The Professional Fisher's Association (PFA) will showcase the Hawkesbury River seafood industry during the inaugural Taste of Seafood Hawkesbury River festival on Sunday, March 8, at the Wisemans Ferry Recreation Reserve.
The Taste of Seafood festival will celebrate the Hawkesbury River region and its seafood industry.
Gates open at 10am and the festival is set to attract locals and tourists with its informative industry displays, cooking demonstrations, barrel race, prawn-peeling competition, live music and stalls.
Festival-goers can also view the local fishing fleet, berthed along the riverbank adjacent to the reserve.
The festival is set to be a fun day for the whole family with a jumping castle, magnetic fishing, colouring competitions and face painting for the kids.
Tricia Beatty, PFA CEO, said: "Taste of Seafood will raise awareness about local professional fishers and provide an opportunity for festival goers to see, feel and taste locally harvested wild caught seafood whilst interacting with members of the industry."
Gary Howard, PFA Chairman and Hawkesbury River professional fisherman, said: "It's an opportunity to educate the general public on the environmental sustainability of the NSW seafood industry, they will learn how it is caught, where it is stored and where they can purchase it."
The event is sponsored by OceanWatch Australia and the Department of Primary Industries.
PFA is a not-for-profit organisation. Event organisers would like to involve the community and are accepting stall-holder and sponsor applications. If you are interested, contact PFA on 0439 199 361, email info@pfai.com.au or visit www.nswpfa.com.au. Follow Taste of Seafood on Facebook.
According to its website, "The Professional Fisher's Association was born out of a widespread concern about the future of the commercial fishing industry in NSW".
"NSW professional fishers are deeply worried about the erosion of their long term rights to harvest seafood on behalf of the community."
PFA's key objectives are to: push for strong fishing rights of commercial fishers; serve as a voice commercial wild fish harvesting; make use of industry driven research to support management and decision making; and forge relationships between the industry with government and non-government agencies.
