To all

I would like to thank my business partner, Darrell Pardy for writing the weekly blog in my absence.

Weather:

Hurricane Danielle was a near miss for the Northeast and as it moved out to sea it pulled in a tropical heat wave. Currently, there are two hurricanes moving toward the Northeast, the first is Earl and should arrive by Friday and create dangerous conditions offshore through the weekend. The next hurricane is Fiona and that storm should arrive by the middle of next week. It is a little early to predict the outcome of either storm, but most boats that are fishing should be in by Friday with heavy landings. If the forecasts are correct and Fiona follows behind Earl then fresh seafood landings will drop dramatically next week.

Groundfish:

Landings have increased this week as many large draggers are returning from Georges Bank with good supply of Haddock. Some of the smaller boats will land mid week to avoid the storm and there will be additional quantities at the end of the week.

Canadian supply remains limited; there are small quantities of hook fish available at reasonable prices. Many Canadian boats will also land ahead of the storms and some of the product will be shipped to the USA. However the weak American dollar has caused many suppliers to sell their product in Canada keeping the bulk of the landings north of the border.

Cod landings have been very small on both sides of the border. Prices remain very high for whole fish.

Domestic Pollock has seen good landings and the prices are low. Canadian Pollock is being used for salting and consequently very little is finding its way into the USA market.

Scallops:

As Darrell mentioned last week, if you can find any at reasonable prices – BUY THEM.

At todays scallop auction in New Bedford prices jumped again for all sizes and from all areas. Unfortunately the scallops being landed from the offshore fleet are not only expensive, but the quality is mediocre at best. The water on Georges Bank and further South is the warmest this time of year and the air temperature has remained very high. With this combination of warm water and hot weather shelf life can be severely affected. Be careful when purchasing scallops from the large offshore boats, it is worth the extra money to purchase scallops from smaller boats or the general category day boats.

One major reason scallop prices remain high, for Domestic scallops, is the weak American dollar. Demand from Europe remains very strong and the major freezing operations in New Bedford are shipping large quantities into the European market, capitalizing on a weaker U.S. dollar.

Peruvian scallops have become very scarce and expensive with price nearly double to last year. Landings in Peru remain very low with much of the product being shipped to Europe as Roe On in the shell.

Mexican scallops are virtually nonexistent, but there is some talk that the Government may open a few areas in the fall. Last year supply was very limited and prices high, unless there are some major landings and the Government allows fishing then prices will remain very high.

Philippine scallops continue to trickle in and the sizes remain very small, the importers have raised pricing on all sizes.

Chinese scallops remain in good supply, but again the importers continue to raise prices to follow the domestic market. Chinese product at one time was a bargain, but now that prices are high and with past food scares surrounding chemicals in food from China demand has dropped.

Offers for Japanese product are more frequent now that the season is in full swing, but pricing remains extremely high due to the weak US dollar. The offerings are also for smaller sized scallops as most of the larger scallops are being sold into the Japanese market. 

FAS Haddock:

The Norwegian boats are starting to get ready to begin the trawl season. The Hook boats will be heading out in early October. Our current supply should last until the new fall season begins. Expect inventories and offerings to be very light until late October.

FAS Alaskan Cod:

The Alaskan Long Line Cod fall season starts in September and landings are expected to be strong. Demand is very high worldwide with the larger sizes being exported to Asia and Europe. There is some shore frozen and Pot caught fish available, but it is inferior to the FAS Long Line Cod.

Halibut:

The recent Canadian opening in Gulf of St Lawrence did not result in large landings and prices have remained high for East Coast fish. With Hurricanes heading to the Northeast I suspect landings will tighten and prices continue to rise.

West Coast Halibut landings remain very low, as many vessels switched to salmon fishing. With the glut of Chums being landed some boats should switch back to Halibut fishing? 

Salmon:

East coast farmed Salmon landings are steady, with prices a little lower than earlier this summer. Demand has dropped a little as West Coast Salmon is priced lower and the summer tourist season is drawing to a close.

West coast Salmon prices are down and landings of Chum's on the West coast have broken records held since 1913. With historically high landings, there is a shortage of processing capacity and many boats will switch to Halibut fishing, or other more lucrative fishing.

Shellfish:

Landings of most shellfish have been very good, but with extremely hot and humid weather and two hurricanes approaching red tide could blossom, or areas could be closed next week because of heavy rain and runoff.

Swordfish:

Supply has been very good with American, Canadian, and fish from Costa Rico being offered at reasonable prices. Qualities can vary widely from different areas, be careful what you purchase and where the fish where landed. Prices should remain moderate for the next week, but will probably spike next week as the Hurricanes move through the Northeast.

Tuna:

Prices remain very high with poor landings of all species from all locations. 

Have a great week and remember FISH is brain food.

Ray Swenton

President

Bristol Seafood

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