Geography Fish Markets Excursion

Since the start of the term the newest cohort of Fort St HSC geography students have been studying aquaculture. Aquaculture is the cultivation of marine life, including fin fish, crustaceans and other organisms that inhabit water. As part of our investigations into the economic, social and environmental impacts of aquaculture the two classes of Mr. Latimer and Ms. Jenkyn traveled to Sydney Fish Market, one of Australia’s key hubs for aquatic economic activity. On two separate days Fort St students were given the chance to see behind the scenes into how small businesses and larger corporations buy their seafood. At the crack of dawn every morning, hundreds of fishermen, Sydney Fish Market workers and business owners/delegates are part of quite the spectacle for the average geography student.

On entry to the warehouse the classes were met by a pair of very welcoming tour guides, Amelia and Mandy and a not-so-welcoming smell of freshly caught fish. At centre stage, three large screens displaying the current batch of seafood being sold, the source and the auction price. The rapidly moving clock-like structure displayed merely the price to us Fortians, but to the auctioneers it displayed opportunity. On the first day of the excursion it was relatively quiet with not much product available compared to the average day. This was due to the weather not being best suited to fishing activities. The second day on the other hand was “one of the busiest days I’ve ever seen” according to our tour guides, due to the excursion being the day before the Melbourne cup (us Aussies love our Melbourne Cup seafood). Ms. Jenkyn’s class was blessed with the sight of hundreds of kilos of marine life ranging from small crabs to some whopping 80 kg tunas. As each class ventured onto the auction floor where the product was, we all got to see the beautiful marine life which would eventually travel to someone’s plate. Cute green shrimps, ginormous tuna, beautiful fin fish and some rebellious crabs turned escapees as they scoured the market floor, were only some of the intriguing products on display.

After we were ushered out of the warehouse due to the accumulation of runners moving product, we were treated to a tour of the rest of the Fish Markets. We saw a handful of stores that sold the delicious produce, the dock where boats came in and a very large pelican scoping out the area from above. To finish off the excursion we roamed the fish markets for some much needed fish and chips, of which some chose to pair with a coffee due to the early 6:45 AM start. We later recouped outside the markets to discuss our individual findings as we were treated to some delicious Sydney rock oysters by Mr. Latimer and Ms. Jenkyn. Never would we have thought that as part of our Geography HSC course we would be given the opportunity to see behind the scenes of one of the most crucial fish markets in the Southern Hemisphere, and what an adventure it was. On behalf of the cohort, we would like to express our gratitude to Sydney Fish Markets for hosting us, and a special thanks to our kind tour guides Amelia and Mandy, as well as our beloved teachers Mr. Latimer and Ms. Jenkyn for the organisation of this excursion.

Written by Michael Rodriguez and Finn Hetherington