A Fishy Business

A school of twenty hardy soles from the Food Media Club were breaming with anticipation
as they donned their leather jackets for an early morning tour of the Sydney Fish Market
on 20 April. Even those from Balmain were not bugged by the early start and musseled
into the tour, writes John Baker.

An excellent description of the seafood industry and the operations of the fish market was
provided by tour leader and Marketing Executive David Sandrussi. He said the market was
much more than a means of bringing sellers and buyers together through the innovative Dutch
auction system, although this was a primary function. The reverse auction “clock” is used to sell
most seafood, plus there are two specialty voice auction areas – for sashimi tuna and live crustacea,
predominantly mud crab, rocklobster and yabby.

On any given day, around 150 of the 450 registered buyers will be at the fish market, bidding for
over 100 different types of fresh seafood.

Product starts to arrive at Sydney Fish Market from 3pm the day before the auction, with trucks
continuing through the night. By volume, 62% of product comes from NSW suppliers, 29% from
interstate and 9% from overseas, mainly New Zealand.

On average, 50 tonnes (or 50,000 kg) of fresh, chilled and live seafood is sold daily. That is about
2,700 crates per day.

Sydney Fish Market’s Managing Director, Grahame Turk, said the recent buy-back of 50 per cent
of fishing licences by the Australian Government has been aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the

Australian seafood industry. He said the major impact on the seafood industry is land-based
activity, such as agricultural run-off.

Other facts revealed during the visit were:

  • Sydney Fish Market is the second largest seafood market in the world, behind Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, in terms of variety of species sold.
  • Seven years ago aquaculture represented only 2% of Sydney Fish Market’s sales. This figure is now over 10%, with the main aquaculture products being barramundi, prawns, yellowtail kingfish,
  • Atlantic salmon, silver perch and mussels.
  • More than 13,000 seafood lovers attend courses annually at the well-known Sydney Seafood
  • School, with the Seafood BBQ course being the most popular. This is one of the main activities undertaken to help overcome a major barrier to increased sales – being confident about how to prepare and cook seafood at home.
  • Another initiative by Sydney Fish Market to overcome the barrier has been the development of a new line of premium value-added Australian seafood products, under the “Market Pride” brand.
  • The range includes seafood meals, soups, stock, laksa, sausages and fish cakes.
  • For more than eight years, Sydney Fish Market has hosted “Get Fresh with Fish” seafood cooking demonstrations in metropolitan Sydney and regional New South Wales. Using surprisingly easy tips, participants are shown how to take affordable, lesser-known fish species and turn them into delicious, quick, seafood meals. Participants watch a seafood cooking demonstration, are provided with a free tasting and are given Get Fresh with Fish recipes to take home and try out themselves.

For more information on Behind the Scenes tours of Sydney Fish Market, visit
www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au