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The Sydney FiSh MarkeT experienceS a Manic SaleS booM around chriSTMaS. We Found ouT juST hoW crazy iT geTS

W O R D S j a M e S c o T T a M • p h O t O S k a T i e Q u i n n d a v i e S

Happy (well, cheerful, at least) fishmongers have been noisily bidding on seafood in the main building’s auction floor since just after 4am, moving 50 tonnes of seafood out the door every weekday. Outside, happy pelicans are cleaning up, being fed large chunks of fresh fish I wouldn’t mind having a stab at myself. After their feed, they perch on the roof, well-fed lords of all they survey. The breeze is fresh off the water, and whether or not you are here to buy you can be happy mucking about watching the last of the boats float in and tie up at the wharf. For the largest working

The Sydney Fish Market is busy, busy, busy, even when you rock up at 6:30am.

F i s h y B u s i n e s s

Markus Gerlich of Claudio’s Seafood shows off one that

didn’t get away

seafood market in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s actually quite relaxing.

It’s about to get a lot busier, though. Every Christmas, Sydney Fish Market pulls a massive 36-hour trading marathon. Doors open at 5am on the 23 December and shut at 5pm on Christmas Eve. They’ve been doing this for 19 years now and expect to move 600 tonnes of fresh seafood in a day and a half. The tally includes 120 tonnes of prawns and 70,000 dozen oysters – that’s 840,000 oysters or, as the Market likes to point out, about 390 oysters a minute.

This is Con Doukas’ fifth Christmas as owner of Musumeci. He says he’s stressing already, but he’s laughing as he says it.

“It’s going to be a long day,” he says. “From the 23rd at 1am you have to power the whole way through, but maybe you grab an hour or two of sleep when you can.”

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s e a s o n e d p e f o r m e r

Con Doukas has been catering to Christmas fish

buyers for years

His advice to buyers is to take your time, look about and don’t rush – even if everyone else is. Prawns and oysters are the big sellers on the day and Con recommends you go for the Coffs Harbour tiger prawns, Port Stephens oysters and Pacific oysters from Tasmania. It’s not all about the prawns and oysters, though. Generally, fish is on the upswing and Con’s pick is a nice barramundi steak or a decent-sized snapper for the barbecue. If you want to get something a little more impressive on your table, try an eastern rock lobster or some of the Western

Australian variety. Most important is to know what you want by the time you get to the front of the queue. Make up your mind before you get there, as you won’t have time to dither.

Markus Gerlich of Claudio’s Seafoods agrees: the key is to know what you want. The Market gets hectic even though most traders double their staff. He suggests fresh local green prawns if you are barbecuing and says, “A whole baked salmon fillet looks great from the oven or the barbecue.”

Sustainably farmed aquaculture produce is becoming increasingly popular, and Cone

H o l i d a y f o o d s p e c i a l

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a f i n e c a t c hFishermen do their

bit to supply the largest fish market

in the Southern Hemisphere

Bay barramundi from WA sells well. Markus believes in checking everything out before you buy.

“Don’t be afraid to touch, feel, then pick what you want. It’s the point of a market that you get hands-on.” He also recommends that you bring a chiller bag with you or have an ice-filled esky in your car to keep everything at its very best.

Of course, that is if you bring your car. Don’t forget that you’re up against 100,000 other hungry Christmas punters, so think smart. The Market car park will fill up: queues backing up past two sets of traffic lights are not uncommon. A local parking secret is Sydney Secondary College, on Bridge Road, which opens its Blackwattle Bay Campus for parking at a flat $5 rate for two hours – it’s a five-minute walk to the Market and a safer bet than on-premises parking. Alternatively, the Metro Light Rail will operate for the entire 36 hours of the Market Christmas sales. You can take public transport from Central or park elsewhere on the Light Rail

line, keeping your car away from the epicentre and thus maintaining your calm.

Sydney Fish Market is not just about seafood. Other stalls sell fruit and veg, bread, cheese, wine, fish and chips, and coffee. A butcher, Vic’s Meat Market, opened in September and will be offering choice cuts during the Chrissie rush.

According to Sydney Fish Market, the best time to visit is in the afternoon and early evening of 23 and 24 December. It is traditionally flat out from the wee hours until the close at 5pm. Remember, the Market is gloriously chaotic and as wet as you might expect. Don’t wear your Christmas finery and don’t be afraid to get a bit messy – it’s all part of the fun.

The Sydney Fish MarketBank St, Pyrmont. christmas trading: 5am tuesday, 23 December until

5pm Wednesday, 24 December. tel:

+61 (2) 9004 1147; sydneyfishmarket.

com.au•

Musumeci Seafoods

tel: +61 (2) 9660 0866

•Claudio’s Seafoods tel: +61 (2) 9660 5188;

claudiosseafood.com.au

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“don’t be afr aid to touch, feeL

… the point of a marke t [is] you ge t hands-on”