For a quarter of a century, Mark and Debbie Ahern have shared a strong love of the ocean and the vast array of cuisine that comes from it.
You could usually find Mark out braving the waters around the Mackay-Whitsunday region, hauling in his next catch, while Debbie worked the family's trusted shop.
But now the Aherns are stepping away from the industry they have loved.
'Started fishing out of a 14-foot tinnie'
A well-established presence in the seafood industry, the Aherns came from humble beginnings.
"Roughly 25 years ago, Mark and I started fishing out of a 14-foot tinnie," Debbie Ahern said.
"Mark was from a very large Catholic family and so to support that family, his dad needed to fish.
"So he would wake Mark up in the middle of the night, and they would go and fish for the family maybe two or three nights a week."
But for Debbie, a love for fishing didn't come quite so naturally.
"I wasn't used to fishing, it was quite scary for me coming from the bush," she said.
"I didn't know anything about the sea. Everything, I thought, would bite you or kill you."
Eventually, she developed a love of fishing just like her husband and this love drove the decision to start a business selling fish out of a van by the side of the road.
"I would sell Mark's fish from the little van and then [eventually] we thought we could do this from a shop."
Daughter Natalie Fitzgerald said her parents taught her what it takes to build a dream from scratch.
Natalie now manages Debbie's Seafood and is proud of what her parents have achieved.
"I'd like to think that I'm a pretty hard worker but I could never measure up to my parents, what they've been able to do over the 25 years," Ms Fitzgerald said.
Last year the couple won the national large seafood business award, which Ms Ahern said had been the highlight of their career.
"It was very emotional up there, for them to call out our name is like 'Oh, gosh'. We [Mark and I] just jumped up and hugged each other," she said.
Marshall Betzel is the managing director of North Queensland trawlers in Cairns and the past president of the Queensland Seafood Marketing Association, and he said Mark and Debbie Ahern's story is inspirational.
"For them to take that out as a business operating in North Queensland that started out with two people — that's a wonderful success story," he said.
"They're a symbol of what people can do if they try, if they put their heads down and nose to the grindstone."
Mr Betzel said Mark Ahern has been a lifelong advocate for the fishing industry, and at the forefront of moving the industry forward.
"He's been on the committee of the Queensland Seafood Marketers Association, he's also a member of the Queensland Seafood Industry Association," he sid.
"He's given back to the industry in terms of giving advice and being an advocate of the industry with his wealth of experience."
Ms Fitzgerald said her father's advocacy has been an inspiration.
"He's a real voice for the industry and I think that would possibly be something that I've taken from him — to be passionate and to be a voice for whatever I believe in."
Bright future for fishers
With no plans to step away from fishing, Mark Ahern said the seafood industry would continue to thrive in the future as it worked towards greater sustainability.
"You're a lot more accountable now for what you catch," he said.
"I think the fishing industry has started to get through to people that you do need us, that access to fresh fish is important."
But he said he wanted to see more young people getting involved in the future.
"One thing that does disappoint me as I look around at the fishermen who are around is that I'm hitting 62 and I'm one of the young ones," he said.
"[I wonder] would there be a place in it for young fellas in 25 years' time? And I'm hoping there will be."
