The question being posed in the North American scallop market is: Who will blink first?
Even with steadily high prices — dry U10s around USD 16.70 (EUR 13.57) per pound and 10/20s just over USD 14 (EUR 11.38) — high-end customers continue to demand them.
“Prices are crazy right now,” said one Midwest U.S. distributor that caters to upscale retailers and restaurants and deals in Atlantic domestic scallops. “Anything 10/20 and up, you need to take out a mortgage” to pay for it. “We’re a big U10 user and [customers] aren’t blinking at the prices.”
An East Coast supplier, however, was less confident that prices would stay high without causing a fall-off in demand. “We see the prices going up, but I’m not sure how much higher they can go,” he said.
The Atlantic fleet is running out of days at sea, he noted. Through the end of October, according to mid-November reports from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, about 80 percent of the allocation for the 2014 season was landed.
This year’s Limited Access Scallop-Sub ACL total allowable catch for March 2014 to February 2015 was set at just over 41.6 million pounds, a slight decrease from the approximately 42 million pounds 2013.
The 70-day Gulf of Maine sea scallop season began 1 Dec. with an annual catch limit of 70,000 pounds. Auction prices on 2 December were averaging USD 14.24 (EUR 11.57) a pound. In 2013, Maine fishermen got an average of USD 12.24 (EUR 9.95) per pound. The Maine fishery is subject to emergency closures if it is deemed that areas are becoming overfished.
The Midwest U.S. distributor said effects on supply and price from the opening of the Maine season wouldn’t be felt immediately — if at all. “I’m not sure the price will change much,” he said, despite the additional supply.
Scallops are popular on holiday menus, he said, which will keep the pressure on fresh product. Neither he nor his customers are looking for imported frozen product because it performs differently when prepared, he said.
U10s are what most customers want this time of year, said the Eastern U.S. supplier, but the boats are now coming back with more 10/20s and even 20/30s. He said scallops could be coming off of menus if prices don’t yield and sizes don’t meet expectations.
The good news, he said, is that management of the fishery is ensuring that there will be scallops in the future.
A Western U.S. distributor noted that the scallop biomass is being deemed by the New England Fisheries Management Council as rebuilt and not overfished and there are numbers of young scallops maturing, which bodes well for the industry in general and a possible rise in TAC limits for next season.
He concurred that volume and availability of large scallops continues to be a challenge through the remainder of this year, however.
