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Seafood is an irreplaceable part of a quintessential Australian Christmas, and as usual, Sydney Fish Market will be ready and waiting to provide all your fresh seafood needs in our annual 36-Hour Seafood Marathon this Christmas.  

For the 28th year in a row, Australia’s home of seafood is set to open non-stop from 5am on Saturday 23rd December, through to 5pm on Christmas Eve. A Christmas ritual for many, these extended trading hours mean shoppers wanting to snap up the freshest and tastiest seafood this Christmas can visit Sydney Fish Market day or night, at a time that best suits them. 

Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, follow our top tips for purchasing and storing seafood to make sure you are getting the best out of your Christmas lunch. 

Purchasing Tips 

What to look for when purchasing whole fish:  

• Bright and lustrous skin or scales. 

• Firm flesh that springs back when touched. 

• Bright pink-red gills. 

• Pleasant fresh sea smell. 
   

What to look for when purchasing fillets and cutlets: 

• Bright, lustrous and firm flesh. 

• Any dark muscle should be pink-red in colour. 

• Pleasant fresh sea smell. 

• No discolouration, gaping or bruising. 

What to look for when purchasing crustaceans and molluscs: 

• Brightly coloured, lustrous shells or flesh. 

• Firm, intact shells, heads, tentacles or flesh. 

• Shells closed or close when tapped or gently squeezed. 

• Pleasant fresh sea smell. 

• No discolouration, particularly at joints. 

 
Seafood will stay fresh longer if it’s kept cold. When shopping for seafood, use a chiller bag or esky and ask your fishmonger to pack some ice with your purchase. 


How much seafood do I buy? 

 
Storage Tips 

Refrigeration

• Scale, clean, and gut fish. Place on a plate or tray or in a lidded container, cover with a damp cloth and then with plastic wrap or the lid. Store in the coldest part of the fridge and use within 2 - 3 days. 

• Clean and rinse Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopus. Place on a plate or tray or in a lidded container, cover with a damp cloth and then with plastic wrap or the lid. Store in the coldest part of the fridge and use within 2 - 3 days. 

• Dead crustaceans (such as Prawns) should be consumed as soon as possible after purchase. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, on a plate or tray or in a covered container in the coldest part of the fridge. 

• Live crustaceans (such as Crabs) should be consumed as soon as possible after purchase. Keep in a cool place, with a damp cloth over the container, ensuring that the cloth remains damp. 

• Live molluscs (such as Mussels) should be consumed as soon as possible after purchase. Place in a container, cover with a damp cloth, and keep in the warmest part of the refrigerator, usually the crisper (optimum 5°C), ensuring that the cloth remains damp. Before cooking, discard any shells that are open and don’t close when tapped or gently squeezed. 
   

Freezing

• Scale, gut, gill and wipe out all fish before freezing. Place in an airtight freezer bag, extract as much air as possible, label and date. 

• Whole non-oily fish can be frozen for up to 6 months at -18°C or less.* 

• Whole oily fish, and all fish fillets, steaks and cutlets can be frozen for up to 3 months at -18°C or less.* 

• Meat from molluscs (such as Squid and Mussels) can be frozen for up to 3 months at -18°C or less.* Gut and clean Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopus or remove meat from shells. Place in an airtight freezer bag, extract as much air as possible, label and date. 

• Crustaceans can be frozen for up to 3 months at -18°C or less.* Place crustaceans (other than Prawns) in an airtight freezer bag, extract as much air as possible, label and date. 

• Place unpeeled Prawns in a plastic container appropriate to the volume of Prawns. Cover with water, seal and freeze. This forms a large iceblock, which insulates the Prawns. Do not add salt as it draws out the moisture. Label, date and freeze as above.  
   

*Note: many domestic freezers do not get as low as -18ºC: if in doubt, check!