GREAT CATCH

Serving the pick of local seafood, this modern fish and chip shop is off to a frying start at Mermaid Waters, writes Sally Coates

THE opening of Two Wise Fish at Mermaid Waters was destiny for owner Belinda Gates.

“I’m originally from Townsville and I’m a third-generation fish shop owner,” she says.

“My dad was a fishmonger, my grandad owned fish shops, all my uncles are fishermen.

“My sister still owns a shop up there — we had 14 fish shops for a while.

“My mum worked at Alligator Creek where they’d sell all the crabs, and she sold some crabs to my father and that’s how they met.

“My dad is retired now — he’s 80 — but he still catches fish for my sister sometimes. It’s a very tight family thing.”

This is a family where, Belinda says, mud crabs are gifted for birthdays and crumbed Moreton Bay bugs saved for special occasions.

“I’m going to bring what I know as the fishmonger’s daughter to the GC,” Belinda says. “That’s where Two Wise Fish comes into it. “The name represents all that wisdom from my family and lots of love and passion.

“Good knowledge, good fish, nothing from overseas. In saying that I am using hoki because it’s a very popular fish here, but other than that everything else is caught off Australian shores.”

And exactly what’s off those shores will dictate what ends up on the Two Wise Fish menu. Customers can dine alfresco in the exquisite OJ Thompson Bespoke Design and Fitout site, which could well be the most glamorous fish and chip shop you’ll ever step foot in. What you order will be dependent on what the water has to offer.

“Barra is in season at the moment, so I’ve got great wild barra coming from Darwin and Townsville,” Belinda says.

“But I’ll have the fish that everyone wants. For example, Melbourne people like flake and hoki.

“Specialty fish I really enjoy — snapper, barra, reef cod, red emperor — fish. It’s about looking after fish and understanding how to cook it.

“I’ll definitely have fresh prawns and oysters — I’ll basically buy everything I can.

“I can say we have mud crabs, but at the moment we have a terrible season so I wouldn’t charge you however much a kilo because there’s nothing in them. I really want to be authentic with how I sell seafood.”

Belinda also has the portion of locals who aren’t big fans of oil and batter accounted for, with clean-eating options.

“My husband Mick Page is an ex-pro cyclist. He was on Tour de France and everything, so he’s a bit of a health fanatic,” she says.

“We eat so much grilled salmon, so I’ve got a big beautiful grill in here that’s perfect for healthy grilled salmon and fish. So you can have salmon here or take it away with some sweet potato chips and have a yummy, healthy meal made with love.”

Two Wise Fish, Waterways Village, Karbunya St, Mermaid Waters