For Sara Hess and Marcus Walkem, seafood is in their blood.
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Both have strong family connections to the state's seafood industry, and after a chance meeting a few years ago in Devonport, the two are now the proud owners of Bicheno's Lobster Shack Tasmania.
Ms Hess said it was almost like history was repeating itself.
Her grandparents are Peter and Una Rockliff, the pioneers behind renowned Tasmanian business Petuna Seafoods.
"I had a good upbringing with seafood," she said. "My first job was working at the [Petuna] shop with nan."
Ms Hess said the creation of the Lobster Shack had been an awesome journey.
"Marcus did his university degree at [the Australian Maritime College], and worked in aquaculture managing at Tassal for many years," she said.
Mr Walkem took on the family business, Bicheno-based Trigonia Seafoods, in 2013.
Ms Hess said she met him while she was working as a bank manager in Devonport.
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"Whilst we met completely seperate to seafood, it's that mutual interest," Ms Hess said.
They began dating in 2015 and realised they had a lot in common, including their love of the ocean and family connections to the seafood industry.
Ms Hess said they later discussed her moving out to the East Coast, and she asked what she could help with.
"He said there used to be a small farmgate shop that we could get back up and running," she said.
"We opened that and called it the Lobster Shack."
She said she used to spend school holidays with her grandparents, helping with cleaning and learning about the different types of fish.
She said that knowledge helped her now working at the shop, because all of the fish was either what Mr Walkem had caught or fish that they were able to purchase through her family.
"I could say, 'my grandparent's boat actually caught this'," she said.
"Nan loves it, because Marcus is still fishing commercially and now I'm selling the fish."
After a while, the two decided to expand on the shop.
"We started doing a lobster roll, because people would come in and would want to get something they could eat right then, fresh and local," Ms Hess said.
"We were at Devil's Corner one day and we thought about how cool it would be to add a container to the shed. We could add some seating, and we have this amazing view.
"Once we explored that a little bit further we decided to do it properly."
Graham, Mr Walkem's father, helped with the expansion.
"We built upstairs, which effectively is a viewing room and interpretation centre for the lobster industry," Ms Hess said.
"We've got some key lobster facts and the story of Petuna and how that originated from pop's crayfishing days.
"It links the lobster into the personal side."
They also added the bottom storey and a deck, overlooking the Governor Island Marine Reserve.
"It's been an evolution," she said.
"We realised that more and more people were visiting the area, and I couldn't get over the visitor numbers.
"They want to see somewhere that they can eat fresh seafood and be able to look at the ocean
"It was just too good a spot to not utilise in some way."
The restaurant opened in November, and they have so far seen wide success for their endeavors.
It won the 2019 award for Best Seafood Restaurant Experience at the Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council Awards in July.
Ms Hess said they were excited about the award, especially as they were unaware they were even in the running.
"We were absolutely thrilled," she said.
"We identified a niche and we've found that there aren't many places where you can see a fishing boat just sailing past and know that those lobsters in the showcase were caught there.
"It just brings that ocean to plate concept to reality."
Ms Hess said they can often see seals, whales, and dolphins through the windows or from the deck.
"We've had people sitting here eating lunch when a pod of dolphins has come through," she said.
She said the key facet of the business was celebrating and promoting the state's premium seafood.
"People don't know what fresh fish is really all about until they come here, I don't think," she said.
"They buy it at the supermarket, but they don't know that at that point it could be a week old."
They said many tourists would come in and spend hundreds on lunch, feasting on fresh seafood.
"Because we have the hold tanks for the live lobsters, we cook them most days," Ms Hess said.
"For most retail operations it's high risk carrying a product like that.
"You have to be sure you have the turnover or the demand."
She said tourists are willing to pay market price, whereas many locals had grown up in the days where you could get a crayfish and bottle of wine for $20.
She said another aim of the business was to educate visitors.
"We want to explain to people what's so significant about the Southern Rock Lobster, and what makes it such a valuable commodity," Ms Hess said.
"I think it's probably the world's most sought after lobster. It actually fetches the highest price of any other lobster in the world."
Southern rock lobsters have been harvested in Tasmania for more than 150 years.
Commonly known as crayfish, they take decades to grow to full size. The state's East Coast boasts the perfect habitat.
"Because of the cold climate they travel live well, and they've got some more resilience," Ms Hess said.
Lobster Shack Tasmania is open 10am to 7pm daily, eat in or takeaway.
They can be found at 40 Waubs Bay Esplanade, Bicheno, near the gulch and famous blowhole.
For more information, visit lobstershacktasmania.com.au.
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