Our History

Through Experience Best Businesses are Born

Originally from the Hamburg region in Germany, Tony's Great Grand Parents Fritz and Marie settled in the Logan River district in 1866 and starting fishing in the area to support their growing family. The family has now been involved in the fishing industry for five generations in Australia.

At 12 ½ -years-of-age, after a childhood spent crabbing, fishing, and shooting at Jacobs Well, Moreton Bay fishing identity Tony left school to work in the family business alongside his father Issy, 7 uncles – Ollie, Harold, Doug, Alf, Ray, Wally, and Artie - and their cousin Laurence. It was hard work, often from sunrise until well after sunset, with working hours dependent on the tides, and the type of crab or fish they were targeting.

As a 16-year-old, Tony became a skipper of the trawler, Seawasp. Then at 17, after the tragic death of his father, Tony had to step up to help run the family fishing business alongside his older brother, who was crabbing at the time.

Around this time, Tony registered for his first commercial licence for Crabbing and Netting. It cost $10 a year and catches had to be registered with the QLD Fish Board. Since then, Tony has owned numerous types of fishing licences for crabbing, netting, line boats, and trawlers with his business mainly focused on mud crabs, sand crabs, prawns, bream, and flathead - primarily in the Moreton Bay area.

As the youngest in the family business, Tony remembers that many of the dirtier jobs fell to him, like tanning the nets with tea tree bark, then having to hold the cotton nets while the men would coat them in tar to strengthen them - so he was often covered head to toe in tar.

Tony can still remember months on end of extremely hard work poling for tuna when the fish were running thick off Moreton Island. One time, a body was pulled up in the trawler net at the mouth of the Brisbane River and, of course, they had to notify the police.

An even more remarkable family tale is that of their trawler, Tarooki. It was purchased by the Australian Army and repurposed as an Escort Vessel with the lead up to the Vietnam war. After being taken to Papua New Guinea, it sunk during bad weather after running aground.

Tony has operated several trawlers over the years, as well as custom built fibreglass flat bottom boats for netting and crabbing.

During Tony’s time, he has seen constant change in the industry. For example, the way the catch is sold was altered when Raptis & Sons purchased the QLD Fish Board in 1987 and it moved from Government to Private enterprise. There have also been numerous changes to how licencees operate and how catch quotas are managed.

These days, catch quantities are subject to Government control quotas, with a major focus on sustainable and renewable fish stocks. In recent times, the industry has also been heavily affected by problems such as White Spot Disease which has had a devastating impact on the prawn and crab fishermen in the region.

The family remains involved in commercial fishing, with Tony’s son Lionel currently a commercial crabber and holding several active commercial fishing licences.

Tarooki AS 3052 1963 to 1973 - Papau New Guinea

Boating Sales and Service Business

Over the years, as commercial fisherman they have operated many different brands of outboard motors, like Seagull, Evinrude, Suzuki, Honda, Mercury, Johnson and Yamaha. This experience has provided invaluable knowledge when considering setting up a boat repair business. Tony decided to make the transition to an outboard sales and service business after finding it difficult find a local marine dealership, that understood the importance of keeping commercial boats on the water and was willing to the needs of fishermen.

He started his own Marine Care QLD business in 2009, beginning as an Evinrude outboard dealer, having successfully used them for many years, and recently progressing to Yamaha when Evinrude ceased production.

In 2020, the marine dealership moved to larger premises in response to increasing demand in the Redlands in line with rapid growth of the residential area.

Marine Care QLD has a ‘Commercial First’ policy, prioritizing the needs of customers ranging from fishermen, oyster farmers, crabbers, government agencies, and boat licence businesses to boat ramp and pylon cleaners, just to name a few.

Tony has been an active member in commercial fishing guidance and is currently a Director of the QLD Seafood Industry, previously having held positions such as advisor to the QLD Government CRABMAC (Crab Management Advisory Committee). This experience has helped him understand the broader aspects of the industry for both commercial and recreational boaties and fishermen.

It is well known that Covid has created unprecedented interest in the marine industry, which has provided challenges in meeting customer demand for boats and outboards. Owners of aging outboards have had engines repaired by the Marine Care QLD team when no replacement was immediately available. The team takes great pride in helping customers find the best solutions to keep them on the water.

Everything the Marine Care QLD team does revolves around reliability, so they need dependable service and products, making Yamaha an obvious choice. The team is determined to ensure that commercial operators can remain on the water, and they have extended that philosophy to recreational customers, treating them with the same consideration.

Marine Care QLD really live by their business mantra ‘Keeping you on the water longer’. No matter the size of the boat, everybody wants to have confidence that it will get them to their destination and home again. Alan says that it is not about being the biggest, but about being the best, at what they do. The team focus on what is most important for customers’ boats – ‘Reliability’. They have learnt, through years of supplying and servicing outboards to commercial operators, how to deliver this confidence to customers. If something does go wrong, and with boats it does, Marine Care QLD customers can be confident that the team will solve the issue.

Every member of Alan’s team is encouraged to ask themselves ‘What would you do if it were your boat?’ which means that each job is undertaken with care and professionalism.

The business is situated a few minutes from the Redland Bay boat ramp, so every new outboard installation and new boat package is water tested before handing over to the customer.

Tony has been instrumental in building the business from the ground up and is now moving into semi-retirement, and back to his passion of fishing and cars. His two sons will continue to expand the business to meet the needs of the growing Redlands Area.

Lionel is still a full-time commercial fisherman, supporting the business between catches and maintaining the link to commercial operators. He has spent thousands of hours on the water, and now puts is trust in the Yamaha outboard that has not let him down.

Alan, a keen boatie and fisherman since a young age, has spent his career in the corporate world and has made a sea change to take over the business. Now leading the business as the Owner and General Manager, Alan brings his business management experience and passion for boats to Marine Care. He explains that the family’s commercial fishing experience with outboards with a yearly average of 1800-2000 engine hours on the water, this has provided Marine Care Qld with a true understanding of the needs of customers, offering real life advice and assistance. Alan's business mantra is ‘to keep our customers on the water longer’.

The business has seen great sustainable growth over the last few years, now employing 15 staff who are mostly local to the Redlands. With a range of new and pre-owned boats and outboards, a busy workshop, well stock spare parts and chandlery, they are the Redland's One Stop Marine Shop.