Discover how we’ve grown from modest roots to the thriving diverse company we are today

1986: Seafish (Falklands) Limited was established on 21st November by Thomas Boyd and Alan Johnson of Witte Boyd Holdings Ltd, a UK fishing company.

1988: The structure transitioned to that of a public company, inviting Falkland Islanders to subscribe for shares. The company aimed to obtain fishing licenses for foreign companies and use the revenue to gradually expand into vessel ownership.

1990: Local directors Rodney Lee and Mike Rendell were appointed to the board.

1990: The company bid unsuccessfully for the Fishery Patrol contract.

1994: In September, John Kultschar joined the board.

1995: Robin Lee joined the board in July 1995 and served until his unfortunate passing on 9th May 2000. In the same year, the company experienced its first operating losses due to the failure to secure long-term licenses and declining interest in the Illex fishery. Recognizing an opportunity to ‘localize’ the company, Robin Lee mobilized shareholders to buy out the Witte Boyd interest, cut costs, and revitalize the company under a new business model.

1995/1996: Alan Johnson and Thomas Boyd resigned in 1995, followed by Anthony Eastwood, the UK's last remaining director, in July 1996. The company was now completely in the hands of Falkland Islanders.

1997: Ian Bury joined the board of directors in September 1997. The new board formalized a relationship with Pesquerias Marinenses of Spain, creating FIBOW Limited. The company chartered four deep-sea trawlers to fish Seafish finfish quota, operating until 2016 when three of the four vessels in the fleet were charged with misreporting offenses, ending the business relationship between Seafish and Pesmar.

In the same year, Seapol Ltd was reactivated with Majesty/CMC of Japan. Seapol had previously been a joint venture between Seafish and ODRA of Poland, securing annual and long-term licenses for Japanese Illex jiggers. This provided Seafish with a its main income source until 2003 when the last of the Japanese fleet was sold due to economic difficulties in the Japanese deep-sea jigging industry. At its peak, Seapol had 14 jiggers in its fleet and was eventually wound up in 2005.

During 1997 Seafish purchased Goodwin Offshore Ltd and its subsidiaries Frewin Ltd and Frewin Chandlery Ltd from Tooie Goodwin and her fellow shareholders. Goodwin's involvement in Korean licenses dwindled over the years from forty-six vessels to an arrangement with one Korean company and three vessels. Seafish sold its interest in Frewin Ltd in 1999, distributing the revenue as a special dividend to shareholders. Tooie Goodwin joined the Seafish board.

Subsequently, Frewin Chandlery Ltd was renamed Seafish Chandlery Ltd and has become a prominent retailer in the Falkland Islands. Seafish licensed a number of Chinese jiggers for a number of years in the early 2000s before the Chinese government chose to support Argentina. Onboard Chinese, Korean, and Japanese jiggers, Seafish Chandlery imported commodities during this time from China, Peru, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Goodwin Offshore Ltd, later renamed Goodwin Limited become the real estate and construction arm of Seafish.

The purchase of Goodwin also included a shareholding in Consolidated Fisheries, increasing Seafish’s stake in CFL to 12.6%.

1999: Following the appointment of Hamish Wylie as General Manager, a business review was conducted, setting out the vision and strategy for the company which is periodically reviewed and updated.

2000: Nova Seafish Ltd was established with Pescanova S.A. and Seaview Ltd. The stern trawler Robin M. Lee was purchased to secure access to the Loligo fishery.

2000-2003: Rodney Lee briefly rejoined the board. Tim Blake joined in April 2002 and Derek Clarke in 2003.

2006: The fishery management system changed to one of Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ), Seafish was granted multiple quotas enabling better resource management, conservation, and raising funds for vessel replacement.

2014: In December, Goodwin Offshore, in partnership with Snoozebox PLC, mobilized an 80-room accommodation camp for Premier Oil, operating until May 2016. Goodwin expanded its commercial property with the purchase of the ‘Old Junior School’ in central Stanley in 2014.

2016: Goodwin Ltd entered the residential real estate market, purchasing properties in Stanley and constructing 22 additional properties for employee accommodation. The purchase of Wickham Heights Ltd, owners of Lookout Lodge, in March 2016, established Seafish in the hospitality sector. Over the next few years, the company invested over £1M in refurbishing the 57-room Lookout Lodge.

2016/2017: Apart from a blip in toothfish prices during the pandemic, the performance of both the toothfish and Loligo fisheries in 2016 and 2017 saw the start of a run of strong catches and prices. For Loligo this lasted until 2023 when the July/August Loligo season faltered coupled with a gradual decline in prices. The performance of the toothfish fishery in terms of catch and price remains consistent.

2017: Seafish Chandlery opened a Chandlery Mini Market on Ascension Island. Despite initial losses, the business has subsequently generated a small profit each year.

2017/2018: Seafish sold its finfish ITQ, reinvesting the proceeds in the growth of both fishing and non-fishing parts of its business. The ITQ became difficult to fish profitably due to reduced fishing areas, days, catches, and increased quota fees.

2019: Wickham Heights arranged with FIG to accommodate their contract workers, initially in Lookout Lodge and later in the purpose-built Pembroke lodge. This £2M investment was not commissioned until December 2022 due to the pandemic increasing the number of rooms to 105.

2020:The introduction of ITQB led to a restructuring of Loligo fishing activities. Polar Seafish Ltd (PSL) and Polar Seafish Holdings Ltd (PSHL) were created from the dissolution of Polar Ltd and Nova Seafish Ltd, spreading risk over three vessels and achieving operating cost efficiencies. This new venture came with participation in the South Georgia toothfish fishery, the formation of Stromness Bay Ltd and construction of the longliner Polar Bay. The fishery's reduction from four vessels to three forced the sale of Polar Bay. In 2023, PSHL took a 30% interest in Lafonia Seafoods S.A. Lafonia, registered in Spain, is responsible for PSL fish sales and vessel operations in Vigo.

The same year Seafish founded Silverstream Maritime Ltd (Link), a vessel agency business. Silverstream is a 50/50 joint venture with Taiwanese vessel owners on the one side, and Seafish, Polar Seafish Holdings, and RBC Ltd on the other. The client base operate 45 vessels, representing 42.5% of the Illex fishery.

2022: With the pending retirement of Tim and Tooie, Pippa Christie and Andrew Newman joined the board. This provided longer term stability and significantly strengthening the company as it continued to diversify its interests.

Seafish Chandlery purchased Pro Install Interiors and Roses Coffee Shop, expanding into homeware. The coffee shop business was reallocated to Wickham Heights in 2023, as a better business’s fit. The Chandlery also opened a 400 sqm convenience store Chandlery Express on Sappers Hill, West Stanley. First year sales exceeded expectations.

2023: The company acquired International Tours & Travel Ltd, complementing its interests in the tourism sector with Wickham Heights and Polar Seafish’ s development of Falkland Islands Tours & Travel coach and logistics business.

2024: Between 2020 and 2023, Seafish’s licensed vessels increased from 3 to 17 and in 2024, Seafish Vessel Chartering Ltd was formed to manage the business new arrangements with Taiwanese and Korean vessel owners. Significant investments during this period ensured vessels met international standards, operated safety management systems, and adhered to international crew welfare requirements.