King George whiting nudges $90 a kilo — and experts warn we should get used to it

South Australia’s favourite fish — the King George whiting — is selling for up to $90 a kilo, putting it on par with luxury items like lobster and abalone and out of reach of most families.

King George Whiting prices are now at par with lobsters.

South Australia’s favourite fish — the King George whiting — is selling for up to $90 a kilo, putting it on par with luxury items like lobster and abalone and out of reach of most families.

And we might have to get used to it, with experts warning that falling catches and growing demand for our fish interstate means that the situation is unlikely to change.

Fillets of KGW were selling for between $60 and $90 at retailers in the Central Market this week, and Marine Fishers Association executive officer Nathan Bicknell said this is likely to be the new normal.

“In 2016 we had the third-lowest commercial catch — about 400 tonnes — since records began in 1984,” Mr Bicknell said.

“It’s been going down year-on-year since the nineties. In 1992 we were at 650 tonnes.”

King George whiting prices at the Central Market this week.

Mr Bicknell said the fall in numbers of King George whiting hitting our fish markets was driven by a combination of factors, but dwindling fisher numbers was a big one.

“We’ve gone from 700 marine scale fishers to about 300, so there are half as many fishermen,” he said.

“The line sector has had a lot of amalgamation — if you wanted to buy a license after 1994 then you had to buy two.”

Mr Bicknell said the gradual closing of many Victorian fisheries would only increase demand for our fish interstate.

“South Australia is number one for King George whiting by some magnitude, and we have bigger fish than the other states because we can fish the gulfs while they’re fishing small bays,” he said.

“We’ll even import whiting from Victoria at times to meet demand. Victoria is progressively shutting commercial fisheries — so they’re going to want more of our fish and we’re not going to be getting their fish, so it’s a double whammy.”

Mr Bicknell said people could make their money go further by buying King George whiting in the winter, when catches were at their highest, and by branching out into other species.

“We need to broaden our palette and stop focusing on those key species like King George whiting, flathead and garfish,” he said.

“For a country that’s surrounded by ocean we do a poor job of making the most of those other species.”

And while the price might be excessive, Mr Bicknell said people shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking our marine scale fishers were making a fortune.

“The beach price (the price received by the fishers) hasn’t increased a lot,” he said.

“Yesterday’s market price was $31 whole, and that hasn’t gone up dramatically in recent years.

“Since 2002 the average price of marine scale fish has increased by 38 per cent, but the cost of catching those fish has gone up 68 per cent. It’s a challenge.”