Media Release: Votes pour in for national fish and chips awards ahead of Easter

Thousands of Australians have already cast their votes in the 2017 Australian Fish and Chips Awards, as the nation prepares to dine on seafood during Easter.

Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Anne Ruston, said the competition was getting fierce.

“It’s been great to see some of our famous and iconic fish and chip shops getting into the spirit of healthy competition for this all important title,” Minister Ruston said.

“Of course it’s no surprise to me that three out of the top five vote winners to date—including the ​number one choice so far—are based in my home state of South Australia. We’re very lucky to enjoy the very finest fish and chips in our part of the country, although I’m sure people in other states might like to prove me wrong. The way to do that is to cast a vote. Bring it on!”

Minister Ruston said feasts of fish at Easter were a very old tradition, and Australians were expected to crunch their way through almost a million serves of fish and chips over the four-day weekend.

“Seafood is becoming a more popular feature of feasts on many traditional holidays in Australia,” Minister Ruston said.

“These days families are just as likely to tuck into a big feed of fresh prawns as they are a Sunday roast.

“There’s no secret as to why—Australia produces some of the best seafood in the world. There’s so much variety. It’s fresh, it’s local and it’s sustainable, sourced from the best-managed fisheries on the planet. The seafood industry is worth $2.7 billion to the national economy, and is a major economic contributor in many regional communities.”

The national winner of the 2017 Australian Fish and Chips Awards will be announced on 28 September 2017 at the National Seafood Industry Awards in Sydney.

For more information and to vote, go to www.fishandchipsawards.com.au

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