The U.S. monkfish fishery is managed in two units — from Cape Cod, Mass., north to the Canadian border and from Cape Cod south to North Carolina. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), “Based on the results of the 2010 stock assessment, monkfish biomass estimates in both the northern and southern management areas are well above target levels.”
Yet several retailers are discontinuing monkfish. In November, Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Co. withdrew its long-popular display of a whole monkfish. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Watch still rates the species as “avoid,” though this is in opposition to bottom trawling in general, rather than to any claim of diminished monkfish stocks.
Landings, however, remain strong. For the week ending 2 December, at Boston, New Bedford and Gloucester, NMFS reported landings of 19,000 pounds of monk tail, for a 2011 running total of 1.1 million pounds for the year, up slightly from last year’s 1 million pounds.
At the New Bedford Whaling City Seafood Display Auction in early December, large monk tails (2.6 pounds and up) fetched USD 4.56 to 4.90 per pound, while small tails (2.5 pounds and under) commanded USD 4 to 4.27 and livers brought USD 3.71. At Cape Ann Seafood Exchange in Gloucester, large and small tails were tagged at USD 3.54 and USD 3.71, respectively, while large head-on tails were quoted at USD 2.28.
In Japan, monkfish (anko) is a winter hotpot dish. Hotpot (nabe) sets are sold in supermarkets from the onset of winter and consist of tail, some liver and skin, and the muscular base of the pectoral fins (with bone).
Japan-origin chilled monkfish meat ranges from JPY 600 to as much as JPY 2,500 in the nabe season. Fukushima and nearby prefectures formerly led landings, but, after the March earthquake and tsunami, radiation led to a ban on fishing in Fukushima Prefecture, and consumers are wary of nearby areas.
In Shizuoka Prefecture’s Tsuruga Bay, among the deepest in Japan, Tachibana Suisan is developing a regional brand on the theme of “deep-sea food.” To promote the area, on 8 January the company will sponsor the 7th annual monkfish cutting display and feast, at which 800 people will eat free anko-nabe.
The main U.S. product is livers. These are packed in tubes and run JPY 600 to 1,000 per kilogram. Most monkfish in the Japanese market is imported whole from China to Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where it is processed for nabe sets, frozen and distributed to supermarkets nationwide. Wholesale prices start around JPY 300 per kilogram. The species is the same as in Japan (Lophius litulon). In the United States and Canada, the species is Lophius americanus, while the European monkfish is Lophius piscatorius.
New Zealand had exported its local species, Kathetostoma giganteum, commonly known as the giant stargazer, in H&G form. But a few years ago, the regulations in Japan changed, and New Zealand monkfish could no longer be sold under the Japanese name for monkfish (anko).
“We saw a major drop in demand, and this forced the industry to look at other markets, which primarily was as fillets to Europe. Like most species, reprocessing via China is common,” said Ian Langridge of Absolute Foods Ltd., an Auckland-based food service and export company.
He has also seen a significant increase in domestic demand. As local consumers sought cheaper species, monkfish gained in popularity and is now expensive. The company is selling skinless fillets to the United States at USD 9 per kilogram this week.
New Zealand statistics for January through October 2011 show H&G monkfish exports at 225,478 kilograms to China, 81,504 kilogram to Japan and just 3,000 and 4,000 thousand kilograms to Hong Kong and Korea, respectively. Korea is a growing market due to the popularity of agujjim, braised monkfish with bean sprouts and local greens in spicy sauce. Frozen fillets went primarily to the United Kingdom (82,925 kilograms), with a few thousand kilograms each to the United States and various continental European countries.
