Fishmongers are prepared for the Easter seafood frenzy and they're accommodating for Canberrans who might be feeling the crunch with added cost-of-living pressures.
After flooding in NSW caused an oyster shortage in 2022, fishmongers are confident with their oyster stock this year.
Ocean Fresh Seafoods isn't usually open on Wednesdays but it opened early to cater for customers coming in from all around Canberra.
Ocean Fresh Seafoods' general manager Nick Smith has 1200 dozen oysters and three tonnes of prawns which he's expecting to sell by the end of the week.
Prawn prices per kilo range from $43 for smaller prawns and $53 for the jumbo size.
Mr Smith says the week before Easter is always the busiest time of the year and he's ensured that his stock is ready for the weekend.
"We're spending the majority of the day cutting all the fish ready to rock and roll for tomorrow," he said.
"We're looking at some beautiful Patagonian toothfish which is at $110 a kilo - it's the best fish we have ever had."
With many families tightening their spending because of the rising cost of living, Mr Smith is accommodating for those who are on a budget.
"There are people that tend to lean to the cheaper fish - we accommodate for that as well," he said.
"We do have cheaper lines - ling, flathead, there's bass and we do have things like bream as well, they're the cheaper lines."
Despite the cost of living pressures Mr Smith expects Canberrans to spend big this long weekend.
"When it comes to Easter and Christmas, people want to spend the cash they have - they spend the coin and go for gold," Mr Smith said.
Across the road John Fragopoulos, managing director of FishCo, is also ensuring he has enough stock to get him through the long weekend.
He's driving between the Sydney fish markets and his suppliers across the NSW coast to source the best seafood for his customers.
He says there is a shortage of fillets mainly because of rainy weather on the coast.
"We've done most of our purchasing for seafood and oysters - but the weather didn't help because there was a lot of rain coming down."
While hundreds will flock to the local fish markets to observe the Catholic tradition of eating fish during Easter, Mr Fragopoulos is also preparing for Orthodox Easter, which will take place next week.
He has also noticed a change in consumer behaviour recently with people spending less due to rate rises and cost of living pressures.
