On Sydney Fish Market

Neil Perry, Rockpool: The Sydney Fish Market is very famous, but a lot of the fish that comes into it isn't that well treated, unfortunately. We're trying to turn that around.

Steve Hodges, Fish Face: Every time I go down to Sydney Fish Market now, the first thing I say is yeah, it's fuckin' terrible. It's a disgrace. The market is a disgrace for what's out there. I'd cut it back in scale, have less fish on the market floor. Get smarter about it and stop having fish that are out of season. If you roll back to pre-1989 you could only get tuna three months of the year. That's where we should be. Everything's always available if you're willing to pay for it in one form or another. Encourage people to eat more fish in winter for God's sake, when it's actually at it's best. That said, they are trying. I go down to the market most Sundays and usually find some joy.

Grant King, Pier: In my opinion the fishmarkets are not up to scratch compared to what I have seen overseas. Most of the product in Sydney is generally five to seven days old. It's all been gutted and then placed on the display shelves on ice with a fine mist of water going over it every few minutes so it glistens. The problem is that every time that occurs, the fish's flesh is absorbing that moisture, which unfortunately has chlorine and other additives in it.

Greg Doyle, Pier: Sydney Fish Market hasn't progressed in the last 20 years. They still carry out the same procedures they always have. I don't understand why they hold product for so long. Generally in Europe individual fish mongers bring along their daily catch and try to sell the whole of their catch on each market day. I feel this would make our markets better if they applied a similar approach. We do have great product here, but sometimes I find overseas journalists and chefs are just being polite when they say we have the best fish markets in the world. This is bullshit. I find the Sydney Fish Market an embarrassment. Everything caught in NSW goes back to the each small fishery department then it's sent to Sydney, then it goes onto the auction room floor. Any fish you buy in Ulludulla, it goes through the fisheries department in Ulladulla, packaged, trucked up to the Sydney, goes onto the auction floor, the people who need the product down there come up and bid or buy through a supplier then it gets trucked back down or delivered to Ulladulla. No offence, but how stupid is that? But that's NSW fisheries laws.

Sydney Fish Market - a disgrace?

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