The largest fish market in the southern hemisphere, with an auction at half past five in the morning and a new building next door.
Sydney Fish Market handles around 13,000 tonnes of seafood a year and is, by throughput, the largest market of its kind in the southern hemisphere and among the largest anywhere outside Japan.
Around a hundred species pass through on an average day, which is a consequence of Australian waters being unusually diverse rather than unusually productive — the catch is many species in small quantities rather than a few in bulk.
The auction
Held on weekday mornings from around 5.30am, using a Dutch auction system: the price starts high and descends on a display until a buyer stops the clock. Around 50 to 60 tonnes changes hands in a couple of hours.
The public can watch from a viewing area, and there is a behind-the-scenes tour — booked ahead, starting around 6.40am — which takes you onto the auction floor with a guide. It is the best thing at the market and it requires getting up.
Eating
The retail halls sell fish to take away and also cooked — grilled, fried, sashimi, oysters, prawns, and the famous large plates of mixed seafood.
It is not cheap, and it is a mixture of genuinely excellent and merely convenient depending on which counter you use. The sashimi and the oysters are consistently good.
Australian species worth trying: Sydney rock oysters, which are smaller and more mineral than Pacifics; barramundi; Balmain bugs and Moreton Bay bugs, which are slipper lobsters and sweeter than prawns; King George whiting; kingfish; and Murray cod if you see it.
The new market
A new Sydney Fish Market has been built a short distance away at the head of Blackwattle Bay, designed by 3XN with a large timber-roofed public building over the water. The move from the old Bank Street site has been staged and the timetable has shifted more than once.
Check which building is operating before you go, as directions and transport differ.
The seagulls
Not a joke. The silver gulls at this market are habituated, numerous and extremely quick, and they take food from tables and from hands. Eat under cover.
Practicalities
Retail is open daily from early morning to late afternoon; the auction is weekdays only.
Light rail to Fish Market stop, on the L1 line from Central. Parking is limited.
Good Friday is the busiest day of the year — the market runs a 36-hour marathon and around 100,000 people come through. Avoid it unless that is the experience you want.
