Live crays sell like hot cakes to Tassie locals

While an export slump has local crayfish stuck in Tasmania, local buyers have leapt at the opportunity for their taste of the commodity. LATEST + HOW TO COOK YOUR CRAYS >>>

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Tasmanians are snapping up the chance to buy cheap live crayfish direct from the boat with one lobster man selling more than 420 fish in less than two days.

Stephen Bradshaw, captain of the cray boat Marie 1, said customers have come from far and wide to buy their fish.

“We sold about 370 on Sunday and another 53 on Monday,” he said.

One customer drove down from Devonport and another drove down from New Norfolk after seeing the article in Monday’s Mercury.

Marie 1 captain Stephen Bradshaw. Local crayfish for sale on Hobarts waterfront as fishermen look for alternatives to export. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Mr Bradshaw, who operates the boat with his brother Darren, said more lobster fishers would be coming in on Wednesday.

The Bradshaw brothers say selling from the boat was likely to be their lot for weeks if not years to come.

“It will depend a bit on what happens for the Chinese New Year,” Stephen Bradshaw said.

“New Zealand would have sold out by then, so if they want any they’ll have to come and get them from us.

“But then when the New Year is over they are just likely to turn around and close the markets again.”

The transition from fisherman to retailer is not straightforward with a requirement to weigh, tag and document every fish sold.

This has meant the Bradshaws have had to invest in more than $2500 to equip themselves with a set of scales, eftpos machine as well as the tags and books for documentation to meet the strict requirements.

“There’s a lot more to it than you might think,” Darren Bradshaw said.

Whaler Chef Daniel Toone tells us how to prepare a crayfish. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

PREPARING THE PERFECT CRAY

With crayfish stocks and prices as accessible as ever before for Tasmanians due to a slowdown in international exports, many locals may not have ha the chance to cook or prepare them for their families.

The Whaler head chef Daniel Toone said some people are often confronted by the preparation of the elusive crustaceans.

“I suppose it’s something that most people are a bit scared of,” he said.

However, it’s as easy as one-two-three (four) according to the local chef.

Whaler Chef Daniel Toone tells us how to prepare a crayfish. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

DANIEL’S TIPS TO PREPARING THE PERFECT CRAY.

The RSPCA approved way of humanely putting a crayfish to sleep is to simply throw them in the freezer for roughly an hour. You want to “Make it go to sleep without freezing it”.

Once asleep, Daniel recommends poaching the cray for no longer than ten minutes for the best cook.

Halving a cray is the first of two preparation options. Place the crayfish down on the board – back down – and with a large knife, cut from the centre of the body and work the knife to the tip of the tail.

Cut from centre of the body again to the front of the crayfish, leaving two symmetrical halves.

For the tailing, cut the tail from the body’s shell with a long thin knife to release and twist the tail free.

After your preferred method is complete, wash quickly as to not lose too much flavour from the shell.

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