ASP becomes a shareholder in a hake longline and a pilchard and anchovy vessel. Today, ASP permanently employs 359 previously disadvantaged people from the Atlantis community. We are pleased to be back on the road to recovery with employee numbers steadily increasing. Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, our turnaround strategy resulted in a distribution of profits of R1.5 million to 207 beneficiaries.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the factory to reduce staff’s shifts from two to one per day, which resulted in a 24% staff reduction. Since the factory relies heavily on imported seafood to process, and with there being limited supply from SA, this had a hugely negative affect on the factory which was exacerbated by the business’ lack of access to commercially viable fishing quotas.

ASP becomes a shareholder in Lwandlekazi Fishing (Pty) Ltd, a commercial fishing venture which owns a hake inshore trawl vessel.

The 385 previously disadvantaged beneficiaries of this deal received profit distribution of over R2 million in the first year.

The brothers sold the business along with the specialised equipment to the Atlantis Workers’ Trust in a ground-breaking broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction that transferred 100% of the economic rights to Atlantis community members

The factory was established in Atlantis with 54 staff members, processing various frozen fish species into portions and fillets.

In 2006, the Figueiredo brothers, Luis and Sergio, recognised the need to build a processing facility for specialised seafood products for the South African seafood market. They decided to establish the business in Atlantis owing to the potential for community upliftment through employment and empowering a previously disadvantaged community.