Sri Lanka has vast resources of diversified species of shellfish, which have always been significantly underutilised due to cultural practices and dietary habits. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, mussels, and freshwater prawns were not part of the general Sri Lankan traditional cuisine, yet these very species are considered high-end delicacies in premium seafood markets around the world.

Tropical Shellfish identified this gap. The company looked closely at Sri Lanka’s extraordinary but overlooked aquatic resources and entered the business at a research and development level – working alongside universities, collaborating with NGOs, acquiring market knowledge, approaching international buyers, and building expertise from the ground up. The result was a business that, to this day, no other seafood company in Sri Lanka has replicated. Tropical Shellfish remains the only company in Sri Lanka involved in bivalve farming, harvesting, and depuration.

The same story applies to the giant freshwater prawn. Due to its large head and carapace area, it was not a preferred ingredient in local cuisine. However, Tropical Shellfish identified its niche market in East Asia and has since been leading the way in freshwater prawn supply, both in terms of volume and species development.