When New England’s long-awaited spring thaw set in, Northeast buyers began wondering where all the haddock was. Fish from the reportedly plentiful Northern Atlantic stocks just weren’t showing up on the regional display auctions and what was available was pricey, soft and on the small side.
But once the calendar flipped to May and a new fishing season began, the Northeast groundfish supply situation flipped a switch. Haddock landings strengthened and quality followed suit, albeit slowly. Fresh day-boat cod and haddock were soon available along with product harvested during longer trips.
Prices, though, are high. Early spring haddock prices were often prohibitively expensive, as fresh fillets out of New England were tagged in the mid- to high-USD 6 range, even as some buyers referred to the fish as “spawny,” meaning the meat was softer than usual, with potential gaping. Higher prices for fresh domestic whitefish don’t appear to be coming down any time soon.
One Northeast groundfish buyer expects product quality, supplies and pricing to improve as the summer approaches and once “we all get used to the new way,” in reference to the sector-management scheme now in place.
Federal officials also report that revenues are up. Fishermen received an average of USD 1.47 a pound for groundfish, up from USD 1.20 a year earlier. Still, they say it’s too early to give credit to catch shares and other regime changes.
Still, the good news should continue. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced in April that 12 groundfish stocks in New England would have higher quotas once the season began on May 1. Although none of those stocks were haddock, species like flounder, cod and redfish intermingle with haddock and often wind up in the same nets.
Fishermen appear to be happier, as evidenced by a larger number of issued permits for this year.
The overall supply is still tight, as imports are down. Haddock imports in 2010 increased 15 percent from the previous year to 76.3 million pounds. But through the first three months of this year, haddock imports were down 6 percent, with shortages noted in frozen product from Iceland. Frozen haddock fillets from the island nation totaled just 1.4 million pounds, a 38 percent drop from the first quarter of 2010.
