A shortfall in the expected catch of Bristol Bay salmon has put a dent in the availability of Alaska sockeye fillets, but all in all it's been an OK season, says an executive with one Seattle-based processor.
“The market is a little bit dry on sockeye fillets domestically. The canned market has actually been OK, and because of that I think people are waiting a little bit longer to fillet. So the market is a little bit short on fillets, we could use some more,” the executive says.
“Once Bristol Bay fell short, the rest of Alaska can't make up for all of those reds. It fell fairly short, like 20 percent, and that's a lot of fish. Pinks, it's just a down year. It does appear to be a strong year for chums, and it's a terrible year for kings.”
Chums prices have been soft, sockeye prices have been OK, and prices for pinks are strong, the executive says. Reports from the beginning of August had prices for fresh whole salmon ranging from USD 1.40 to USD 1.70 a pound for gillnet-caught chums to more than USD 7 a pound for troll-caught kings. Prices for frozen H&G salmon were running between USD 2.10 and USD 2.25 a pound for gillnet chums to USD 3.60 to USD 3.85 for gillnet sockeye. The report didn't list prices for fresh fillets, but prices for frozen chum fillets and portions at USD 3.75 to USD 4.40.
The lack of kings is not just an Alaska issue. The owner of one East Coast distributor says boats in California were staying tied to the dock earlier this summer unless they could get prices of USD 6 or more a pound — more than double what they used to command a few years ago. “The crazy California boats decided if they can't get record prices they won't fish,” the executive says.
Wild salmon is being impacted by farmed salmon sales, as farmed prices have tanked this year due to tremendous supply. Norwegian producers “carpet bombed” the Pacific Rim nations with Atlantic salmon at the start of the summer, and Chilean producers are now doing the same with coho, the executive says.
“Japan is having a coho glut that is coming in from Chile. I've heard from the people sending wild coho to Japan that they're scared to death because there is so much fish that is in storage and is not selling,” he says. “The Japanese are promoting coho 24/7. I'm concerned about how the coho is changing multiple markets, not just its own market.”
On a more positive note, both executives say the rising prices for beef and chicken bode well for salmon and other seafood, and see this as an opportunity to boost seafood consumption.
“You hate to take advantage of someone else's misfortune, but I think this could be a good thing for seafood consumption in the United States,” the Alaska seafood executive says. “I wouldn't go out and market that, it would just seem pretty evil, but I do think that the next couple of years could be a good time for seafood consumption. We could see seafood consumption increase in the United States. I suspect it will.”
