Sydney Fish Market launches online trading platform
The Sydney Fish market has launched an online trading platform that will allow fishers to educate customers directly on fishing methods and provide them with the ability to set their own price.
Australia's largest fish market’s traditional auction system will stay as the primary trading system for about 400 different species worth up to $170 million a year.
However, the introduction of the online platform brings the market to a broader audience.
"The auction has served a really great purpose over a long period of time, but it's a bit of a blunt instrument that depends upon supply and demand equation on a daily basis," the market's chief executive, Greg Dyer, said.
"Rather than being subject to a daily auction price, which of course could vary with the demand on display, they can market their product at a fixed price, which suits them," he said.
Seafood provedore John Susman has welcomed the move as it gives buyers clarity over the provenance of seafood.
"That's the catch cry of the contemporary chef," Susman said.
"Where's it from? Who caught it and when was it caught? And wild seafood is just such a special resource that those points are really important in the whole conversation."
The move to digital will help fishers sell direct to restaurants, a trend that is increasing.
Troy Billin is certified as a master fisherman has chef Neil Perry as a customer. Billin says the digital system enables his customers to see the provenance of the seafood, which creates trust and strength in the ethics of supply. Restaurants can also act according to supply.
"We call out our fishermen on the menu," Perry said.
"They're our family. We don't order fish off them. They tell us what they've caught. So it really is a relationship that not only we hold sacred, but more importantly, the customers do because they love to come here [and] eat wild-caught fish. [They] know it's sustainable and [they] know that we have a relationship with each fisherman. We're not just down buying any fish from the market we can get our hands on."
Michael Wooden who is the program manager of Oceanwatch's master fisherman certification scheme points to the popularity of the scheme by highlighting the strong uptake of the scheme in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
"A lot of it is about responsible best practice and understanding what's expected of them," Wooden said.
"It's a little bit about respect and social licence. It's about engaging fishermen to understand what the rules and regulations are in the fishery, to adopt those and to understand what voluntary measures we might take on top of those."
Irit Jackson, 19th September 2022
