A recent opening along the Paddington stretch of Oxford Street in Sydney is, in many ways, typical of its fashionable surrounds: the counters are solid marble, the exposed-brick and concrete walls radiate industrial chic and the staff are young and dashing. But instead of sophisticated homewares or the latest fashions, the shop sells fish livers.

Fish Butchery is wunderkind Josh Niland's latest attempt at reconfiguring how Australians regard and consume seafood. Those who have dined at Saint Peter, his lauded fish restaurant on the same street, will be familiar with the mission statement: to promote underutilised species, to champion sustainable, seasonally minded fishing practices, and to minimise waste.