Sydney Fish Market Executives Increase Pay Despite Losses

Sydney Fish Market directors awarded themselves a 23 per cent pay rise in 2023–24, even as the company recorded two consecutive years of financial losses totalling $17 million.

In the most recent financial year, the market reported a $10.6 million loss, mostly due to a $9.9 million write-down. That figure included legal and consultant fees tied to the company’s upcoming move to Blackwattle Bay. The year before, the market posted a $6.2 million deficit.

Auditors signed off on the company’s financial statements five months late. They concluded the business would remain viable for another 12 months.

Concerns mount over $836 million relocation

The taxpayer-funded relocation to Blackwattle Bay is under scrutiny. Some tenants have raised concerns about the new site’s ability to support proper refrigeration and worry that its multi-level layout will disrupt seafood logistics. Many have refused to sign new subleases, which could result in compensation payouts if the new premises are not considered “like-for-like.”

“The group continues to negotiate with these tenants,” the company’s financial report said. “This represents normal commercial leasing negotiations, and the board believes it is highly likely that most existing tenants will sign leases in the near term, or that new tenants will be found should agreement not be reached.”

Since 2019, the company’s net assets have dropped by 77 per cent—from $22 million to just over $5 million. Its only major remaining asset is an annual fishing quota, which it leases to seafood suppliers.

Former director Bruce Standen warned that this decline could weaken the market’s role in setting seafood prices. “It would be further erosion of the role that the market plays as an intermediary in the price discovery process,” he said. “It would lead to fragmentation.”

In a statement, Sydney Fish Market defended the executive pay increase, saying salaries had been frozen for years and the adjustment was consistent with industry standards. “Our underlying financial result for FY24 is reasonable in a challenging transition year,” the company said.