Ever since 1927, when Norwegian fishermen first came to Western Australia’s north west coastline and established the first “Nor-West” operations, there were already good signs that the fishery was robust and healthy.
Nor-West Seafoods started prawn trawling operations in 1962 when introduced two prawn trawlers to the region. In later years the Department of Fisheries allowed 25 vessels to fish the Shark Bay waters. By 1963, Nor-West Seafoods had introduced two more vessels to its operations and they were also processing prawns on land.
By 1972, the fishery was allowed 32 vessels of which Nor-West Seafoods had nine by 1981. The total catch reached 1000 tons and the first products were exported, to Japan and other asian markets.
By 1982, Scallops were also being caught and Nor-West Seafoods had a fleet of 21 vessels. The first wooden hull Scallop trawler was also added to the fleet. By 1986, there were over 150 employees working for Nor-West Seafoods, who were exporting to Japan and other Asian markets. On 21 May 1986 Cyclone Herbie battered the Carnarvon and Shark Bay coastline, causing severe damage to fleet and factories, but thankfully no lives were lost.
In 1990, Shark Bay was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Area. Nor-West Seafoods had its first female Skipper, and a record Scallop season of 2,500 tons of meat was caught, only to be surpassed the following year with 4,000 tons. Exports were booming, with Europe now also eagerly demanding these valuable products.
In 2015, Nor-West Seafoods was sold to Mareterram Limited, a public listed company who also bought the Craig Mostyn Food Service division. Sea Harvest always had strong historical dealings with Craig Mostyn so investing in Mareterram was a natural progression.
With time, Sea Harvest Group became the sole shareholder and changed the company name to Sea Harvest in 2019. Today Sea Harvest boasts 11 prawn vessels and 10 of Shark Bay’s 18 licenses.
In 2017 the company expanded its fishing operations to include five vessels fishing for Banana prawns and Spanish Mackerel in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia.
As a vertically integrated and diversified Australian seafood business, Sea Harvest is determined to bring customers premium, wild-caught sustainably sourced seafood products from the ocean to their plate.