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South Africa Magazine talks to Ovenstone Agencies’ Dorrien Venn. By Ian Armitage
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f business success requires a combination of knowing what you are doing and capitalising on a good opportunity, then Ovenstone Agencies wrote the book. It has a unique product, craved by consumers the world over. And it knows how to get it to them, without compromising on quality. “We are the sole concession holder for the Tristan da Cunha’s lobster,” says Ovenstone director Dorrien Venn. “That means we’re the only fishing company able to fish Tristan rock lobster in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Tristan da Cunha group of islands 2
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Tristan da Cunha, Gough, Nightingale and Inaccessible.” He says there has been a commercial lobster fishery on the Island since 1948 and it is a mainstay of the local economy, employing many of the people that live there. Production is split between the island facility and a longline freezer vessel, which sails from Cape Town. “This is a unique business on a unique island.” The annual catch is in the region of 450 tonnes and is sold mainly to Japanese and American markets.
Ovenstone Agencies focus food & agriculture
“The US is one of our main markets and it is where lobster tails are mainly distributed to restaurant and hotel chains and we also sell a lot to Japan where whole cooked lobsters are a traditional wedding dish. The Australian market is a new outlet for us where Tristan lobster is used as a substitute for their local lobster, following a decline in their west coast catches.” It is an exciting time. “Ovenstone has held the Tristan Lobster concession since 1997. We fish at Gough, Nightingale and Inaccessible with a freezer factory longline vessel, the Edinburgh, and her four dories, which fish the inshore grounds,” adds Venn, who says fishing on Tristan is conducted by Islanders employed by Ovenstone, using nine dories owned by the company. “Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory deep in the South Atlantic Ocean and is home to the world’s remotest island community. Despite the challenges and difficulties we face, we operate a well-run and sustainable fishery.” Catches on Tristan are delivered to Ovenstone’s new factory that was commissioned in July 2009. It is a state-of-the-art facility, built with an eye on selling into the European market. “We control all aspects of the catching, processing, marketing and export of Tristan lobster,” says Venn. “We’re incredibly unique in that we are able to exclusively offer Jasus tristani to our markets.” Ovenstone is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified and is able to display the blue MSC eco-label on its products to
demonstrate its commitment to sustainable seafood management practices. “That is very important to us – we are a well-run fishery with a conservative resource management strategy.” You might be tempted to think it’s been easy for Ovenstone – it’s a leader in a niche market, with an almost monopoly if you consider it is the only firm permitted to catch and sell Tristan de Cunha’s lobster - but you’d be wrong. Life has sprung a few surprises. In 2008 a fire ripped through the factory – that’s why it was rebuilt in 2009. The fire struck on Valentine’s Day of all days, gutting the business. Statistically the odds of recovering from such a disaster are low, but Ovenstone overcame the challenge in conjunction with the Island Community. “The factory was destroyed by fire - there was nothing left. But within a year we’d commissioned and built a new one.” Fire wasn’t the only thing the business had endured. According to Venn there was a volcano on the original factory site in 1961. And if that wasn’t enough, in 2011, MS Oliva ran aground at Spinners Point off Nightingale Island.
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Ovenstone Agencies focus food & agriculture
That is very important to us – we are a wellrun fishery with a conservative resource management strategy
The 75,300 tonne vessel was sailing to Singapore from Santos in Brazil carrying soya beans. “It caused a fair bit of disruption to our operations. It was a bulk carrier on its way from Brazil to Singapore and ran aground on Nightingale. Subsequently the vessel broke up and dispersed 65,000 tonnes of soya into the water as well as 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. We obviously had to stop fishing in the area and the Tristan Government closed the fishing ground at Nightingale until such time as it can be assessed that the resource has recovered from the impact of the Oliva and the resource is at the level it was before the grounding. It means we have lost a significant portion of our annual quota at Nightingale as well as Inaccessible Island where the quota has been reduced as a precaution. Both islands had significant oil pollution at the time. It has been a blow.” These things don’t keep Ovenstone down though. Looking to the future, Venn is optimistic, hopeful of gaining access to EU markets. “We’re focused on the EU and are in the final stages of the process and hoping to be fully EU 4
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compliant by the end of the year at the latest. “Yes the factory was devastated by the fire in 2008 but it has enabled us to build the new plant and modernise everything with EU access in mind.” The reason Ovenstone is so keen to get into Europe is simple – it spreads the risks inherent of a cyclical industry and opens the product to a larger audience. “The lobster business can be very cyclical. EU access would be good for our business. “We continue to look at way of maximising the value of our quota and are developing new product lines such as sashimi frozen for the Japanese market and we are looking to sell our lobster tails into the retail sector in the US. “We are excited about the future prospects for our business, despite the recent setbacks and challenges which lie ahead.” Venn says Tristan lobster is highly regarded, with a reputation for excellent taste and quality. “They sell themselves.” So readers, go out and buy some! END To learn more visit www.tristandc.com.
COASTAL MARINE & INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION
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We are a service orientated (mainly marine) company based in Cape Town for the past nine years. Our primary customers are most of the big fishing companies in SA, also salvaging and research vessels, land based companies. We are capable of operating both ashore and at sea and repair and maintain all types of refrigerant systems with our SAQCC Gas registered technicians. Our commitment to continuous training assures our delivery of professional and prompt service 24 hours per day.
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