‘Tis the season for fresh seafood

Fresh seafood is a Christmas tradition in Australia and recent rain has ensured strong supply and high quality ahead of the festive season.

The team at Morgans Seafood is standing by to make sure customers have everything they need for a feast to remember.

Owner Roan Van Graan says there is good supply of seafood at this time of the year, so there’s no real need to pre-order ahead of Christmas.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time and have never been caught out with not having enough stock,” Roan says.

“We would prefer people to come into the shop (and buy on the day). We will have a big team to deal with demand.

“The line outside might seem long, but it moves quickly.”

He says product availability is strong with no shortages forecast, in the coming weeks, leading up to Christmas.

Trawlers are already bringing in good numbers of fresh prawns.

“It’s early in the season but there’s a big variety of prawns coming along. The oysters are pretty juicy and succulent too,” Roan says.

“It will just improve leading up to Christmas. The rain we’ve been getting will help a lot too. The quality is good and consistent.

“If there’s drought on land, there’s drought in the ocean too.”

He says the busiest day is Christmas Eve, but his team is ordering to ensure there is plenty of stock across the whole festive season and will be ready to provide quick and expert service.

“For a lot of people, Christmas Eve is the big day and it is the busiest, biggest day for us, but we look beyond that because Christmas is a period not just a day with all the holidays in between,” Roan explains.

“This extends right up to New Year’s Day, when many are looking for some fish and chips from our takeaway outlet after New Year’s Eve celebrations.”

No.1 seller

So, what is the biggest seller during the Christmas period?

“It’s always prawns, by a mile, but also crustaceans – bugs, oysters and crabs. It’s product that’s already cooked or doesn’t need cooking such as oysters. This is especially the case in Australia in summer. It’s a hot time of the year and nobody wants to be at the oven or in the kitchen,” Roan says.

“It’s Australian tradition to have seafood over Christmas. Growing up in South Africa, I didn’t realise how big seafood is over here during the Christmas period.”

He and his family have embraced the Aussie tradition, with seafood now having a prominent place on their Christmas table.

Christmas opening hours

Roan says he will have plenty of staff, family and friends working across the Christmas period, particularly on Christmas Eve, to meet demand and keep lines moving quickly.

He asks customers to be patient and polite, and assures them the seafood will be worth the short wait.

Morgans Seafood will be open across the festive season, except on Christmas Day when it will close. Its hours will be extended on Christmas Eve, when it will open from 6am-5pm.

Morgans Seafood is at 21 Bird O’ Passage Pde, Scarborough Boat Harbour. To find out more, visit morganseafood.com.au