Western Australia-based seafood business Austral Fisheries has today announced the acquisition of Brisbane-based Moreton Bay Seafoods.
One of Australia’s most enduring seafood businesses, Moreton Bay Seafoods has a strong brand recognition in key local and international markets and a reputation for consistency of supply and quality since 1976.
‘We are delighted to be able to add the skills, experience, and capability of the Moreton Bay Seafoods business to our established strength as a producer. I would like to especially acknowledge the Moreton Bay Seafoods management team for creating a work environment that is stable, respectful, safe, and ultimately productive. These values closely align with our own and we will be working hard to preserve this culture into the future,’ said Austral Fisheries CEO David Carter.
Austral Fisheries is one of Australia’s largest vertically integrated commercial fishing companies, with operations ranging from Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean, to prawns and tropical snapper species in the Northern Prawn and Timor Reef Fisheries.
‘The investment recognises the strategic importance that provenance branded seafood has to our future. Having a dedicated capacity for processing seafood allows us to better meet consumer needs and ensure greater control over quality and consistency,’ David Carter said.
‘We have seen growing demand from consumers not just for Aussie-caught seafood, but for Aussie-processed seafood as well,’added Dylan Skinns, general manager of sales and marketing at Austral Fisheries.
‘Austral’s retail range of Karumba Banana Prawn and Skull Island Tiger Prawn brands can now be expanded to get more of our high quality, Aussie brands to more people.’
Austral’s combined catch will increase the facility’s overall processing volumes, providing opportunities for permanent employment and enhanced job stability for the facility’s 30-strong workforce. The move will also enable Austral Fisheries to expand trading with East Coast suppliers and improve Austral’s ability to facilitate import and export of a wider range of products due to the strategic location of the facility.
