The unusually warm North American winter is bringing on swordfish season earlier than usual.
While the North Atlantic swordfish harvest typically starts at the beginning of July, some boats have been fishing healthy supplies of swordfish since early June.
“There is a lot of stuff out of Miami, and the Canadian market is starting to open up. Fishermen out of North Carolina and Florida are catching quite a bit,” said a Northeast seafood distributor.
Buyers report that North Atlantic swordfish are of good quality this season and larger than usual, which is expected to strengthen prices.
Current domestic sword prices range from USD 5.50 to USD 7.50 a pound wholesale for 100s, and between USD 5.50 and USD 6.50 a pound off the dock. Small swordfish is priced at around USD 6.50 a pound wholesale, according to one distributor.
Meanwhile, imported swordfish prices in mid-June were ranging from USD 4 to USD 6.50 a pound wholesale for 100-pounders and up. “There is a lot of cheap stuff from South America, but the price is going to start coming up. South America will die down in four to five weeks because of the heat,” says the distributor. Supplies from Ecuador and other South American countries have been plentiful so far this year, but their swordfish season will likely wrap up around mid-July.
Distributors say their buyers prefer to buy domestic swordfish, if the price is right. “If there is enough around, people want to buy domestic,” says one U.S. seafood distributor. “By and large, we sell 80 percent domestic swordfish.”
“The [North American] fish are exceptional quality. What brings the market down is imports,” says another U.S. seafood distributor.
