The new Sydney Fish Market; A monument to what?

On the 19^th of January this year, the new Sydney Fish Market opened to great fanfare and, even weeks later, people are still streaming in. Nearby roads are congested; there’s a queue for the carpark and people are crowding in on foot from all directions.

Looking at the building from a distance, despite myself, I find it visually appealing. The building’s roof has an attractive wave-like form and a pattern that mimics the beauty of fish scales. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald that said the building was a “monument to seafood”. Maybe at some point in the not-too-distant future, when ocean life has been devastated by our appetites, it will be repurposed as a Monument to the Destruction of our Oceans.

The market cost over $800 million to build, a cost blowout of over $500 million from original estimates of $250 million. So, who paid for this very expensive building? Well, you did, the NSW government used our tax dollars to build this and then some; an extra $70 million was spent on top of the building cost to provide infrastructure to help the expected 6 million visitors a year to travel to the markets.

WWF Australia reports that “Natural fish reproduction can simply not keep up with the demand. As a result, 24% of fish species are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion; 52% of the world’s fisheries are fully exploited and have no ability to produce greater harvests; and several important commercial fish populations have declined to the point of being threatened.”

Industrial fishing is often blamed for over-fishing, and it certainly has a hugely destructive impact, however there’s another culprit we often omit to mention. Recreational fishers are often ignored in discussions about over-fishing but the sheer volume of these hobbyists means they too have a significant impact on fish populations. Take a ferry through Sydney harbour on a weekend and you’ll see that the shores are lined with people fishing, thousands of them, and that’s just one harbour of thousands in Australia and millions in the world.

Fathers and sons (predominantly) go fishing and it’s seen as a bonding experience but let’s break that down; These parents are bonding with their kids by hurting and killing small animals…. is that a good example to set for your kids? Surely they can find an activity to bond over that doesn’t involve killing. Try kicking a ball around or reading a book together or, well, anything else really.

Many studies have shown that, while they can’t vocalise (ie scream), fish do feel pain. Fish have a similar nervous structures to ours, so, to understand their experience of being caught, imagine putting a barbed hook through your own cheek and then having it ripped out. No problem, right?

Tik Tok videos abound promoting fishing to young people and parents are pleased their kids are getting out from behind screens and getting in touch with nature - by killing innocent creatures. TikTok even used fishing tutorial videos as part of their campaign to try to stop the Australian government from banning young people from TikTok (“look how educational we are!”).

At the launch of the new Sydney Fish Market, NSW Premier Chris Minns said “Today Sydney opens the doors to what is undoubtedly the best fish market in the world.” Yet at a time of collapsing fish populations, damaged seabeds and increasing pressure on marine ecosystems, it’s hard to see this as something to be proud of. One day we ‘ll look back on this opening with disbelief, wondering how our leaders, and the six million visitors expected each year, chose to look away from the warning signs.