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History of Dover Fisheries
A Dutch Fisherman, Dirk Tober, who brought his family to Australia with his fishing boat, started Dover Fisheries. They settled at Dover in Southern Tasmania. The Company was started in the early 1970's in a tin shed adjacent to the family home to process fish caught by Dirk's trawler. Later the family moved to Portland, Victoria and set up another company there to service their trawlers. Dover Fisheries was sold to Sir Frank Duvall, a Hobart businessman.
In 1983 the Fowler family bought Dover Fisheries. The Managing Director was Mr R.M. (Dick) Fowler, previously C.E.O. of Safcol Holdings for 32 years. A canning line was installed in the factory at Dover and abalone canning commenced in 1984. Initially this cannery was using locally sourced abalone however later processed abalone from New Zealand and South Australia.
In 1989 a second cannery was set up at Royal Park, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. By the early 1990's Dover Fisheries was Australia's and the world's largest producer of canned abalone with sales of approximately 55,000 cartons per year.
Mr Fowler began having some health problems in the early 1990's so the Fowler family decided to sell.
In July 1995 Dover Fisheries was sold to new owners with shareholdings in Australia, Singapore and Thailand. From 1995 to the present the Company has prospered under its new ownership with the product range being expanded and more emphasis given to research and development.
