A SEA URCHIN DISH SERVED ON THE DEEP TO DISH TOUR
When the tap was turned off to their international market during Covid – at least three quarters worth of their market – Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures had to pivot, and fast. A few years down the track and the quick thinking of the team has paid dividends, with the company riding high from a big 2023. As a commercial fisherman Shane Wilson is in his natural habitat trawling through the depths of the ocean and dealing with the risks associated with it. But on dry land when he heard his company called out as the winner of the Best Tourism Initiative at the AHA Awards for Excellence, he was outside his comfort zone as he walked to the stage to accept the award. “It was definitely not something that I expected. I was saying to someone it’s pretty interesting because I work in such a high-pressure environment, being a commercial fisherman, you’re dealing with all sorts of risks being underwater and waves and weather and the sea life and what not,” Shane says. “None of that seems to worry me but when they called our name out saying we had won an award I had to stand up there and shake a hand and get a photo, I definitely got a bit
of cotton mouth with that one.
“It’s really nice to be recognised for the hard work we do and at every chance I get, I’ll always make sure we thank the team, because you’re only as good as the people you put around you. It’s the team that put it together, I’m just the face that does the front of house stuff, but it is the girls at the bar, it’s the guys that drive the boat, it’s the people that do the stores, it’s really nice gratification that they do such a good job to bring it all together to provide the amazing experience for the guests.” Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventure’s signature offering is its Deep to Dish Experience, a half day tour starting from the Hobart waterfront, down the Derwent River into Bruny Island and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. It has proven a hit with international and interstate tourists, but when the pandemic turned the world on its head and the country’s borders were slammed shut suddenly the majority of business had disappeared from TWSA’s books. Wilson knew to survive he would have to think outside the square, and it is where Cuttlefish Cruises was born – a product aimed more at the local market.
9 Tasmanian Hospitality Review December/January Edition
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