Bad weather and the Easter holiday limited U.S. halibut fishing, pushing prices higher at the start of the season.
Ex-vessel prices currently range from the low-USD 6 range up to USD 8.10 per pound, for 10/20-pound fresh whole fish, f.o.b. Seattle. Retail halibut prices are high, too, at USD 20 per pound and up, some buyers say.
Despite the higher combined quota for U.S. and Canadian halibut – up 6 percent from 2014 to 29.2 million pounds this season – supply has been slow going out of the gates. In the first 10 days of the season, boats in Area 3A delivered only 146,000 pounds and boats in Area 2C delivered 420,000 pounds, according to Homer News.
“A lot of boats were in for Easter, so there was not as much fishing. Plus, the weather has picked up,” said a West Coast distributor.
“Halibut landings have not been really heavy, but there has been some fish moving through,” said a large Washington-based buyer. “The Seattle fleet is making its way off the grounds and we should see some landings from the large boats coming up.”
Fishing will also be delayed by the Russian Easter holiday, generally observed from 12 April through 19 April, the Washington buyer said.
Simultaneously, demand is “fairly limited” because of the high prices, the West Coast distributor said. “The combination of the two is keeping prices pretty stable.”
After last year’s high halibut prices and limited supply, some buyers switched to other species or halibut from other areas. “We started using whole halibut from Nova Scotia, which we are able to get 12 months a year,” said a southern U.S. retail buyer. “Because of the logistics from Seattle or Alaska direct, the freight adds USD 1.60 or more per pound. The Nova Scotia boats land and we have that fish here via truck within three days.” The retailer was featuring Canadian halibut for USD 24.95 in late March.
Meanwhile, quota limits in the Bering Sea halibut fishery remain controversial. While the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) raised the quota for most fishing areas this year, it kept the Bering Sea management area around the same as 2014, at 1.285 million pounds. Some believe that the area, 4CDE, should have reduced catch limits.
Bycatch should be reduced by 43 percent in order for the IPHC to specify the same catch allotment in coming years, Rachel Baker, fisheries management specialist with NOAA, told Alaska Dispatch News. The Bering Sea fishery had an estimated 4.5 million pounds of halibut bycatch in 2014.
