A planned ferry service to the new Sydney Fish Market is generating controversy. Rowers and kayakers in Blackwattle Bay express worries about the potential impact of larger ferries on their activities, citing risks to safety and a lack of adequate consultation during the planning process.
Rowers fear that the larger vessels and proposed route could lead to collisions and endanger inexperienced scullers. They feel the situation is akin to 'putting a highway across a park'. They are seeking input on ferry size and schedule before the service begins.
While Infrastructure NSW assures a vessel traffic management plan is in development to address potential conflicts, rowers remain unconvinced without proper engagement. Meanwhile, local politicians and residents advocate for an additional ferry stop at Walsh Bay to improve access to the wharf precinct.
The new Sydney Fish Market project itself has faced significant delays, cost overruns, and contractor challenges, pushing back its opening date.
The existing Blackwattle Bay ferry service uses a 12-metre MiniCat vessel to shuttle passengers between Glebe, Pyrmont and Barangaroo. Galea said any new ferry route servicing the fish market would most likely include a larger vessel and potentially a stop at Rozelle Bay.
“The ferry they talk about will shake our [floating] pontoon as it goes past and could sink an inexperienced sculler. And the route they are rumoured to take would put the ferry travelling head-on with our rowers as it crisscrosses the bay from stop to stop,” Galea said.
The government was required to consult rowers and paddlers on a vessel traffic management plan for the new market. Galea said members understood there would be changes to conditions, but they were unsure which recommendations would be adopted in the final plan, and they wanted to be included in discussions about ferry size and timing before the service began.
“For rowers and paddlers, putting in the ferry service is like putting a highway across a park” Galea said.
“You could do it, but if you don’t consult and plan properly, you will make the bay unsafe for the community and lose us forever.”
Infrastructure NSW said the vessel traffic management plan, which would be published soon, included measures to manage potential conflicts and problems associated with recreational rowers, and recreational and commercial vessels.
“The new Sydney Fish Market will provide a significant improvement in the management of commercial vessels by providing additional space for berthing, reducing the risk of vessel conflicts with other users of Blackwattle Bay,” a spokeswoman said.
Transport for NSW would not be drawn on plans or timing for any new ferry route and said it was discussing potential options for delivering passenger services to the wharf with Infrastructure NSW.
Separately, Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, City of Sydney councillors and the Millers Point Residents Action Group are lobbying the government for a ferry stop at Walsh Bay to form part of the route.
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The residents argue a stop at Pier 2/3 would make it easier for visitors to get to and from the Hickson Road wharf precinct for shows and events, cutting reliance on cars.
In a letter to Transport Minister John Graham, Greenwich said a ferry stop would “boost local tourism and economic activity while providing a great tourist ferry journey linking Walsh Bay with other attractions at Circular Quay, Barangaroo, and the future Sydney Fish Market”.
The project to build the new market, which began in 2021, has been frustrated by construction delays, cost blowouts, subcontractor woes and financial uncertainty.
It was expected to be completed by 2024, but the opening date has been pushed back to November and may run into next year to avoid interruptions to trading over the busy Christmas period.
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