Retail fish market:
Chinatown, Sydney.
Wholesale fish market: Frozen
tuna in the Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo.
A fish market is a
marketplace used for the trade in and sale of
fish and other
seafood. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between
fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to
individual consumers, or to both.
Fish market can also refer to the
market for fish products in general, but this article is
concerned with physical marketplaces.
History and development
Because seafood is quick to spoil, fish markets are
historically most often found in seaside towns, but (if ice
or other simple cooling methods were available) some were
also established in large inland cities that had good trade
routes to the coast.
Since
refrigeration and rapid transport became available in the
19th and 20th century, fish markets can technically be
established at any place. However, because modern trade
logistics in general has shifted away from marketplaces and
towards retail outlets, such as supermarkets, most seafood
worldwide is now sold to consumers through these venues,
like most other foodstuffs.
Consequently, most major fish markets now mainly deal
with wholesale trade, and the existing major fish retail
markets continue to operate as much for traditional reasons
as for commercial ones. Both types of fish markets are often
tourist attractions as well.
Notable fish markets
The following is an incomplete list of notable fish
markets.
Operative markets
- Billingsgate Fish Market, London, United Kingdom
Busan Cooperative Fish Market, Busan, South Korea
Fulton Fish Market, New York, USA
Maine Avenue Fish Market, Washington, D.C., USA
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan; the world's largest
fish market
Feskekôrka, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Historical markets
-
Scania Market, a historical annual market at the
Falsterbo Peninsula