People who work in the seafood industry are passionate about where their comes from and will often label exactly where the fish sourced. So when you’re in the fishmonger or market, look out for tags that read ‘Victorian’ or ‘Lakes Entrance’, “Apollo Bay’ or ‘Corner Inlet’, for example. Always ask if your fishmonger has anything local, anything Victorian. They’ll be happy to help.
You can get flippin’ fresh fish direct from the fishers if you are visiting regional Victoria. Pack an Esky, they’ll provide the ice, and head to a fishing co-operative. These are bodies formed by commercial fishers to market and distribute their catch. You can buy fresh fish from the co-op stores in Apollo Bay, Lakes Entrance and San Remo. The Apollo Bay and San Remo co-ops also sell cooked fish and chips while at Lakes Entrance there is a viewing platform from which to watch the fishers unload their catch.
Special government licences allow some fishers to sell their catch direct from the boat. Look for mussels sold off the boat at Flinders pier and Portarlington pier. Seasonally fish is available from small fishers in the fishing ports. Some aquaculture businesses have farm gates where you can buy freshly processed products from barramundi to smoked trout.
Melbourne is one of the world’s great food cities with a broad and deep dining culture from fast and cheap street food to fine dining establishments. It is also a city that, more and more, is celebrating the rich and diverse resource of fresh seafood that is caught in the waters off our coast and raised in inland aquaculture facilities. Our top chefs understand the huge difference in quality that fresh, local seafood offers and make a point of using it to star on their menus. They often buy directly from Victorian fishers but also use retail outlets located around the metro area and peninsulas. Here’s a quick list of go to Vic seafood dishes and Vic seafood retailers.
The West Coast of Victoria boasts some of the best fishing in the country with three commercial fisheries based along the shores. Fresh seafood from southern rock lobsters to abalone to gummy shark and calamari is caught off the coast of the fishing ports of Apollo Bay, Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Portland. With the opportunity to dine on delicious local seafood and buy Victorian seafood direct from the boat, from fishermen’s co-ops and from fish processors a seafood trip along the Great Ocean Road is one to put on the list.
The busy fishing port of Lakes Entrance is home to a fleet of small to medium fishing boats that work the waters just off the coast and further offshore around Bass Strait. A colourful array of boats anchor in the sheltered harbour in the heart of this East Gippsland seaside village and bring in a large selection of seafood harvested from the cool, clean waters. While a lot of the catch is sent to markets in Melbourne and Sydney, a good portion stays in the region supplying local restaurants making this one of the best places in Victoria to dine on fresh, straight-from-the-boat, local seafood.
At the South Melbourne Market, you can find local, sustainable, quality seafood from award-winning fishmongers. You can also try different seafood, from oyster shots to sashimi! Some fishmongers here specialise in local seafood.
Coventry St & Cecil Street, South Melbourne
The seafood hall at Queen Victoria Market is an experience in itself – a lively place with the old-fashioned theatre of the market. Here multi-generational fishmongers offer a broad range of seafood.
Elizabeth St & Victoria St, Melbourne
Known as the "world market", Dandenong Market is a 154-year-old traditional working - one of the oldest markets in Melbourne and fishmongers who have been in business for generations.
Cnr Clow St and Cleeland St, Dandenong
The Prahran Market is famous for fine fresh produce, hard-to-find specialty items and good old-fashioned service sealed with expert advice, this Melbourne Market can’t be beaten on quality. For sustainable local seafood, sourced fresh daily, Prahran Market fishmongers will clean, fillet and pin bone to order.
Commercial Rd, South Yarra
With half a dozen seafood retailers this sprawling market in Melbourne’s north may not have the history of the other markets but it has a broad range of variety.
The Centreway, Preston
Increasingly farmer’s markets are attracting more seafood producers from fresh fish to mussels, smoked fish and value-added products. What is available can be seasonal.
WAKAME
You can purchase Wakame powders and flakes online at www.theaustralianseaweedcompany.com and fresh Wakame at select Farmers Markets on weekends when in season. The season for fresh Wakame in Victoria is between July and November.
