Summer is everyone’s favourite time to eat Australian seafood... But how do you know which species are in top form in the warmer months?
You ask the experts, of course!
We’ve picked the brains of our Seafood Trading team, dug deep into the supply data, and chatted to our retailers to get you the scoop on what’s going to be fresh and delicious this summer.
Tiger Flathead
Tiger Flathead consistently lands in the top 3 species (by weight) traded through Sydney Fish Market’s auction, and its peak seasons are in December and February. These appropriately named bottom-dwelling marine fish have flat-triangular shaped heads and long tapering bodies, and are endemic to Australia.
Wild-caught, they are found mainly on the mid-continental shelf and upper slope in depths of 10-200m (sometimes as deep as 400m) and are caught off the south-eastern coast, including around Tasmania.
Tiger Flathead have a slightly sweet flavour, low oiliness and slightly dry, medium textured flesh with fine flakes. Our two favourite ways to cook Flathead are wrapped in banana leaves and baked or barbecued, like in this recipe, or battered for fish and chips (recipe here).
Australian Salmon
Australian Salmon (not to be confused with Atlantic Salmon – different species!) is a ridiculously underutilised fish, and as such is very low-priced. It responds particularly well to proper handling methods, such as brain spiking, bleeding, and placing in an ice slurry as quickly as possible.
If it’s fresh and handled correctly, Australian Salmon has a clean, firm, meaty flavour and is excellent as crumbed fish pieces, minced in fish cakes barbecued, smoked, or even as sashimi.
It is also very high in Omega-3 fatty acids! This means that strong accompanying flavours are best... Think tomatoes, olives, vinegars, pickled vegetables and punchy herbs.
School Prawns 
While King Prawns are Australia’s most popular species of prawn, their large size can also mean they fall on the pricier side. However, a rule of thumb that you might not know is: the smaller the prawn, the sweeter the taste. Little School Prawns are often deemed the sweetest of them all, and an added bonus of their petite size is that they are able to be used in a huge variety of ways.
Try tossing cooked ones in a roll or a prawn cocktail with some fresh lettuce and kewpie mayo, or – our favourite trick – ordering them deep-fried whole from one of our retailers for an exciting new foodie experience. Yes, you can eat the heads, shells, legs and tails!
Fun fact: School Prawns were pretty much only used as bait to catch Bream and Whiting until Asian immigrants showed Australia how good they could be if treated with a bit of love. Now School Prawns are often more expensive than the fish they used to catch (though they’re still a very affordable species)!
Rock Lobsters
Available wild-caught and farmed, various regional species of these marine crustaceans are found all over Australia. By far the most valuable commercial species in Australia (worth over half the value of total Australian finfish catch), they are caught mainly in pots and mostly exported live or frozen to Japan, Taiwan or China.
These are a premium species, and as such, deserve a thoughtful approach. Whatever you do, make sure that the Lobster is the star! Sashimi, in a salad, or in a pasta where the sauce is made by simmering and reducing the Rock Lobster shells and organs.
Our best two tips for selecting a good specimen are to make sure that the shell is firm (this will indicate that the tail is full of meat) and to, wherever possible, choose the smallest Rock Lobster available. It is usually better (flavour-wise) to get a few 500g specimens than one that weighs 1-2kg.
Southern Calamari
Most commercial catch of Southern Calamari comes from the pristine waters of South Australia. Cooler ocean temperatures create a clean, subtly oceanic flavour that puts this species squarely at the top of the list of Australia’s most highly prized cephalopods.
Neil Perry would char Southern Calamari on an open fire (or a barbecue, if you don’t have the Margaret kitchen at your disposal!), and dress it with a simple, punchy marinade like Salmoriglio.