The largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sydney Fish Market, is set to prepare for more than 100,000 visitors to its annual 36 hour Seafood Marathon.

Margy Osmond Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism & Transport Forum said visitors to the Sydney Fish Market will be able to pick up Christmas favourites such as prawns and oysters, while also enjoying the Blackwattle Bay Precinct.

“This Sunday the 36-Hour Seafood Marathon will kick-off at 5am and with a visit from Santa the Christmas buzz will be alive and kicking at the Sydney Fish Market,” Ms Osmond said.

“Along with the largest range of fresh seafood sourced from all over Australia on offer, visitors can also pick-up a Christmas turkey from the butcher, charcuterie plate essentials such as cold meats, olives and cheeses, as well salad ingredients from the greengrocer.

“Sydney Fish Market welcomes 3 million visitors annually, with almost a third of those being international tourists. Of the 700,000 Chinese visitors to Sydney last year, over half of them visited the Sydney Fish Market, an extraordinary indication of demand to experience Australia’s fresh seafood on site.

“Seafood tourism is not talked about enough – this should not be a niche market. Having an Australian seafood experience must be near the top of the to-do list for every visitor who comes here.

“The Australian seafood tourism offering has developed well beyond the days when it might have just consisted of stopping at the Big Prawn in Ballina on the family road trip up the North Coast. And of course our marketing is now a little more sophisticated than Paul Hogan telling the world to ‘throw another shrimp on the barbie’.

“However, for a country that is known in every corner of the world for its surf and sunshine, we need to keep riding the wave and keep the momentum going when it comes to promoting seafood tourism.

“We are on the way though, and with the recent redevelopment announcement for the Sydney Fish Market, we can expect to see more sea-to-plate experiences being offered around Australia,” Ms Osmond said.