February 2026 was a milestone month for Hope Vale Foundation, with Directors and staff travelling to Melbourne to showcase the Normanby Freshwater Prawn at evokeAG 2026, one of the world’s leading agrifood innovation events.
The week began on Monday 16 February with a full-day professional development workshop delivered by Thinka, focused on Mastering Communication and Generating Influence. The workshop explored practical ways to strengthen leadership, communication and collaboration in professional environments. It also highlighted the importance of clear messaging, assertiveness and influence when building partnerships and advancing major projects.
On Tuesday morning, the Hope Vale Foundation women attended evokeAG’s X-Factor Breakfast: Women in Agriculture, which brought together leaders from across the sector to discuss the increasing role of women in food production and the challenges facing modern agriculture. Conversations centred on rising input costs, natural disasters, sustainable food production, food security and reducing food waste.
Running alongside the X-Factor breakfast was the Team Queensland Breakfast, attended by the male representatives of Hope Vale Foundation. The event brought together Queensland primary producers, businesses, social enterprises, startups and AgTech ecosystem leaders who have been selected to represent the state at Australia’s premier agrifood technology and innovation event.
The main evokeAG conference then ran over two days, bringing together innovators, researchers, investors and industry leaders from around the world.
Hope Vale Foundation was selected to exhibit in Startup Alley—one of only two Indigenous startup participants—a global platform spotlighting 40 of the most innovative agrifood tech startups and scale-ups tackling critical agricultural challenges through new technologies and ideas. The initiative provides an opportunity for founders to connect with investors, form commercial partnerships and share innovations that will shape the future of agriculture.
At Startup Alley, Hope Vale Foundation showcased its vision for Australia’s first commercial Giant Freshwater Prawn industry, drawing strong interest from industry leaders, investors and fellow innovators.
The project is part of the Foundation’s broader vision to develop an Indigenous-led sustainable aquaculture venture in Cape York Peninsula, supporting local food security while creating pathways for employment and enterprise across the region.
Tomer Ventura, Lead Investigator at UniSC, has reported that research is underway to establish reliable hatchery and nursery systems for the production of Giant Freshwater Prawns in Northern Australia. Early results have exceeded expectations, with a near-commercial-scale hatchery successfully producing hundreds of thousands of healthy post-larvae—far surpassing the original pilot target. The project has also developed reliable live-feed systems and an energy-efficient nursery capable of supporting millions of juvenile prawns. Together, these advances demonstrate strong potential for sustainable, commercial-scale prawn aquaculture in the region.
A major sideline event of Evoke AG was dinner at The Atlantic in Melbourne’s Crown Casino complex on the iconic Southbank waterfront. Hosted in partnership with Umar Nguyen, The Fish Girl, the evening showcased the Normanby Freshwater Prawn on a curated menu alongside premium Australian seafood producer, Rocky Point Aquaculture.
The dinner was supported through the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation’s Future Industries Grant Program, which is funding a national market validation study for the freshwater prawn industry.
The Fish Girl is a national seafood sales, marketing and storytelling business connecting Australian seafood producers with chefs and industry across the country. Through this collaboration, Hope Vale Foundation is ensuring the product is developed with chefs, restaurants and consumers in mind.
Guests enjoyed an intimate evening of exceptional seafood, fine wines and storytelling, as producers shared their vision for the future of sustainable Australian seafood.
The menu was led by Executive Chef Dannet D’Souza, who brings more than 20 years of international culinary experience. Having worked in Michelin-star environments and award-winning restaurants around the world, Chef Dannet is known for his passion for sustainably sourced produce and exceptional seafood.
For Hope Vale Foundation, the week represented more than a showcase — it was a powerful step forward in the journey to bring Cape York’s Giant Freshwater Prawns from Country to plate, while creating opportunities for community, enterprise and sustainable food production.
As the project continues to grow, the Foundation remains focused on its core purpose:
Empowering the people of Hope Vale and surrounding communities through culturally grounded development, enterprise and opportunity — on Country and for future generations.
