HOW times have changed…
I found this old article, published on 24 August, 1949.
“LOBSTER prices – Fishermen from Port Stephens have so many lobsters they do not know what to do with them. About 20,000 were received at the markets and sold for 1 shilling and 7 pence a pound, uncooked.
“Port Stephens men have thousands of dozens penned up in crates but refuse to send them to market until they get a guaranteed price of 1 shilling and 10 pence a pound.”
Today, at the Sydney Fish Market, lobster prices range from $120 to $180 per kilo – about half that per pound.
Whole Eastern Rock Lobster mornay (800 grams, close to a pound) around $170.
At today’s prices, commercial lobstermen can expect between $80 and $100 a kilo, as we get closer to Christmas.
The best price I’ve heard for commercially caught lobster was $135 a kilo.
As much as I enjoy a lobster mornay, I prefer a blue swimmer crab, followed by a muddy.
If you get the opportunity, try a spanner crab. They are weird-looking but have a distinctive taste.
How fortunate we are to have such magnificent seafood so readily available.
By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE
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