back. People respected me for that. I say, ‘let me do it and prove it, then you can see what I can do.’”
Traditionally, all tuna, Lukina shares, is exported and Australia “has no chance to enjoy the product produced”. This, however, is all changing, with Dinko Seafood rapidly becoming one of the only places you can get locally caught tuna in the country.
In 2019, Dinko Seafood became the first tuna farm to sell frozen, pre-cut tuna to Australian restaurants and wholesalers, enabling venues to serve fresh, locally sourced tuna year round.
“Tuna is seasonal, so for 5-6 months of the year, there’s no fresh tuna,” says Lukina. Selling a pre-cut product, rather than whole fish, is more accessible and convenient for restaurants and households.
After much success, Dinko Seafood has now been approached by neighbouring tuna farms to process and cut their tuna for distribution across the country.
Excluding the option to buy the entire tuna fish (which can weigh up to 25kg!), there are three size options you can choose from: Bluefin Tuna Loin, Bluefin Tuna Portions, or Bluefin Tuna Steak.
If you’re a lover of sashimi, the tuna loin pack contains an akami (top) and toro (bottom) loin, weighing between 1.5 – 3.5kg. The tuna is encased in sheets of specially produced Japanese wrapping paper to “keep the tuna at its best”.
For the perfect poke bowl or sushi roll, there are smaller tuna portions that range from 300g – 1.3kg, in addition to tuna steaks that range from 150g – 250g. Loins, portions and steaks can all be cut to order.
Freshness is ensured by Dinko’s innovative super freezing process (cryogenic liquid nitrogen frozen), which involves freezing the fish to minus 60 degrees Celsius within hours of harvest. Dinko Seafood says this process “ensures the ocean fresh flavour and taste without the need for heavy chemical gases commonly used to preserve the fish”.
Dinko’s next innovation, as it sets its eyes for the future, is exploring new sustainability initiatives and ways to incorporate tuna into different products.
First of all, Dinko Seafood is reducing its plastic usage by replacing a portion of its packaging with cardboard. Dinko formerly used a plastic branded bag to seal the tuna, but there was “60cm worth of plastic” above the vacuum-sealed tuna just for branding, Lukina says.
“Nearly 25% of the bag was branding,” she said. “Instead, we’re just vacuum-sealing the product and packaging in a branded cardboard box. By doing that, we’ve reduced plastic usage by 25% and increased recyclable product.”
Beyond the company’s sustainability goals, Dinko Seafood is also working with SARDI at Urrbrae’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute to develop a tuna-based fish sauce! Normally made with anchovies or sardines, the experimental fish sauce will be another South Aussie first under the company’s belt.
If you want to give this tuna a try, Dinko Seafood has a permanent stall at the Adelaide Showground Farmers Market every Sunday. If there’s something particular in mind you’d like to purchase, you can also order online for pick-up at the farmers’ market.
The Adelaide Showground Farmers’ Market is held at the Adelaide Showground every Sunday from 8.30am to 12.30pm (except during the Royal Show).
During Royal Show season, the farmers’ market will be hosting two pop-up markets at Orphanage Park, Millswood. Find out more here.
To learn more about Lukina Lukin’s journey of becoming Dinko Seafood’s Managing Director, or about Dinko Seafood generally, visit the company website.
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