MIDNIGHT PRAWNS

Under the cover of darkness, KARLIE VERKERK finds out what it takes to get a prawn from river to plate.

- KARLIE VERKERK

It’s nearing midnight and Ross Fidden is kneeling in one corner of his runabout, arms dangling over the side as if he’s accidentally dropped something. The glow from his headlamp illuminates the calm, inky water as he reaches down into the abyss. “I’m threading the spreader into the net,” says Fidden. The spreader, a technical word for a timber pole that is forked at each end, holds the net open in the middle. He stands gingerly, readjusting his waders. “Now, we wait.”

As we float peacefully on the Myall River under the cover of darkness, Fidden, a fifth-generation fisherman, explains the process of set-pocket prawning. In short, a 20-meter-wide, funnel-shaped net is strung across the river, and as the tide runs in, it carries the prawns into the net. It seems pretty simple he says, but there are a lot of variables – the tide, the moon and the weather all play a part in creating the perfect prawning conditions. And based on the tonight’s conditions, our haul should be sizable.

“Last night, I pulled in 900kg on my own; and 1100 the night before with a little help,” says Fidden. “You can’t stop, you’re flat out!”