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Freo feeds masses with loads of fishes

Crowds crammed the Fremantle Seafood Festival yesterday, lured by an enticing combination of sunshine and mouth-watering flavours.

Festival director Peter Woods said attendance was solid all day, with crowds spilling out of Fishing Boat Harbour and Bather's Beach from 10am onwards.

He estimated that more than 10,000 people attended, "which considering it's not a big venue, is just awesome", he said.

Mr Woods said the festival presented and celebrated seafood from around WA, including wild prawns from Shark Bay, abalone from Augusta and barramundi from Cone Bay in the Kimberley.

"The main thing is we've actually shown people what quality seafood there is in WA," he said.

"People don't realise how lucky we are here."

Cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs were particularly popular, with people cramming around temporary stages.

"With each menu we cooked, we served about 50 samples out to the audience," Mr Woods said.

"The quality of the seafood has just been sensational, so people were loving it."

Chefs on show included Peter Manifis, Don Hancey, Josh Catalano and Bart Beek.

Fisheries Minister Ken Baston used the event to announce that WA's deep-sea crab fishery would seek certification from the globally recognised Marine Stewardship Council.

A tick from the MSC shows that a fishery maintains sustainable fish stocks and minimises environmental impacts.

"Increasingly, seafood buyers here and around the world are looking for additional evidence that the fish they buy are from well-managed and sustainable stocks," Mr Baston said.