Crayfish the top pick for seafood lovers in South Australia this Easter

Looking to pick up a seafood treat this Easter? Crayfish prices might have been cut, but King George whiting is rising.

King George whiting prices have jumped to $100/kg as South Australians make their final trips to the fishmonger to organise their home-cooked Easter meals.

Angelakis Bros seafood operations manager Alex Knoll said those prices compared with $90/kg last week, while garfish had also jumped from $68/kg to $70/kg. Prices had increased due to the Easter rush, along with extra demand from buyers in Melbourne and Sydney.

“I do think people will be taking the opportunity to stay at home again,” Mr Knoll said of this Easter weekend, “especially with what’s been happening in Queensland.”

Oysters, barramundi and salmon prices were fairly stable, he said.

Ferguson Fisheries managing director Andrew Ferguson said his company was introducing a more diverse range of fish in a bid to address the supply and demand issue associated with King George whiting.

“We’re tying to encourage the public to look at these other species and save money,” he said. Whole snappers and oysters had also been popular in the lead up to Easter, he said, and lobster was sitting at $65/kg.

However, seafood lovers can again cashing in on cut-price crayfish brought about by the China trade war.

After favourable fishing conditions in recent weeks, Adelaide fishmongers are tipping another holiday rush on bargain crustaceans.

Fresh southern rock lobster from the South-East is expected to sell for $60-$70kg – nearly half its traditional price, according to Alex Knoll, seafood operations manager at Angelakis Bros in the Central Market.

“Normally, you’d see crayfish for $100-$120kg … (but) it’s more affordable now and it’s good quality,” he said.

“We don’t have the Chinese market for crayfish and, basically, it was an export market, so we’re actually seeing the guys are having to find new ways to sell their product.

“There’s plenty of fish in the water. Over Christmas, there was a bit of difficulty with the weather but there’s good conditions now.”

Alex Knoll and Kaelan Schofer with popular seafood over Easter at Angelakis Bros in the Adelaide Central Market. Picture: MATT LOXTON.

Mr Knoll said people were not travelling as much because of the pandemic, which had increased the focus on quality meals at home.

“We’re set for a pretty busy Easter week.”

Mr Knoll said SA king prawns ($40-$50kg), garfish ($40-$50kg) and whiting ($70-$80kg) were also sure to be popular.

“I was also in Port Lincoln the other week and the oyster farmers were saying that they’ve got good stock and good-sized oysters coming through,” he said.

Mr Knoll said Angelakis Bros was expecting to sell 2½ tonnes of SA prawns and 550 dozen oysters in the lead-up to Easter.

Samtass Bros Seafoods director Mark Andonas said shoppers were becoming “more parochial” and focusing almost solely on quality SA produce.

“People will spoil themselves at Easter with local fish,” he said.

“Whether you’re talking King George whiting and garfish or flathead, they want fresh, SA fish.

“There’s good catches, we’ve had good weather and prices are steady.

“With less exports, there’s better value for SA consumers than there was last year.” Mr Andonas said that people were spending more time in the kitchen and being more adventurous with their recipes.

“People have certainly embraced cooking at home and trying things they wouldn’t have normally tried,” he said.

“They’ve really broken away from the mould of just buying salmon.”

A Cappo’s Fish Market spokeswoman said Coffin Bay oysters, SA king prawns and barramundi fillet were in demand this week.