We are spending this month diving deep into the history of Sydney Fish Market and Australian seafood, celebrating the importance of the past before we take some of our biggest steps yet into the future.
When Sydney Fish Market as we know it today was but a twinkle in the seafood-lover's eye, the story of our local fishing fleet was beginning. Let us take you back to 1957, when the first of the Bagnato family set out for Australia.
Diego Bagnato was born into a traditional Italian fishing family; fishing was at the core of everyday life. At the time of his emigration, aged 29, Diego already had extensive experience at sea, having first skippered his father’s trawlers in Calabria during World War II at the tender age of 14. Arriving in Sydney after a month at sea, Diego quickly secured work as a deckhand for local fishermen, and within a year his prowess at sea was rewarded when he was made skipper of the San Rocco.
Around 1960, Diego's brothers Vincenzo, Guisepe, Salvatore, Domenico, Rocky, and Paolo all joined him in Australia, and a decades-long fishing dynasty was born. So came a string of fishing boats, which the brothers worked on together in various combinations of owners, skippers, and deck hands, including the Isabella Star, Merimbula, Haledon, Calabria Star, Santa Maria, Kirrawa, Arakiwa, Piranha, San Rocco, Antonia, Silvia, Seaport, Leeton Star, Francesca... And more!
Domenico Bagnato and Giuseppe Bagnato mending their fishing nets (1960s)
Diego and Vincenzo built trawler Immacolata Prima from scratch in Glebe, near where the Anzac Bridge now stands, and in 1964 this boat was the first to unload its catch at what would eventually be Sydney Fish Market. In those days, the local fleet consisted of just five boats, all of which were Bagnato-family owned. Everyone lent a hand at the wharf and the Bagnato wives worked alongside their husbands to manually unload the catch each day.
This family-first mindset was the Bagnato's strength; they entered into business together in various combinations over the next few decades, sometimes settling in other coastal towns up and down the NSW coast, including Newcastle.
Their loyalty to one another was key to their survival in the often-dangerous conditions they faced at sea. Domenico recounted an incident on the boat the Leeton Star (which the family owned for 17 years), when a fishing net got caught as they were shooting it to sea. As he moved to free it, his boot became tangled in the net, and he was dragged overboard and under water. Luckily his quick-thinking brother Guiseppe managed to winch the net back up at top speed, saving Domenico, and the two were back to work within the hour.
Domenico Bagnato aboard the Kirrawa with an unusual catch of an anchor (1970s)
In a similarly terrifying incident in early 1969, Domenico sailed to Sydney to skipper the 45-foot trawler Una around its homeport at Norfolk Island, until the boat’s owner commissioned him to relocate the trawler to Newcastle. With no GPS or radar navigation, Domenico navigated by compass for seven days and nights. Just 12 hours from the mainland, bad weather set in, and the Una was forced to change course. Battling gale force winds and high seas, the trawler finally reached Coffs Harbour, only to be hit by huge waves crashing over the harbour’s break wall with such force that they smashed wharves and destroyed 15 boats. Domenico and his crew were lucky to survive... And it is important to note that this story is not unique in Australia's fishing history; our fishers to this day deserve the highest respect for risking their lives every day to deliver us fresh, high-quality seafood.
While they were all talented seamen, each family member had his own strengths. Paolo, for example, launched himself as a land-based businessman in a mixed business-grocery store at one point, before returning to the seafood industry to make a name for himself as the ultimate craftsman in the art of net-making and mending. Up until his passing in 1998, it was common to see Paolo with a net between his hands, weaving his magic on the Sydney Fish Market wharves; a sight which is much missed today. Domenico and Guiseppe also owned a fish shop called Bagnato Seafood in 1979, bringing their fresh catch direct to consumer.
The stories woven into this family tree are numerous (if you want to read more about the Bagnatos, click here), and Sydney Fish Market is proud to say that the Bagnato legacy still lives on in our current fleet, through Domenico Bagnato's son Richie – who still fishes to this day from his boat the Cape Conway – and other family members such as Paul and Dick Bagnato.
The trawlers in the current fleet are normally at sea for two days per trip, while the trap and line vessels fish for a slightly shorter time, between one and two days. The fleet pull in their catch from the commercial fishing grounds that we are lucky enough to have right on our doorstep, stretching between Newcastle and Wollongong.
They bring in a huge range of species; including Snapper, Ocean Jacket, Silver Trevally, Southern Calamari, a range of Dories and Flatheads, Cuttlefish, and Gould’s Squid. This catch is unloaded at Sydney Fish Market’s wharf, sold onsite at our wholesale auctions and through our retailers, and enjoyed in homes and restaurants across the Sydney region and beyond.
While fishing can be a difficult and dangerous profession, with no guarantee of success, the fishers in our local fleet are typical of those in the 300 communities across Australia who passionately devote their lives to supplying Sydney Fish Market with the absolute freshest seafood.