Stink over prawn prices

SEAFOOD lovers have been told to brace for an expensive festive season with Gold Coast prices for fresh prawns already at a 35-year high at some retailers.

The price of large king prawns, at $40 a kilogram, are already at Christmas peak levels.

“I’ve never seen prices this high at this time of year,” said Tasman Star Seafoods coowner Peter Duncombe.

“It seems like every year you hear this but I think there is definitely going to be a shortage in certain kinds of prawns,” Mr Duncombe said.

The price hike has been blamed on major reforms in the NSW commercial fishing industry resulting in fewer prawn boats on the water, a “fizzer” start to the season, and the fallout from the white spot disease which shut down Gold Coast prawn farms this year.

Gold Coast seafood retailers said the supply of wild caught prawns could be hard to come by at Christmas.

Charis Seafood co-owner Jim Stamoudis said he was concerned about the health of the industry.

“It’s hard work when you could be an IT worker or something like that – some fishermen work 18 hours a day for 10 days straight to make the same amount of coin,” Mr Stamoudis said.

“There’s aren’t as many fishermen working the water so catches aren’t as strong as they once were.”

Scales Seafoods co-owner Mick Woolway said wharf prawn prices had “gone up $6-8 per kilo this week”.

“There’s only seven weeks or so to go until Christmas.”

A trawler operator based at Tweed Heads said most boats had been pulling in 100kg of prawns per night rather than the usual 200kg to 300kg hauls since the season opened on November 1. He blamed the full moon for slow fishing.

Despite the price increase for ocean-caught prawns, Gold Coast Tiger Prawns said their north Queensland operations had stock to supply supermarkets. “Easter could be another story though,” said general manager Alistair Dick.

North Queensland prawn farms usually supplied the supermarkets over summer while southern Gold Coast farms supplied them over Easter.