There’s something fishy about this Christmas

DARWIN  fishmonger Niall Atkinson from Mr Barra ­expects to sell 10 tonnes of prawns this festive season, which sounds like quite a catch.

Dimitri Hari, Manager of De Costi Seafoods gets ready for the 36 hour non-stop Sydney Fish Market Christmas sale. Picture: Adam Taylor

DARWIN  fishmonger Niall Atkinson from Mr Barra ­expects to sell 10 tonnes of prawns this festive season, which sounds like quite a catch.

But it’s a drop in the ocean when compared with the more than 600 tonnes of seafood that will pass through the ­Sydney fish markets during the annual 36-hour Christmas Seafood Marathon tomorrow.

The event, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is expecting 100,000 shoppers.

For those who aren’t a fan of seafood, the markets will also be stocking an abundance of turkey and ham, fresh bread, fruit, vegetables, deli items ­including cold meats, olives and cheeses and advice for pairing beer and wine.

Sydney Fish Markets general manager Bryan Skepper described the rigorous planning that goes into preparing for the annual marathon.

“It’s the 20th anniversary of the marathon here for us and we will be open for business at 5am on December 23 and ­trading non-stop until the night of December 24,” he said.

The 600 tonnes of seafood sold will include 120 tonnes of prawns and 70,000 dozens of oysters.

“There is a lot of preparation that is involved in this thing, it doesn’t just come ­together the night before,” Mr Skepper said.

“We have to organise ­additional parking and work with the police to co-ordinate traffic and clearways. We will also have St John Ambulance on site.

“We will have everyone here shopping for their Christmas needs and for me personally my favourite time is in the evening when the sun goes down and the lights come on and we have the floodlights in the carpark and the families are coming in with young children and Santa hats on.”