Seafood lovers shell out thousands of dollars

Seafood lovers have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars on fresh catches from the deep, lining up for hours to hook into the region's finest fare.

BUY AUSTRALIAN: Mooloolaba Fish Market seafood manager Kristian Penny. Picture: John McCutcheon

SEAFOOD lovers have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars on fresh catches from the deep, lining up for hours to hook into the region's finest festive fare.

Mooloolaba Fish Market experienced a pre-Christmas rush larger than any before, with hungry crowds lining up for hundreds of metres, from the shop to the beach itself, during 38 hours of mayhem.

The Fish Market's seafood manager Kristian Penny said they sold more than 21 tonnes of prawns in the 38 hours up until 8pm Christmas Eve.

Six thousand oysters by the dozen were also snapped up, along with more than 900kg of spanner crabs and nearly two tonnes of Moreton Bay bugs.

Punters were happy to pay a premium for large Mooloolaba King Prawns over the past days.

And they were happy to splash the cash for quality, with more than half a million dollars worth of large prawns sold at the Parkyn Pde store.

Crabs, Moreton Bay bugs and King Prawns were hugely popular. Picture: Greg Miller

Mr Penny said customers were more than happy to pay the $41.90 a kilo price, and more than a tonne of green prawns had also sold.

Of the 21-plus tonnes of prawns sold Mr Penny said about eight tonnes were medium-sized Mooloolaba King Prawns and more than 13 tonnes were the larger variety.

At its peak Mr Penny estimated the line-up out the door on Christmas Eve had been 200m-250m long and crustacean lovers were lined up again on Boxing Day, although this time at a more respectable distance of about 30m-40m.

"It (sales) was an increase on other years,” he said.

"A lot of loyal customers come back every year. It's actually a good time of year for everyone.”

He praised the efforts of his retail staff, with 45 workers manning the shopfront over the 38 hours, working shifts of 12 hours or more to satisfy the masses.

Mooloolaba Fish Market manager Kristian Penny tops up some ice with a shop full of customers on Christmas Eve. Picture: Stuart Cumming

He also acknowledged the trawler operators, who'd endured often dangerous conditions to haul in the prawns.

"It's been quite a dry year so getting the stock we required was quite challenging,” Mr Penny said.

Mr Penny's crew were now gearing up for New Year's trade, although he only expected to go through about six tonnes of prawns.

Noosa Junction Seafood Market manager Mark Davey said they'd had people lined up outside from 4.30am on Christmas Eve and were now preparing for New Year's Eve, their second-biggest day of trade of the year.

He said Christmas Eve had been the busiest one in the past four years.