Why it is on record
Record held
Headquarters
Key dates
- c. 1995Atlantic Shrimpers Limited (ASL) incorporated in Nigeria as the Nigerian arm of the Sea Frozen Products Group (India).
- 2000sScales sea-frozen trawler fleet operating out of Lagos for black tiger prawn, cuttlefish, crab and white fish.
- 2010sFriend of the Sea sustainable-fisheries certification; recertifications across the decade.
- 2010sLaunches the The Fish Shop retail chain in Lagos as a domestic retail and food-service distribution arm.
Deep dive
Atlantic Shrimpers Limited is the central institution of Nigerian industrial fisheries. Operating the largest sea-frozen trawler fleet flagged in Nigeria, ASL is the country's principal exporter of black tiger prawn, white shrimp, crab and cuttlefish to European Union markets through its Netherlands distribution arm Primstar B.V. The Prim7Stars brand is one of the few Nigerian-origin seafood brands listed in European wholesale catalogues.
The company is part of the wider India-headquartered Sea Frozen Products group with operations across nine countries, but its Nigerian operation is by every public measure the largest single fishing-industrial concern flagged in the country. Its Friend of the Sea recertifications make it the first Nigerian seafood operation to hold internationally recognised sustainability marks — a precondition for sustained EU market access.
Domestically, the The Fish Shop retail chain anchors ASL's Lagos consumer footprint and converts a share of its catch into the formal retail market, in a country whose domestic seafood demand is overwhelmingly supplied by imported frozen fish.