A project to commercialise a tropical ocean fish for Queensland prawn farmers to grow in their ponds has been declared a culinary winner by the country's top chefs and food judges.

Fisheries experts believe cobia's success in the world of fine dining will kick start a new multi-million-dollar aquaculture industry in northern Australia.

"In seven years we have gone from having nothing to a million-dollar industry, with the potential to grow to a 10-, 20-, 40-million-dollar industry." Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries scientist Dr Peter Lee says.

When the joint industry and government project began in 2006, there was no commercial cobia fishery, but the fish was prized by Queensland's recreational fishers, who call it black kingfish.

Once scientists worked out how to breed and farm cobia it began appearing on the menus of some of the Australia's best restaurants.

Cobia, a sashimi grade fish, was served at The Royal Agricultural Show's Presidents Medal. ( ABC: Pip Courntey )

Melbourne chef Ian Curley is convinced it will be "the next big thing".

"No disrespect to barra[mundi] and salmon [but] it's kind of been done, and I'm not a big fan of seeing stuff I see in the supermarket in a restaurant," he says.

"Cobia holds its moisture well, it's economical, you get great return from the body of it, and it's fantastic tasting fish."

Some chefs have dubbed cobia "the Wagyu of the sea" because of the healthy omega fats in the flesh.

Sydney chef Tim Browne says it makes a big difference in a commercial kitchen.

"Like Wagyu it has a good fat content marbled through the product. It is sashimi grade and can be used in entrees and main courses," he says.

Cobia was trialled at several prawn farms, but it grew best at Pacific Reef Fisheries' warm water operation at Ayr in North Queensland.

The company is now Australia's only cobia producer.

More ponds planned as Ayr reaches capacity

It wasn't an easy start to the program. Understanding the breeding cycles and finding the right feed took time.

"The first five years were really tough, other prawn farmers which started with us pulled out. It's really only been the last two years we've had a lot of success from a production point of view," John Moloney from Pacific Reef Fisheries says.

But the project turned a corner when cobia recorded stunning weight gains after switching from barramundi feed to a new ration.

Last year Pacific Reef Fisheries harvested 100 tonnes of cobia, which it sells only to the restaurant trade.

"They're taking everything we are growing so we know it's at a point where we have to make a decision to start farming more," Pacific Reef Fisheries CEO Maria Mitris-Honos says.

The Ayr farm is at full capacity and can't expand, but Pacific Reef Fisheries has just been approved to build the country's biggest prawn farm an hour south of Ayr.

Cobia ponds are planned which will triple production when the farm becomes operational in late 2018.

The cobia fish farm in Ayr. ( ABC: Pip Courtney )

Cobia award tops off 'coming of age story'

The time and money invested in the commercialisation project was rewarded when cobia won one of the country's most prestigious produce awards, the Royal Agricultural Show's President's Medal.

The cobia fish has been popular in restaurants for its good omega fats. ( ABC: Pip Courtney )

"When I first started this [judging] job 10 years ago aquaculture always struggled to win because they had serious questions about the sourcing of their food," Simone Marnie says.

"It came from unsustainable fish stocks in South America. They have overcome that with a 100 per cent Australian-sourced, sustainable fish food.

"Now Pacific Reef Fisheries can say it's in the upper echelons of Australian agriculture."

Mr Moloney hopes prawn farmers and new players will invest to target domestic and export markets.

"We could supply fingerlings to other farms that would also give us the advantage as a group, we could market our product together," he says.

"It's a coming of age story for us. Our industry is a new industry in Australia but it's got so much potential for the future."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 15 minutes 22 seconds 15 m Cobia : Wagyu of the Sea ( Pip Courtney )

Wagyu of the sea — the story of cobia's success will airs on ABC's Landline.