Oceana Group

JSE-listed (also NSX and A2X) fishing group with around 4,000 employees, self-described as 'Africa's largest fishing company' and 'the world's largest procurer of frozen pilchards'. Owner of the Lucky Star brand since 1998, with canneries at St Helena Bay and Laaiplek on the Western Cape coast and contract canning at Etosha Fishing in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Brands owned (1)

Canneries in the group

• Lucky Star Cannery — Laaiplek — Laaiplek, South Africa
• Lucky Star Cannery — St Helena Bay — St Helena Bay, South Africa

Notable facts

• Oceana's CEO confirmed (News24, May 2026) that roughly 80% of Lucky Star's raw fish is sourced outside South Africa — the exact percentage is single-sourced but consistent with the group's own 'world's largest procurer of frozen pilchards' claim and 2016 import reporting.
• In 2016 the local pilchard quota met less than 50% of demand; Oceana imported frozen fish from Morocco and Thailand and spent R10m upgrading Laaiplek to process frozen fish.
• In 2025-26 the group temporarily consolidated its canneries (Amawandle staff moved to St Helena Bay) after the full South African pilchard quota was caught out, and suspended Lucky Star promotions in May 2026 as supply tightened.