Lance Wiffen, founder of Sea Bounty Mussels and most recently, Portarlington Mussel Tours, has been recently recognised and awarded in their local community business association. Taking home the Business of the Year Award, in recognition for his innovation and contribution to the Community of Portarlington. Although his businesses have been recognisesd all over Australia and internationally, it’s important to celebrate and remember where it all started and continues to operate out of.
Sea Bounty Mussels, started by Lance Wiffen over 30 years ago, is a multi-generational family business, rooted in the rich history of Portarlington. The Wiffen family settled on the Bellarine Peninsula in 1853, beginning a tradition of mixed farming and dairy. Fast forward 30 years, Sea Bounty has grown from a farm with just 3 hectares of leased water and limited markets, to producing over 1,000,000 kilograms of mussels annually.
Today, their operations, spreading from the workboats to the processing, distribution and marketing, support close to 40 employees. Shane Wiffen, Lance’s son, joined Sea Bounty roughly 15 years ago, now the sixth generation of Wiffen’s farming the Bellarine. Shane’s leadership then allowed Lance and his wife Lizzie to focus on the launching their long-time dream of Portarlington Mussel Tours.
Portarlington Mussel Tours has now been operating and hosting guests for 2.5 years, offering unique experiences that have captured international attention and drawn visitors from all over the world. Their commitment to authenticity, sustainability, and engagement have set them up for great success.
We call it the humble mussel, but the Australian blue mussels have become a bit of a celebrity, locally and around the world. Over the years, Lance has featured on shows like MasterChef, 3AW, podcasts and more, but now with Portarlington Mussel Tours you’re seeing not only mussels, but the beautiful Portarlington streamed right across the world on social media, You Tube, international airline magazines and it even made the cover of Marie Clare magazine in China.
When they have visitors on board including Gary Barlow ( from Take That), Channel 10 news, Cadel Evans, Livinia Nixon, Kari Webb, Landline and world-renowned chefs, just in one year, and coming to visit Portarlington because of this 1 small boat, there’s obviously something pretty special about it.
Congratulations Lance, Shane, Lizzie and team
