Seafood festival catches on
Fish was the order of the day as the seafood industry came to town for an inaugural festival that drew several hundred people to central Nelson.
The first Seafood Saturday was hosted in Upper Trafalgar St celebrating the region’s many connections to the sea.
Free fish and chips donated by Sealord and The Vic Public House went down a treat, as did the buildyour-own crumbed hoki fish burgers. The burgers were sold for $5, or more, with proceeds going to Nelson Coastguard.
On stage in 1903 Square, Sealord fish filleters deftly showed how to prepare orange roughy, silver warehou, and ling.
The festival also featured a sold-out degustation meal for 160 diners in a marquee, featuring six different tasting plates – oysters, clams, orange roughy, salmon, snapper and mussel.
Seafood NZ chief executive Dr Jeremy Helson said the event highlighted the community’s recognition of the important role the seafood sector played in the region.
‘‘There were nearly 700 people attending the event throughout the afternoon, and we have received great feedback from people about how well the day went,’’ Helson said.
‘‘This was a unique opportunity for the people in the seafood industry who are usually behind the scenes, such as fishers, filleters and fishing industry training organisations, to get a moment in the spotlight and share their passion with the public.’’
Helson said the timing was also fortunate as the festival coincided with the Government’s announcement of funding for the Nelson-based Moananui blue economy industry cluster.
Thanks to the success of the event, organisers are looking at holding Seafood Saturday in Nelson every year and expanding it to other fishing regions around the country.
For more information about the event and the industry see seafoodsaturday.nz .