Gavin Myers uses his expertise in the seafood industry to ensure the best possible product is a staple for Myers Seafood.
When the shopfront for Myers Seafood opened in 2023, it was the culmination of more than two decades of hard work, innovation and adaptation for Gavin Myers.
The retail outlet is a rendering of Gavin’s extensive experience in the seafood industry and the business’ diverse seafood offerings from the Eyre Peninsula region.
“It all takes me back to the beginning of my journey, when it started with Southern Ocean Express in ‘96,” Gavin said.
“I worked for the company as a casual employee unloading, packing and distributing seafood around the country and overseas; it was very much a get-your-hands-dirty role.
“I ended up managing the company and then the previous owners gave me the opportunity to buy the business in 2006. I learned the ropes before computers were a thing in the business and aided in the growth of many well established commercial fisheries operating today.”
After purchasing Southern Ocean Express, the Myers Seafood brand was born a decade later, from a need Gavin saw in the seafood sector.
“All these beautiful seafood products were being produced or caught out of this region but the stories of those particular seafood products were not necessarily getting told well, or at all,” he said.
“Having been involved in nearly every commercial fishery in this region on some level, we learnt the consumer often had no knowledge or a misunderstanding of the commercial seafood industry.
“In order to be able to share our knowledge we needed a platform or brand, so that’s where the idea of Myers Seafood originated.”
Gavin has a vast knowledge and understanding of the ins and outs of most seafood sectors and their produce from the waters surrounding Eyre Peninsula, which shines through in his service.
Sometimes you will find him at the shop counter, sharing knowledge to locals and passers by about where the whiting was caught, why trap fishing is considered the most sustainable method of catch or how and where vongole is raked by hand.
The shop stocks local staples Coffin Bay oysters, vongole, berrima octopus, King George whiting, sashimi grade bluefin tuna, southern rock lobster, abalone, flathead, mussels and plenty more.
“We’re a very hands-on business, we don’t trade any products that are not handled through our own facility and by our own personnel,” Gavin said proudly.
“We’re fully responsible for ensuring that the integrity of the product is retained and given the best chance to travel to destination in the best possible condition in the shortest time frame.
“We want people in the area to know what they’re buying, where the seafood is from, and to know they are getting a high-quality local seafood product served by people that have industry knowledge.”
As an owner and operator, Gavin is still gratified by his work, which he said boiled down to product satisfaction.
“It’s the time when I get to take seafood home and enjoy it with friends and family and am able to cook seafood – that is when I reflect on my appreciation for the beautiful products from this region,” he said.
“It is a huge journey and I do think about it occasionally and wonder where it will end.
“I have been in the game for a long time, but I suppose because I’ve kept changing or evolving the path of the business it’s kept me interested and excited about the seafood.”
