Introducing Asher Flynn: Young Western Australian Seafood Leader
Congratulations to young achiever Asher Flynn for achieving the National Young Achiever Award – awarded to an individual 35 years or less who has made a positive difference to the Australian seafood industry.
Crowds went wild when Asher Flynn, Operations Manager for Fremantle Octopus, took home the prestigious National Young Achiever Award at this year’s Seafood Directions held in Sydney. Surrounded by family, friends, industry and work colleagues, Asher was presented the award for his substantial contributions to the Australian seafood industry and for his continual personal development as an effective and respected seafood industry leader.
Asher’s career has revolved around the seafood industry where he began at the tender age of 14 as a retail assistant to, 15 years later, as Operations Manager at well-known Perth seafood brand Fremantle Octopus. Throughout his working life, he has had to wear many hats – from wholesale, primary production, management, marketing and even sales. Work colleagues comment on his ability to multi-task and his ongoing motivation and passion about the industry he works in. He consistently raises his hand to get involved in community events and initiatives to promote Western Australian seafood and the people in the industry.
His long list of achievements include assisting with the growth of Central Seafoods into a multi-million-dollar business to playing an integral role at Fremantle Octopus where the company went onto win the State Award for Trade and Export – helping to raise the profile of the WA seafood Industry. In 2016 Asher was chosen to be a part of the highly regarded National Seafood Industry Leadership Program (NSILP), designed to help develop the skills of recognised future representatives of the industry on a regional and national level.
Recently he took on the role of a seafood industry representative as part of WAFIC’s Smartfish Program, aimed at educating youth to be more involved in the seafood industry and to eat more seafood. This role has lead Asher to presenting his role and promoting the seafood industry to students at several schools across the Perth area.
Danika Gusmeroli, WAFIC’s Communications Officer said that in the short time she has known Asher, he has constantly displayed a high degree of ambition in wanting to create a positive seafood industry in Western Australia
“Being a well-known and respected individual in the seafood community, Asher is someone that I have been able to rely on. He has a passion for the industry that has had a positive impact across several projects that I have been involved in.”
“One example is the Smartfish School Education Program which saw him volunteer on multiple occasions to present to home economic students about WA’s sustainable fisheries and career opportunities in the seafood industry.”
“On behalf of WAFIC, we are very grateful for his contributions and I have no doubt that he will continue to rise above expectations and continue to be a major contributor and leader in the WA seafood industry,” she said.
On a daily-basis, Asher is the first point of contact for octopus fishermen on a range of subjects including logistics, catch rates and operational requirements. Colleagues from Fremantle Octopus acknowledge that he received consistent positive feedback from fishermen regarding their communication with Asher.
The Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) congratulate this valuable young Western Australian seafood leader on yet another outstanding award and wish him every success with his future endeavours.