Seafood Market

5/17/23

Market Alerts

Supply steady, pricing steady
Potential supply challenges or near-term price increases
Current supply challenges and price increases

WILD CAUGHT

King Salmon (Wild) – We expect a decent amount of product from Washington. The increased effort by the fleet will likely cause WDF&G to impose catch limits after a couple of weeks. The Alaska fishery will only open for a few days and we expect very little product. California will not have a commercial season this year and Oregon will be heavily reduced. Some Oregon permit holders will be able to fish in a small part of southwest Washington.

§ Copper River Update – The fishery opened this morning for the first period of the new season. We expect to have fish available for shipping from our warehouse on Wednesday, May 17th. The ADF&G will maintain its policy of keeping the inside waters closed during at least the first couple of weeks to protect King salmon returns. We do not expect many kings until the first part of June.

Refresh Sockeye Salmon (Wild) – Bristol Bay produced record volumes last summer contributing to stable year over year pricing for refresh product.

Refresh Coho Salmon (Wild) – Frozen at Sea and refresh product is available now. Product is from Haida Gwaii of the coast of British Columbia (BC).

Wild Halibut – Pricing is down from last year with the largest year-over-year drops coming in the 10-20 LB category.

Rock Fish – Supply is steady. Primary catch area is British Columbia.

Dover Sole – Supply is steady. The primary catch area is the Oregon Coast.

True Cod – Supply has improved but expect pricing to remain elevated.

Ling Cod – Ling Cod is being harvested as bycatch from the ground fish fleet. Primary catch area is British Columbia.

Black Cod – Supply is steady. Product in the 3-4 LB and 4-5 LB range is readily available. Larger sizes are limited and are priced at a significant premium.

Dungeness Crab – The season in Oregon and Washington is effectively wrapped up. Sellers are encouraged to reintroduce Dungeness crab to customers who may have removed the item due to previous high prices.

Snow Crab – The Alaskan season will not open this year, but supply is strong from Eastern Canada.

King Crab With sanctions on all Russian seafood and the closure of Alaska, customers do not have a direct replacement readily available. There is still some product in the United States that arrived from Russia prior to the sanctions prompted by the war in Ukraine.


AQUACULTURE

Atlantic Salmon (Farmed) – After six weeks of pricing declines on 6-8 LB and 8-10 LB whole fish prices bounced back up. Prices on larger fish declined as availability improved. We expect prices to remain compressed.

Steelhead, Norway (Farmed) – Product is available, and pricing is stable.

King Salmon (Farmed) – Supply of Creative™ Farm Kings is stable. However, we do not expect the farms to be able to keep pace with peak summer demand. The harvest area is British Columbia.

Manila Clams The recent unseasonably warm weather will likely contribute to short shelf life on clams this summer. While supplies are stable, customers should expect at least 48 hours less shelf life. Sellers should encourage their end users to buy only what is needed to get to the next delivery. Primary harvest areas are Willapa Bay and North Puget Sound.

Oysters – Capital oysters are back in stock. Supply of Luna Bella’s and Island Sweets has improved. Shucked product remains in steady supply.