The seafood business is vast, and the companies associated with this domain have an interesting way of dealing with different kinds of seafood. Taprobane Seafoods is a global leader in this aspect with sustainable and socially responsible seafood, which is ethically sourced. It is a leading seafood company from Sri Lanka, established in 2011 by Dilan and Sathya Fernando along with Timothy O’Reilly.
It is Asia’s only eco-recommended Blue Swimming Crab manufacturer for the USA market which is a fully integrated seafood company with a Vannamei Shrimp hatchery, 6000 MT of shrimp farming, shrimp feed, and farming equipment sales and distribution, processing, and direct retail sales.
“We manufacture Asia’s only eco recommend Blue Swimming Crab meat into the USA market, packing for Wholefoods and Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods,” says Tim O’Reilly. Taprobane offers sustainable and socially responsible seafood varieties that encourage equity throughout the supply chain along with transparency. It packs for some of the world’s most iconic brands including Chicken Of The Sea and Whole Foods.
“We believe that the success of aquaculture food is the world’s food security. We invest in generation 5 shrimp farms using circular tanks with more excellent output whilst leaving a negligible environmental impact. These farms use the latest technology, significant solar components, and roofing for climate adaptation,” Tim adds. Adhered to all applicable government regulations including those imposed by the Department of Fisheries and the Board of Investments, the company abides by the norms under SMETA ETI, BRC, BAP, and FSSC 22000.
It is now Sri Lanka’s only 3 Star BAP-rated company with FSSC, BRC, SMETA ETI, Costco social audit, and wholefoods social audit. It is a member of the UN Global Compact and is committed to upholding the UN SDG’s.
Execution Toward The Goals
During the last ten years, Taprobane Seafoods has continuously developed itself as a leading company in the seafood sector by providing its customers all over the world with the best seafood products as well as influencing best practices and continuing to make significant progress towards a sustainable and ethical seafood industry. “Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainability and socially in the long run as Sri Lanka’s most trusted seafood exporter,” Tim defines.
With a set of four goals that needed to be achieved including safe and legal labour, responsible sourcing, operations, and people and communities, the organization fulfills its mission to be Sri Lanka’s seafood industry’s agent of change, making a real positive difference for its consumers. Safety is the top priority for the company when it comes to its products. “We control the Vannamei production in Sri Lanka as 90% of the post-larvae in the country is bought from our hatchery as it ensures the good health of the animal by providing the correct farming conditions to achieve successful harvests continuously,” Tim adds on.
As the company is located within the crab belt of Sri Lanka, it assures the freshest catch along with the best quality meat and mini-plants in Jaffna enabling timely processing. Once all its products arrive at the main processing plants in Dankotuwa, the state-of-the-art factory, and highly skilled labour force ensure that all its products are properly packed and sent to the partners and lastly reach the end-users in the right packaging. The company has long-standing established export relationships in Europe and Japan. It has been the only Asian crab meat supplier of Whole Foods in the USA maintaining all its products to be sustainable and ethically sourced. 
Taprobane Seafoods Processing Facility, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
Armed with a strong leadership team consisting of industry experts, the company is committed to sourcing ethical and sustainable seafood. “Our certifications are the biggest support that defines us as one of the largest leading service providers in the Seafood Industry,” Tim proudly states. Taprobane recently entered the shrimp feed business in Q3 2022 and the first shipments of feed will be down in Sri Lanka by Q4 of 2022. The feed sold will be specifically packed for Taprobane by Skretting, a Norwegian company that is a world leader in aquaculture feed. With the introduction of the feed business, the company will have the possession of complete supply chain integration for Vannamei Shrimp.
“The feed addition into our supply chain will further strengthen our business, allowing us to achieve full integration and meet our target of USD 250Mn revenues by FY 2025,” Tim explains further. In addition to this Tim also said that the hard work of his team has brought success to the company. However, in the long run, Taprobane is aiming to secure control over the entire Vannamei Shrimp supply chain and also to sign buy-back agreements with farmers in turn.
We control the Vannamei production in Sri Lanka as 90% of the post-larvae in The country is bought from our hatchery As it ensures the good health of the Animal by providing the correct farming Conditions to achieve successful harvests Continuously
Dilan Fernando & Timothy O’reilly, Co-Founders
Working for more than 25 years in the seafood industry, Timothy O’Reilly has lived and worked in more than ten countries. He has been working as the Managing Director and Co- Founder of Taprobane Seafoods since 2011 and directing about 2000 direct employees along with taking care of 16 processing facilities. Under his management along with his partners, Dilan and Sathya Fernando, Taprobane has achieved greater heights in sustainable seafood farming and processing in Sri Lanka.
.jpg "Technology in Cancer Care: A story of evolving paradigms")
.jpg "Bringing Shop Floor to Manufacturer's palm: Smart Factory Solutions for tomorrow")
