Ducgo Live Seafood

May 1997

Danny Lo wonders just who cooked all the live fish at home on Mothers’ Day.

He and his wife Amy have not sold so many live fish in one week since Chinese New Year. And they were still busy delivering all day Sunday to the many restaurants which they supply.

Danny runs Ducgo Live Seafood in Box Hill which he believes is the only retail outlet with a selection of live fish. “There are wholesalers and there are a few shops with live crabs and crays, but I have twenty different live products.”

Storing such a variety of live fish and seafood requires a number of different tanks all kept at different temperatures to suit the waters from where they came. The tropical coral trout is kept in water of at least 20 degree celcius whilst the Tasmanian crayfish chills out at 11 degrees celcius.

The live fish comes mainly from interstate, the barramundi from South Australia, the coral trout from Queensland, parrot fish and morwong from Tasmania. Then there’s also live black tiger prawns from Queensland. These prawns, says Danny, are currently very good value because the export market for them has slowed down. $22 will get you about 40 live prawns, the equivalent of 1/2 kilo. And, $15 can get you a whole live barramundi (slightly over 1/2 kilo). We tried one and compared it with another which was very fresh but not live. The texture and the taste was significantly better as was the price. You are paying at least a third more for live varieties.

Why is so much live fish being sold now?

Danny believes it is the increase in Asian migrants who have been used to being able to buy live fish in the markets and on the street. And to the numbers who have come from Hong Kong where they will only eat live fish. “Even some families on an average income will pay for at least one live seafood meal once a week, and (says Danny) the kids simply refuse to eat frozen fish.”

Ducgo is now at 4 Cambridge St Box Hill (03 9899 9668). It originally opened at 980 Whitehorse Road in 1994. Before that Danny had distributed seafood to the restaurants in Little Bourke Street where he once worked as a waiter. His family came from Vietnam in 1979 spending more than 20 days in a boat before being able to land in Darwin. After coming to Melbourne and learning English Danny was able to get a job. He met and married his Cantonese born wife in 1989.

Their business is very successful and requires extraordinarily long hours. Danny might start at 2am and finish well after dark in the evening. The demands are constant and increasing. The opening of the Casino called for 3 tons of live crayfish and a lot of different suppliers to work to get those.

“They were very particular, the size had to be between 900 grams to 1.2 kilo, . . . we sold them a couple of hundred.” He would not tell me the price but it must have been in excess of $50 a kilo because after May 1 only male crays were allowed to be sold . The next big price rise will be in June and in July when the season will be closed completely for two weeks each month and then again in September/October before re-opening in November. Over these times, what crays can be got will be well in excess of $60 a kilo.

The most popular of the live fish is coral trout and Ducgo will distribute about 200 kg a week. At the moment Danny finds that his market, which is 80% Chinese, will not consider some of the varieties of fish most loved by Australians. “The Chinese don’t like rainbow trout, whiting, garfish or anything with small bones and too light a flavour . . and the Australians prefer to have their fish filleted - fresh but not live.”

Ducgo is open from 10am-6pm Monday to Friday; on Saturday from 9.30am-5pm and on Sunday from 10am-3pm. Danny says that he has to open seven days. “When you are working with the restaurant business, their busiest time is at weekends, so when they run out on Saturday night, they need extra stock for Sundays.”

Amy his wife seems to enjoy the pace, she serves in the shop, cleans the tanks, makes fish congee for her two daughters and, on Mothers’ Day gets taken out for dinner.