Mount Hawthorn, Australia-based Austral Fisheries has acquired Brisbane, Australia-based Moreton Bay Seafoods.
Austral Fisheries is one of Australia’s largest vertically integrated commercial fishing companies, fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean, and prawns and tropical snapper species in Australia’s northern prawn and Timor Reef fisheries.
It targeted Moreton Bay Seafoods due to its “strong brand recognition in key local and international markets and a reputation for consistency of supply and quality since 1976,” according to Austral Fisheries CEO David Carter.
“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,” Carter said in a press release. “The investment recognizes 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.”
Austral said it expects the augmentation of its catch will maximize the processing volumes of Moreton Bay Seafoods’ facility in Brisbane, “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,” it said.
Austral Fisheries General Manager of Sales and Marketing Dylan Skinns the company will plan to expand its of Karumba Banana Prawn and Skull Island Tiger Prawn retail brands as a result of the purchase.
“We have seen growing demand from consumers not just for Aussie-caught seafood, but for Aussie-processed seafood as well. 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,” Skinns said.
Photo courtesy of Austral Fisheries
