Sydney's fish sellers get ready for the Easter rush

• Seafood recipes

White fish, prawns and oysters are likely to top seafood sales this weekend as Sydneysiders stock up on provisions for Easter.

On Friday alone, 50,000 people are expected to descend on the fish markets in Pyrmont, collectively hauling home more than 370 tonnes of seafood.

More than 40 tonnes of prawns and 20,000 dozen oysters are likely to be snapped up.

The supply manager for Sydney Fish Market, Gus Dannoun, says Good Friday is traditionally the single largest trading day of the year for the markets.

He suggests baking whole fish for family and friends over Easter, especially snapper, salmon, barramundi, kingfish and trout. Another option is filleted or portioned fish that can be grilled on a barbecue such as swordfish or yellowfin tuna.

For something a bit more timely, Dannoun suggests Australian-farmed prawns, which are reaching the end of their season, or readily available species such as bonito or yellowfin bream.

Smaller species with dark meat are often popular within Sydney's European communities, he says, especially yellowtail scad and blue mackerel, which are good for pickling or cooking over hot coals.

“It's a good time of the year to be buying fish because that crossover from summer to winter months is the period where most of our species tend to come into abundance,” Dannoun says.

Beyond the usual fishy suspects, octopus, calamari and mussels remain popular at this time of year or adventurous cooks could try wrangling a mudcrab or blue swimmer crab, he says.

For good-value products, Dannoun's tip is mussels and oysters though many fish species remain reasonably priced as well due to regular supply.

Peter Poulos from Peter's Fish Market in Pyrmont says this year's Australian-farmed tiger prawns are particularly special.

“They're a nice colour, they eat very well and they're getting good yields at the moment. Conditions have been very good this year,” he says.

For something a little different, however, don't overlook the humble sea mullet, Dannoun says.

“It's one of these species in big supply around this time and the quality is quite exceptional because a lot of the catch tends to be made on the coastal fringes rather than in the rivers themselves,” Dannoun says.

“Those mullet are quite nice eating ... if you were to marinate in teriyaki sauce or a bit of soy they're quite a tasty delightful fish to eat very quickly cooked over a barbecue.”

Sydney Fish Market is open from 5am to 5pm on Friday and 7am-4pm from Saturday to Monday.