South Australian Seafood Awards 2026 – Event Wrap

Walking into Morphettville, guests were immediately met with a striking welcome, the trackside screen lit up with the South Australian Seafood Awards branding and major sponsors, setting the tone for a night celebrating the very best of our industry.

Arriving via the blue carpet, attendees paused at the media wall before stepping into a vibrant, modern space overlooking the track. From the outset, the atmosphere was electric.

Downstairs, the evening came to life with drinks, canapés and live acoustic music from The Cast, while interactive seafood stations showcased South Australia’s premium produce in full flight. Seafood Works drew a constant crowd, shucking oysters live to order, while chefs prepared fresh sashimi and lobster rolls, creating a theatre-style dining experience that celebrated both skill and provenance.

Guests gathered as whole tuna and kingfish were expertly carved in front of them — a true ocean-to-plate moment. In one of the standout experiences of the evening, freshly prepared tuna was sent straight upstairs to Tony Ford, aka Tony Abalone, who transformed it into part of the main menu in real time, bringing the journey from catch to plate full circle.

It was a powerful reminder of what makes this industry so special — connection, craftsmanship, and absolute confidence in the quality of South Australian seafood.

Upstairs in the Morphett Room, guests were welcomed into a polished, high-energy setting where the formal proceedings began. With a record number of 75 submissions received, assessed by 12 independent judges, the 2026 awards delivered one of the highest calibre fields ever seen, showcasing the depth, diversity and resilience of the industry.

The dining experience continued to impress, with a standout main course celebrating South Australian seafood in both flavour and storytelling. Taking centre stage, Tony Ford delivered a live cooking demonstration, preparing his signature Rockpool Eggplant Tuna dish in front of the room. The dish paid tribute to a previous Rockpool event shared with Andrew Puglisi, creating a meaningful link to the evening’s most significant honour — Andrew’s induction into the South Australian Seafood Industry Hall of Fame.

From here, the night unfolded with seamless energy — courses flowing, music building, and each award telling the story of an industry that continues to evolve, lead and deliver at the highest level.

Award Winners and Finalists

Large Primary Producer of the Year

Finalists:

• Angel Oysters

• Yumbah Aquaculture

Winner: Yumbah Aquaculture

Small Primary Producer of the Year

Finalists:

• Cape Calamari

• Henderson Seafoods

• Smoky Bay Oysters

Winner: Cape Calamari

Large Business of the Year

Finalists:

• The Fresh Fish Place

• Regal Bight Fisheries Pty Ltd

• SA Seafood Express

Winner: SA Seafood Express

Small Business of the Year

Finalists:

• Fair Seafood

• Kirkbright Seafood Co Pty Ltd

• Little Tin Co

• Seafood Works

• Southern Canning Pty Ltd

Winner: Little Tin Co

Best Research, Development and Extension Project

Finalists:

• Alison

• Turnbull & Team - Lobster Project

• Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries

• Commonwealth Fisheries Association

• South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Oceanography Team

Winner: SARDI Oceanography Team

Best People Development Champion

Finalists:

• Angel Oysters

• Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy

• Commonwealth Fisheries Association

• Seafood Works

• Turn the Tide Program – Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA)

Winner: Angel Oysters

Health and Safety Champion

Finalists:

• Ian Mitchell of SAFCOL

• Stay Afloat Program Coordination South Australia

• Yumbah Aquaculture

Winner: Yumbah Aquaculture

Environment Champion

Finalists:

• Angel Oysters

• Dr Dominic McAfee & EyreLab

• Eyre Shellfish & Australian Razorfish

Winner: Angel Oysters

Restaurant of the Year

Finalists:

• Fair Seafood

• Pearl Aldinga Beach

• Regal Bight Fisheries 

• SiSea

• The Rezz Hotel

Winner: SiSea

Best Retail and Seafood Promotion

Finalists:

• Coorong Wild Seafood

• Fair Seafood

• Kin Premium Australian Seafood 

• The Fresh Fish Place

• Seafood Works

Winner: Coorong Wild Seafood

Best Seafood Experience

Finalists:

• City of Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival

• EP Bus Charters

• Fair Seafood

Winner: City of Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival

Best Fish N’ Chips of the Year

Finalists:

• Champion Take Away

• Kin Premium Australian Seafood 

• The Fresh Fish Place

• Streaky Bay Fish Fix

• The Fish Man

• The Stunned Mullet

Winner: The Fresh Fish Place

Outstanding Achiever of the Year

Finalists:

• Jack Henderson, Henderson Seafoods

• Nathan Eatts, Cape Calamari

• Regal Bight Fisheries,

Winner: Jack Henderson, Henderson Seafoods

Appreciation of Service

A special Seafood Industry South Australia Appreciation of Service recognised individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the industry:

• Brian Jefferies

• Bart Butson

• Craig Fletcher

• Iain Evans

• Adam Main

South Australian Seafood Industry Hall of Fame

The evening culminated in one of the most significant moments — the induction into the South Australian Seafood Industry Hall of Fame.

Inductee: Andrew Puglisi

———

With live music from The Cast carrying the celebrations late into the evening, the 2026 South Australian Seafood Awards delivered more than just recognition — it showcased the strength, resilience and pride of an industry at its best.

The evening concluded with a heartfelt and memorable tribute to Andrew Puglisi. Tony Ford, alongside David Wood, delivered a fitting acknowledgement of Andrew’s remarkable career, celebrating his lasting impact on the seafood industry both in South Australia and across the nation.

From ocean to plate, from emerging leaders to lifelong contributors, the night was a powerful reminder that South Australian seafood is not only world-class, it is driven by people who are equally exceptional.

Harmful algal bloom response

The Harmful Algal Bloom currently impacting South Australia represents a crisis of unprecedented scale for the seafood industry. 

This event is not only widespread—affecting multiple key regions—but also unpredictable in its duration, severity and immediate and long term consequences that may last across several seasons. 

We risk long-term damage to the state’s seafood economy, the viability of marine-based industries, and the communities they sustain. 

This large scale impact is affecting employment, the sole source of income for many operators, and the long term viability of the sector. 

South Australia’s fisheries and aquaculture contribute an estimated $788 m in gross state product (GSP) and directly employs more than 6,250 South Australians. In scale, Port Lincoln seafood industry is an employment scale similar to Whyalla Steelworks – and the HAB extends beyond Port Lincoln. 

The unknown duration of this event may severely impact not only current production but retention of operators, workforce and biomass. 

We acknowledge that the government cannot address or mitigate the algal bloom itself. However, like a bushfire or other natural disaster, there is a role for government in providing coordination, information, surveillance and monitoring, response and recovery. 

We welcome the commitment of $28 million towards a support package. 

We strongly support the commitment to improving the coastal monitoring network and local brevotoxin testing, which are key requests from our industry. We welcome the availability of financial and mental health supports, and hope to ensure that they are easily able to be accessed by affected parts of the seafood industry. 

However, we seek additional commitments that better support resilience, capability and mitigation in our industry, and secure our long-term future. 

We acknowledge the action already taken by the SA Government in providing relief from commercial fishing licence fees for affected operators, but we have not yet seen the end of the impacts. 

We note that given the unknown size, scale, duration and impact of the consequences for the commercial fishing sector (including aquaculture, wildcatch, and seafood processing and consumption), additional funds will be needed to support the industry with response and recovery over coming years. Tools like natural disaster declaration makes clear the enormity of the impact, the ongoing need for (financial) support, and ensures the right level of focus of the significance of this marine catastrophe. Care will need to be taken in any such declaration to ensure all affected operators are supported. 

We call upon support from the government in the short-term for: 

BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND RESILIENCE 

• Additional fee relief  The current fee relief does not capture all affected licence-holders, nor for the full period of the impact (which is still unknown). 

• Building capacity in industry Fund SISA to develop and deliver a financial counselling program for affected operators, identifying opportunities to diversify or adapt business models, manage debts and assets, and retain staff. 

• Business continuity support  For operators who rely on seafood for their primary or exclusive source of income, some may require targeted income support to manage debts due and costs of living. 

• Workforce retention  Affected operators are at immediate risk of shedding skilled and experienced staff. This has a serious impact in particular coastal regional communities. Long-term recovery will rely on retention of skilled and experienced staff in seafood businesses. 

• Proactive risk mitigation support To address a pervasive risk into the future, we need to incentivise and bring forward industry investment that protects biomass and revenue through risk mitigation investments (such as carbon filtration). 

• Mental Health Support Fund SISA to deliver mental health support with a program similar to the drought-based Family and Business Mentors in Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula, to be delivered in partnership through the highly successful Stay Afloat program. 

INDUSTRY COORDINATION AND CONFIDENCE 

• Communicating that seafood is safe to eat, and that not all of SA seafood production has been impacted 
  Fund SISA to deliver a campaign to provide consumer certainty and confidence about the safety of South Australian caught seafood, and avoid damage in national and international markets to our reputation for premium seafood. 

• SISA HAB Project Manager 
  To support the delivery of these programs, additional funding to support the engagement of a HAB Project Manager within Seafood Industry SA. 

SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING 

• Industry-led data collection 

  Fund SISA to rapidly develop an industry data collection platform with real-time information on impacts on yield, quality, species behaviour. This will be shared with industry and government. 

Long term 

Given the unknown scale, duration, implications and consequences of the HAB on future seasons, we seek the support of the government to work with Seafood Industry SA to develop a longer-term recovery plan to position industry for growth. This may include market re-entry support, research programs about increased resilience approaches, and other longer-term recovery strategies, depending on long-term impacts on biomass.