The death of Dinko Lukin saddens Port Lincoln

THE man who pioneered tuna farming in Port Lincoln, Dinko Lukin, has died after a long illness.

THE man who pioneered tuna farming in Port Lincoln, Dinko Lukin, has died after a long illness.

Mr Lukin, 75, was credited with reviving the Port Lincoln tuna industry in 1987 by towing wild southern bluefin tuna in cages into Boston Bay, keeping them alive in pens and feeding and fattening them for the lucrative Japanese market.

Born in Croatia, Mr Lukin moved to Australia in 1956.

In the early 1960s he built the boat Orao, which became the first boat to pole tuna in the Great Australian Bight.

However, this method of catching the fish was dangerous, especially in rough seas.

In the 1980s the industry almost collapsed as tuna stocks thinned and quota systems were introduced, but Mr Lukin's revolutionary idea saved the Eyre Peninsula town.

Clean Seas Tuna founding director Hagen Stehr said Mr Lukin's death had shocked and saddened many people.

"Dinko in many areas was a leader and a pioneer. He was a hard worker and he has certainly done lots for the industry in pushing things ahead," he said.

Mr Lukin is survived by his wife, Anne, and two sons - including an Olympic weightlifting gold medallist, Dean. Steve Rice