Anthony Heslewood has been fishing his whole life, but when the 35-year-old started his business five years ago he decided not to follow the pack. Instead of trying to catch as many fish as possible, he wanted to catch the best fish possible. He’s clearly doing a lot of things right, because Revolution Fisheries just won the From the Sea category in the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards.

“We were stoked to even just be nominated by Josh Niland. To go on and win the WA part of it and then winning the national award was unreal,” Heslewood says. 

Revolution Fisheries has a strong sustainability focus. “Unlike mass harvesting methods like trawling or netting which results in bycatch, we use line fishing to target what we want to catch. We find an area where they’re prevalent, drop hooks and won’t take the school in one fell swoop,” Heslewood says.

“We only use the same spot once every three weeks, which gives the fish time to go and aggregate without being disturbed.

“It means we travel a helluva long way, up to 50 nautical miles. It takes five hours to travel there and five hours back. It’s a labour of love – if you’re not passionate about it, you can’t do it.”

The love is apparent in the fish, which includes Nannygai, WA jewfish, pink snapper, hapuka and eight bar grouper.

Heslewood’s catch is premium and while he’s started to supply Sydney fine diners including Saint Peter, Margaret and Icebergs, it’s mainly sold to the greater Perth region, including fish shops in Augusta and Margaret River.

“I’m passionate about locals buying local fish,” he says. “We aim for 600-1000 kg a week, but it doesn’t always go to plan. We only catch fish if we can find them. It’s a little like farming, except our paddocks have no fences and we can’t see our cows!”

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The care that Heslewood puts into catching his fish is extended to its dispatch and handling.

He uses the Japanese brainspiking method called ‘ike-jime’ to stop the fish stressing, then clips the gills to allow blood to drain from the animal, which ensures a high quality of fillet, before it’s immersed in a 0°C salt water ice slurry.

“These three processes represent a one-time handling of the fish before they’re sent to the customer in temperature-controlled vehicles,” he says.

“The initial capture procedure, the extreme and rapid chilling of the fish at sea and the minimal handling results in a premium product that we are very proud of.”

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