Latest news with #WAMMCO
Perth Now
22-05-2025
- Perth Now
Young father swept out to sea in front of wife and children
A beloved father and husband who has not been seen since he was swept off rocks in front of his desperate family has been remembered as a caring and dedicated person. Monitake 'Moni' Karakaua visited Salmon Holes, a popular but notorious fishing spot near Albany in Western Australia's Great Southern, with his wife, two children and friends on Anzac Day. Their day out turned to tragedy when the 29-year-old disappeared into the surf after losing his footing and falling from the rocks about 1.30pm. His life jacket reportedly failed to inflate and friends could not reach him with buoys. Despite an extensive, multi-day search the Fijian national has not been found. 'I had tried to tell him to come back (off the rocks) to the shore,' Moni's wife Tongauea told 'I witnessed everything. It's just devastating. 'I was helpless. My heart breaks.' Tragically, the incident came just weeks after the couple had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Tongauea said she 'felt something was wrong' on the day, given the 'sea was rough' and the smooth granite rocks slant down towards to the water. But her husband was 'very calm' and was happy to stay with his friends, she said. Monitake Karakaua, pictured with his family during celebrations to mark his 10th wedding anniversary with wife Tongauea. Credit: Tongauea Monitake Karakaua and his wife Tongauea. Credit: Tongauea Tongauea said her husband was a 'workaholic', a dedicated man of faith, and the ultimate family figure for her and their children, six-year-old Arima and eight-year-old Sarah. 'I'm so blessed to have him as a husband and their father,' she told 'No one can replace him — he's an incredible person. 'It's really hard (to not have him with me).' The grieving mother only moved to Australia with her children from Fiji about seven months ago. Moni had come before them, establishing himself in Katanning, 277km southeast of Perth, where he had worked at sheep meat processor WAMMCO. Tongauea said her husband was keen for the family to make the move to Australia for a better life, and was loving life in his new home. Given their visa situation, the family will now have to make another major shift and return to Fiji. 'She faces an uncertain future and the overwhelming responsibility of raising their children alone,' family friend Sharon Muir said in a GoFundMe set up to support her. 'They are now facing the difficult task of leaving Australia and returning to Fiji where they hope to find emotional support, extended family, and a chance to rebuild their lives.' Tongauea said she had been overwhelmed by the support shown to her and her children by those in Albany immediately after her husband went missing, and her community in Katanning in the weeks since. Authorities say conditions at Salmon Holes can turn quickly and are dangerous. Credit: Parks and Wildlife Service WA / Facebook Salmon Holes is described as a 'beautiful but treacherous beach'. Credit: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions More than a dozen people have died at Salmon Holes after being washed off rocks at the 'beautiful but treacherous beach' in the past 40 years. Life jackets were made mandatory at the rock fishing hotspot in 2019, following a trial to improve safety. Albany resident Paul Smetham called for the rocks to be closed off over Easter, which coincides with the annual salmon run. He said many visiting tourists are unaware of the dangers. 'We've got steep, smooth granite rocks that slope into the ocean, they get really wet and really slippery,' he told the ABC last month. 'We also get really big swells there. Myself and other locals won't go out there if it's over 2m.' Parks authorities had issued a warning just weeks before Moni fell into the water. 'Don't risk it. The salmon run has started along the south coast, drawing keen fishers to popular places like Salmon Holes in Albany,' WA's Parks and Wildlife Service posted on April 5. 'Rock fishing is extremely dangerous and people have lost their lives from slipping or being washed into the ocean by large waves, gusty winds and slippery surfaces. 'Even calm days can quickly turn. 'Use the anchor points installed at Salmon Holes and wear a lifejacket, or better still, fish from the beach and keep the sand between your toes.'
7NEWS
22-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Father swept out to sea at Salmon Holes in Albany remembered as beloved family figure
A beloved father and husband who has not been seen since he was swept off rocks in front of his desperate family has been remembered as a caring and dedicated person. Monitake 'Moni' Karakaua visited Salmon Holes, a popular but notorious fishing spot near Albany in Western Australia 's Great Southern, with his wife, two children and friends on Anzac Day. Their day out turned to tragedy when the 29-year-old disappeared into the surf after losing his footing and falling from the rocks about 1.30pm. His life jacket reportedly failed to inflate and friends could not reach him with buoys. Despite an extensive, multi-day search the Fijian national has not been found. 'I had tried to tell him to come back to the shore,' Moni's wife Tongauea told 'I witnessed everything. It's just devastating. 'I was helpless. My heart breaks.' Tragically, the incident came just weeks after the couple had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Tongauea said she 'felt something was wrong' on the day, given the 'sea was rough' and the smooth granite rocks slant down towards to the water. But her husband was 'very calm' and was happy to stay with his friends, she said. Tongauea said her husband was a 'workaholic', a dedicated man of faith, and the ultimate family figure for her and their children, six-year-old Arima and eight-year-old Sarah. 'I'm so blessed to have him as a husband and their father,' she told 'No one can replace him — he's an incredible person. 'It's really hard (to not have him with me).' The grieving mother only moved to Australia with her children from Fiji about seven months ago. Moni had come before them, establishing himself in Katanning, 277km southeast of Perth, where he had worked at sheep meat processor WAMMCO. Tongauea said her husband was keen for the family to make the move to Australia for a better life, and was loving life in his new home. Given their visa situation, the family will now have to make another major shift and return to Fiji. 'She faces an uncertain future and the overwhelming responsibility of raising their children alone,' family friend Sharon Muir said in a GoFundMe set up to support her. 'They are now facing the difficult task of leaving Australia and returning to Fiji where they hope to find emotional support, extended family, and a chance to rebuild their lives.' Tongauea said she had been overwhelmed by the support shown to her and her children by those in Albany immediately after her husband went missing, and her community in Katanning in the weeks since. More than a dozen people have died at Salmon Holes after being washed off rocks at the 'beautiful but treacherous beach' in the past 40 years. Life jackets were made mandatory at the rock fishing hotspot in 2019, following a trial to improve safety. Albany resident Paul Smetham called for the rocks to be closed off over Easter, which coincides with the annual salmon run. He said many visiting tourists are unaware of the dangers. 'We've got steep, smooth granite rocks that slope into the ocean, they get really wet and really slippery,' he told the ABC last month. 'We also get really big swells there. Myself and other locals won't go out there if it's over 2m.' Parks authorities had issued a warning just weeks before Moni fell into the water. 'Don't risk it. The salmon run has started along the south coast, drawing keen fishers to popular places like Salmon Holes in Albany,' WA's Parks and Wildlife Service posted on April 5. 'Rock fishing is extremely dangerous and people have lost their lives from slipping or being washed into the ocean by large waves, gusty winds and slippery surfaces. 'Even calm days can quickly turn. 'Use the anchor points installed at Salmon Holes and wear a lifejacket, or better still, fish from the beach and keep the sand between your toes.'
West Australian
15-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
WAMMCO's $50m upgrade plan bolstered by $12m State Government loan
WA's biggest sheep abattoir has taken out a $12 million loan with the State Government to turbocharge a $50m capital works program expected to boost its processing capacity by a third. The cash boost will help WA Meat Marketing Co-operative at Katanning carry out significant upgrades, including building a second variable retention time freezer and creating a new sheep and lamb processing line. The VRT freezer, expected to be turned on early next year, will boost the abattoir's chilled and frozen capacity to being able to hold about two and a half days worth — or 7500 to 8000 — of chilled and frozen meat. But it is the new processing line that is expected to most help farmers in WA, who have called for a dramatic increase in investment in the State's livestock processing sector ahead of the Albanese Government's ban live on sheep exports by May 1, 2028. WAMMCO chief executive Col MacRury said construction had already started on the new processing line, which he hoped would be in use by October or November this year — in time for WA's flush of spring lambs. Once complete, WAMMCO will be able to process an extra 500,000 head of sheep and lambs a year, taking its annual total to 1.5m. The new processing line will create 120-140 jobs when it is first in use, with 200 jobs in total when operating at full capacity. 'The upgrades are about boosting our capacity, and helping our farmer members,' Mr McRury said. 'The new line in particular will give us a lot more capacity on a yearly basis.' Mr MacRury was equally as excited about the VRT freezer, a technology he said had been adopted in the dairy industry in New Zealand and was able to freeze or chill several different products with different times using a programmable computer. 'VRT freezers are more efficient, they freeze and chill so give us that flexibility... it is technology from the dairy industry that we adapted and adopted,' he said. 'It makes the process (of freezing and chilling meat) more efficient, and reduces costs... it is quite different to other technology on offer.' The three-year loan has been issued through the State's Co-operative Companies Loan Scheme, which WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said had provided more than $151m in loans since 2005. The scheme provides tax benefits that reduce the capital costs by around 30 per cent. 'Investing in local sheep processing facilities has never been more important to build capacity and assist industry to respond to the changing global landscape,' Ms Jarvis said. 'The Cook Government is supporting sheep producers to capitalise on international market opportunities by supporting WAMMCO to expand production. 'The co-operative's Katanning plant is the largest employer in the Great Southern, with more than 300 staff. 'This increased processing capacity will provide a welcome boost to the local economy and State's sheep industry as a whole.' WAMMCO is WA's biggest sheepmeat processing co-operative and owned by about 700 WA farmers. It also owns and operates Southern Meats in Goulburn, NSW, with the two entities processing a combined 2.3 million head of sheep and lamb a year, exporting to 120 countries. Mr MacRury said WAMMCO wanted to provide its farmer members with confidence. 'When there are dry conditions and farmers want more lambs killed, we can step forward and do that for them,' he said. 'Especially with the uncertainty about the live shipping industry, we really need to have more capacity in WA. 'These upgrades will also be good for Katanning at a local level, it will provide significant new employment.' It has been a busy year at WAMMCO, with Mr McRury saying the abattoir was processing 'good numbers' spread consistently throughout the year, processing about 27,000 head of sheep and lambs a week — which is at the historically high end of the scale. WAMMCO paid out a record $21.8m bonus to its members in late August, after booming processed meat sales. The figure was more than double the 2023 bonus and equated to $1.20/kg for all qualifying lamb and 60c/kg for qualifying mutton.
