The family run business began in 1955 when William Harvey and his three sons, Ronnie, Jack and Gerald, began selling crab and lobster.

Now 50 years on the firm is run by the third and fourth generation descendents of William Harvey and, with a staff of 52, is the largest UK shellfish provider.

Crab is the core of the firm’s business, but it has a wide range of shellfish products on offer to wholesale and retail customers. W Harvey & Sons operates in three sites at Newlyn. It has a warehouse with live tanks where up to 30 tons of shellfish can be held, its headquarters and retail shop near Newlyn harbour, and a processing factory nearby at Stable Hobba industrial estate.

W Harvey & Sons has its own small fleet of shellfish boats operating from Newlyn, but acts as a major south west shellfish merchant, buying catches from vessels all over Cornwall, Devon and beyond. At its Stable Hobba processing works, a detached building holds a maintenance store to keep the Harvey shellfish fleet in operation 12 months per year.

Its single level processing works meets the highest standards of hygiene and contains a trained workforce able to supply the largest orders for crabmeat and other products.

Matthew Harvey commented: “As far as the Harvey family is concerned there’s no job description at all, we just get on with the job. Our staff both ashore and at sea are first class – few ever have time off and we really appreciate that.”