A morning at the Sydney Fish Market.
The Sydney Fish Market, in Pyrmont, accounts for merely 0.2% of all the fish sold in the world. However, it can still claim the title of largest fish market in the Southern hemisphere, because the majority of fish are sold in the Northern hemisphere.
This morning I went for a brief tour behind the scenes at the SFM. It was interesting, though I could barely hear our tour guide over the shouted greetings and morning banter of the SFM workers. It was a good thing I wore some of the clothes that I hate the most; I came home and everything smelled of rotting fish.
While fresh fish don't actually smell bad (they smell a little salty, like a breeze coming in off the ocean), the grates collect things like spilled blood, offal, and little bits of fish that just sit there and start to smell once they've lost contact with the ice. This underlying smell eventually seeps into everything you have on you; hair, shoes, clothes, bag, wallet. Stay long enough, and you can start to smell it in your skin.
When they're not on the floor the workers are happy to stop and have a chat, and tell you a little more about what is going on (see: oyster shucking with Salvatore).
Welcome to the Sydney Fish Market.
(sunprint)
This morning I went for a brief tour behind the scenes at the SFM. It was interesting, though I could barely hear our tour guide over the shouted greetings and morning banter of the SFM workers. It was a good thing I wore some of the clothes that I hate the most; I came home and everything smelled of rotting fish.
While fresh fish don't actually smell bad (they smell a little salty, like a breeze coming in off the ocean), the grates collect things like spilled blood, offal, and little bits of fish that just sit there and start to smell once they've lost contact with the ice. This underlying smell eventually seeps into everything you have on you; hair, shoes, clothes, bag, wallet. Stay long enough, and you can start to smell it in your skin.
When they're not on the floor the workers are happy to stop and have a chat, and tell you a little more about what is going on (see: oyster shucking with Salvatore).
Welcome to the Sydney Fish Market.
(sunprint)