The impacts of COVID-19 are still being felt strongly in the Australian fishing industry, and the best thing consumers can do to support local producers is buy and enjoy Australian seafood on your tables this Easter.
Australian seafood is some of the best in the world, and by getting down to your local fishers’ co-operative and purchasing seafood from your own area, you are not only enjoying the very freshest produce, but helping out the local industry as well.
For Sydney Fish Market, our very own fishing fleet is as local as it gets.
Made up of coastal and deep water fishing boats, much of the Sydney Fishing Fleet, which docks at Sydney Fish Market’s wharf, has been operated by the same family for decades: the Bagnatos.
The trawlers in the fleet are normally at sea for two days per trip, while the trap and line vessels fish for a slightly shorter time, between one and two days. The fleet pull in their catch from the commercial fishing grounds that we are lucky enough to have right on our doorstep, stretching between Newcastle and Wollongong.
They bring in a huge range of species; including Snapper, Ocean Jacket, Silver Trevally, Southern Calamari, a range of Dories and Flatheads, Cuttlefish, and Gould’s Squid.
Their catch is then unloaded at Sydney Fish Market’s wharf, sold onsite at our wholesale auctions and through our retailers, and enjoyed in homes and restaurants across the Sydney region and beyond. This means that the seafood caught by our fleet is arguably the most local seafood product at any fish market on earth!
While fishing can be a difficult, and sometimes dangerous, profession, with no guarantee of success, the fishers in our local fleet are typical of those in the 300 communities across Australia who passionately devote their lives to supplying Sydney Fish Market with the absolute freshest seafood.
As the country’s ‘home of seafood’, SFM is the lifeblood for local fishers, aquaculturalists and co-operatives everywhere. We maintain long-standing relationships with our suppliers, ensuring the utmost quality, variety, and traceability. Whether it comes straight from the boats of our fleet, or from one of our valued suppliers up and down the Australian coast, you can guarantee that the seafood at Sydney Fish Market is as fresh as it gets.
Sydney Fish Market encourages you to support local seafood this Easter. Get down to your local co-operative, fishmonger, or to Sydney Fish Market, and chat to those behind the counter about what’s in season or in good supply. You will not only gain their expertise on locally-caught species that perhaps you’ve never tried before, but most importantly, you’ll be ensuring that you have Australian seafood on your table over the long-weekend!