“Mermaid Leather” in Chadwick is Australia’s only commercial fish leather tannery, specialising in sustainable leather materials, harvested from commercial fishing waste.
The shop boasts carefully handcrafted products including wallets, bookmarks, fish-scale earrings, belts and magnets.
Owner David MacDermott said it took six weeks to manufacture the fish leather commodities, specially designed for those wanting something uniquely Australian, colourful and sustainable.
“The fish is caught from the ocean in and around Esperance, it’s then processed into a skinless boneless fillet, we flesh it, remove the scales, tan it into a leather and process it into a finished item,” Mr MacDermott said.
He said his products were targeted mainly towards tourists and retirees, though they were also used at weddings and had even featured in fashion shows overseas.
“My fish leathers have proven to return a strength test 35 per cent stronger than sheep skin, 95 per cent colourfast and lightfast, water resistant, stain resistant and dry cleanable and they are a beautiful looking leather, so really it ticks all the boxes,” he said.
Before he took over the family business, Mr MacDermott said he was a chef and commercial shark fisherman.
He said his former careers inspired him to reduce waste in the food industry, which he does by purchasing materials from local commercial fisheries.
“We pay 50cents per kilo for raw skin waste back to the processor so that way, instead of throwing it back into landfill, they are actually selling it for a return of profit — everyone wins,” he said.
“We are generating this skin waste by our desire to eat fish, so I think we have a responsibility to address the waste issue within our food industry because we are creating it.”
Mr MacDermott said he had even managed to manufacture a byproduct from the waste he created through tanning.
“Scales are a great commodity for me because technically fish scales are my waste from my process,” he said.
“They leave the scales on the skin so I’ve got to get them off which means I’m then able to reclaim my waste and sell it on as an alternative to plastic.
“I’ve already had a couple of primary schools here use them — they’re edible, so for pre-primary kids who are prone to putting things in their mouth, this is a safe natural, biodegradable alternative to plastic.”
Mr MacDermott said he also ran tours at his shop in the afternoons to educate the public about what he does and to show them the value of waste.
Mermaid Leather is located at 6 Woods St, Chadwick.
It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 2-5pm.Uniquely Australian leather
