Updated – Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

Mahi, market has remained consistent for the last month or so in the low to mid $4/lb range to the distributor, but we see prices inching up for the Lenten season slightly. The demand is enhanced by the lack of frozen mahi inventories which will cause the processor and producer to freeze their production if necessary to preserve market price. Additionally, we have had extremely poor catch recently and high pricing out of the South Pacific nations of Fiji and Tonga that have been our bread and butter producers over the last couple months. Currently most of the mahi in our market of So. Cal is coming in from Guatemala and Ecuador. The Ecuador fish is larger and superior quality and we will be featuring that fish for about $4.50/lb through the first week of March and until the demand kicks it up higher.

Bass, the New Zealand bass production has been very good, although the processors and boats are selling most of it to Australia currently. Two of our staff (Tim and Conrad) were on a two week tour of New Zealand visiting suppliers and they heard the broken record play at every stop, “sorry mate, I can make 20% more selling the product to Australia.” While that is the case, some of them subsidize the pricing for us anyways and we have seen limited blue nose, groper, moki and trumpeter over the last two months. Current pricing to the distributor for blue nose bass(when available) is from $6.95- $7.50/lb. Groper which is more readily available is in the range of $6.75/lb to $6.95/lb and running strong this week. The best value out of New Zealand this week is the Tasmanian trumpeter bass, which is in between the bluenose and groper as far as sizing at 6-8lbs H&G/collar removed. It is available this week at $5.95/lb and is an excellent fish. Sporadically available is the less popular blue moki, due to some speckled black coloration in the meat on occasion, but this issue cooks out and tastes excellent at a cheaper option of $5.50/lb.
Domestic/Central/South American/Asian bass, The absolute most popular bass item over the last month is our barramundi fillet from Taiwan. This has been and is the most consistent multi-purpose substitute for the other bass species that have been so inconsistent. We expect the supply to last through the next month or so at those same levels. 15lb+ golden and silver corvina out of Ecuador has been surprisingly consistent and available through the last month but with the advent of lent season, the prices went up over $.60/lb. Currently selling for $5.50/lb this week, however prices are expected to go higher with Peru buying up all fresh inventories for the next 30 days or so. East Coast Virginia wild striped bass has been the cheapest priced bass over the last two weeks in ranges from $2.00-$3.00/lb for whole round 20lb fish. This season is near its end and will contribute to an increase in demand from other origins. Mexican grouper and local white sea bass are available but not in large quantities and prices are higher as the Mexican nationals are also consuming most of the product for lent.

Snapper, New Zealand tai snapper has been tough to come by and we are seeing less than half of the order filled twice a week due to increased demand in Asian nations and especially Aussie. The larger sizes are severely limited and prices will have to come up substantially if we are to keep selling this product, especially in long line form. We have supplemented our snapper offering with a consistent supply of Indonesian opakapaka fillet which comes skin on scaled in a cryo-vac bag. On occasion we are getting some ruby snapper, alphonsino snapper and Golden (red) snapper too out of New Zealand.

John Dory/Oreo Dory/Lookdown Dory, prices have come up due to exchange rates and have succeeded in diminishing sales for whole dory somewhat. We expect to have a fairly consistent supply buy may have to raise the price from our current $6.25/lb level. There are alternative dory species that are as equally tasty and appealing at less cost and we have been semi-successful at introducing a couple of them. The oreo dory has a creamier meat color and a little more fatty, but also more flavorful. It is not as readily available, but when it is, it is cheaper(prices to come). Look down dory is more similar to John dory, but larger and thicker meat but without St. Pierre’s thumbprint on the skin. We can offer this in fillet form at substantially lower levels.

Miscellaneous, New Zealand fish we have offered a consistent supply of recently is the Butterfish, also called Greenbone or Bera roui in Japanese. These fillets are 8-12 oz usually and have a bit more flavor than a regular cod, but not as strong as a northwest black cod species. Current pricing for fillets are $8.95/lb. We are seeing sporadic offerings of fresh orange roughy fillets at around $8.95/lb to $9.25/lb.

Salt water New Zealand king salmon sales have been strong until about 2 weeks ago at around $6.25/lb for our 9-11lb and 11-13 lb size fish. The Canadian creative brand fish had larger than their normal 7-9lb size fish and dropped prices during the valentines holiday which caused a slow down, but apparently their sizes and prices are back to normal again. We will be experiencing a decreased size on the superior quality NZ kings in about a week’s time which will also be down to a 7-9lb fish, but at a cheaper price, expect it to be in the $5.50-$5.75/lb range. The smaller sizing will be temporary, but is expected to last for about a month.

-Mike Glenn

Tighter than a (insert off-color phrase here)….

Fishing down in the South Pacific remains difficult, with boats returning to port very light across the board. Tuna prices are at near-record levels, reflecting the overall lack of quantity. Popular by-catch species like opah, ono, and escolar are likewise a real challenge in this market. Even albacore, which is normally a staple from the tropical pacific nations, has been very elusive lately. The most consistent offering of late has been swordfish coming up from the New Zealand longliners, and pricing on these beauties has for the most part been at the high end of the historical range. As all of these species are classified as “Highly Migratory” we often experience alternating periods of scarcity and abundance as the populations surge across the Pacific in search of food and breeding areas. For now, though, we must be patient and tighten the purse-string as high prices and low availability are the order of the day.

Mt. Cook Alpine salmon remains a strong growing item for us and they have expanded their offerings in different forms. Inquire with us about their new 3-6-5 salmon portions as well as our frozen belly and loin programs.

-John Barrett

On another note, the turnout for Phil’s memorial was fantastic as was the entire experience. It was another great send off for a great guy, we could never have enough of them for him. Many thanks goes out to the contributors of the party and those who were in attendance.

Superior Seafoods – LA, CA

Pacific Fresh Fish Company – LA, CA

OPC – Whitianga, NZ

Broadleaf Game – Vernon, CA

Terra Pacific Marketing/Mountain River Processors

The caterers and party planners @ elsegundocateringcompany.com