Why? Supply and demand. Christmas is the traditional time in Australia to eat prawns, and demand skyrockets therefore affecting prices, but prawns are generally available most of the year round. Even when trawlers aren't at sea, in Queensland a number of sustainable aquaculture farms supply prawns year round.
Tiger and king prawn prices are already up around $30-35 a kilo due to a huge demand in supply leading up to summer. Gold Coast Marine Agriculture Executive Director Nick Moore said south east Queensland farms are still suffering, more than one year on from an outbreak of white spot disease.
And because shrimp spoils quickly, the fishermen have to work fast in order to process and deliver their catch to distributors and vendors. Moreover, low yields can also impact prices.
"The demand for fish to supply the marketplace in Perth is pushing the cost up and up," she said. "We are having to compete with a lot higher prices; it's pushing the fish cost too high for the general public.
Snapper is a highly prized fish, and a favourite on Australian plates for generations, which is why it is purchased in such high quantities at auction. Interestingly, these days a large amount of Snapper eaten in Australia are actually imported from our neighbours in New Zealand.
SNAPPER. One of Australia's most popular recreationally-caught fish.
Oily fish are fish that contain at least 10% fat, most of which are the healthier omega-3 oils. In Australia, the oiliest fish include: canned salmon and sardines, some varieties of canned tuna, salmon, gemfish, blue-eye trevalla, blue mackerel, oysters and arrow squid.
Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula: The Seafood Capital of Australia.
Port Lincoln is situated on Boston Bay, one of the largest protected natural harbours in the world and three times the size of Sydney Harbour and is part of the Eyre Peninsula.
Are prawns safe for everyone? Prawns naturally contain cholesterol, but are also low in saturated fat, which means that eating prawns is unlikely to raise the so-called 'bad' or LDL cholesterol. For this reason, The British Heart Foundation recommends enjoying shellfish, including prawns, as part of a balanced diet.
The same 100 grams of prawns contains only about 115 calories. Chicken contains about twice as much and beef three times as much. While prawns contain higher than average amounts of cholesterol, they do not lead to higher cholesterol levels in the body due to their healthy fat profile.
An essential for the Christmas table. Firm, sweet and succulent wild caught Australian cooked tiger prawns are perfect served as they are or in a salad. For recipe inspiration click here.
Tropical prawn species are mainly found in tropical and sub-tropical waters around Australia. They occur from Shark Bay in Western Australia along the Northern Territory and Queensland coastlines (including waters in Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea) and midway down the New South Wales coast.
That's right, these little gems are farmed in Far North Queensland by Seafarms prawn farmer, Dallas (pictured in the header image).
With 126,900 millionaires, Sydney made it to number 10 with the report noting especially strong growth in wealth in the Harbour City over the past 20 years, making it Australia's wealthiest city. It's also predicted to reach the top 5 wealthiest cities in the world by 2040.
Melbourne is Australia's culinary capital and has the numbers to prove it. Get the facts behind Victoria's love of all things food. Melbourne has more than 3,500 restaurants and serves up cuisines from more than 70 countries.
Tokyo's Tsukiji Market is the world's largest fish market, known for its early morning tuna auctions. Visitors can walk through stalls of more than 450 seafood species on some weekday mornings. Ask locals about holidays and exceptions.
Worst: King Mackerel
But king mackerel -- especially ones caught in the Pacific Ocean -- are high in mercury. Doctors say young children and women who are pregnant or nursing should avoid them completely.
Choosing fish
In Australia, tuna, salmon and kingfish are commonly used for sashimi in Japanese restaurants. But some of the best seafood varieties for sashimi in this country are: scallop, squid, tuna, trevally, kingfish, bream, bonito, garfish, whiting, flounder, flathead, snapper and even leatherjacket.
The newly described species is a type of grouper and has been christened Epinephelus fuscomarginatus. Back in 2000, Queensland Museum fish expert Jeff Johnson was shown photographs of a mystery grouper by a fisherman.