Reduced supplies and increased demand out of China are expected to lead to a tighter market for Alaska flatfish this year.
One of Alaska’s largest flatfish fisheries took a hit last month when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council set the 2011 Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) yellowfin sole quota at 196,000 metric tons, down from 219,000 metric tons in 2010.
Additionally, the BSAI northern rock sole quota was cut 5,000 metric tons to 85,000 metric tons in 2011, while the BSAI arrowtooth flounder quota was slashed 49,100 metric tons to just 25,900 metric tons this year.
Typically, fishermen land only around half of the Alaska flatfish quota (excluding halibut), which isn’t uncommon for a bycatch species. Now Alaska flatfish production is about double what it was in the first half of the decade, when annual catches didn’t exceed 135,000 metric tons ( due in part to a smaller pollock harvest).
But this year, the pollock harvest will be much bigger, as the quota is up an impressive 54 percent to 1.25 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, Asian markets, particularly China, have acquired a taste for Alaska flatfish, and meeting that demand will be more difficult as availability tightens this year. A lot of the product that’s being processed in China is now staying there.
