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For the past 35 years, Carmelo Lombardo has never missed a Christmas working in the same stand at the Sydney Fish Market.
But this year, the last Christmas at the cornflower blue concrete structure before the new fish market opens next year, the 36-hour trading blitz feels bittersweet.
Get Fish general manager Carmelo Lombardo inspects shellfish in the pre-Christmas build-up. Credit: Steven Siewert
“I’m definitely going to miss it,” the Get Fish general manager said. “You get emotional because it is the last Christmas, but you also are passionate because you know that the next chapter is ahead.”
Only a hundred metres down Bridge Road sits the market’s $836 million shiny – its roof is scaled like a fish – replacement. It is slated to open on January 19.
“We’re actually overwhelmed that we’re going to a new site. It’s a bigger and better premises – a state-of-the-art building like that is only going to benefit us over time,” Lombardo said.
The fish market frenzy is a hallmark of a Sydney Christmas, but people come from far and wide. Infrastructure NSW chief executive Tom Gellibrand expects the new site to attract six million visitors annually.
Dad and daughter Lachlan and Lucy O’Keeffe pick up seafood for their Christmas table.Credit: Steven Siewert
On Tuesday, Lachlan O’Keeffe and his daughter, Lucy, travelled from Orange, in central NSW, to buy their Christmas seafood, as they have for the past five years. For them, the appeal of the new site is more practical.
“It’ll be really good,” Lachlan said. “Hopefully, the parking is a bit better.”
As families stock up on seafood for Christmas, NSW Police have urged consumers to purchase only from reputable sellers amid concern about the oyster black market.
Police inspected 13 leases following oyster thefts in a four-day operation in the South Coast, ending on Monday.
Oysters for sale during the Christmas rush at the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont. Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Rural Crime Prevention Team Coordinator Detective Sergeant Michael Calleja said cheap seafood was “not worth the risk”.
“Illegal sellers are not bound by strict health requirements, making the oysters potentially unsafe to consume,” he said.
What’s open – and what’s not – on Christmas Day
The Sydney Fish Market will close on Christmas Day, as will Woolworths, Coles and Aldi stores statewide.
McDonald’s and some KFC and Pizza Hut locations will be open for those in need of a last-minute feast.
Prawns for sale during the Christmas rush at the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Despite furious locals, Bronte Beach will also be open. Thousands of backpackers and expats have converged on the beach to drink, swim and celebrate with techno music on impromptu dance floors on December 25.
Bronte Beach on Christmas Day, and the aftermath on Boxing Day.
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