May 15, 2018 — Halibut prices have fallen about $2 per pound, and decreasing demand has left plenty sitting in the freezer from last year.
Billy Sullivan owns a small fish-buying operation in Homer, and he said years of historically high prices – about $20 to $30 per pound at your typical supermarket – have driven consumers away from purchasing Pacific halibut.
That begs the question: will Pacific halibut maintain its spot on the menu or be replaced?
“Fish business goes: first you’re on the menu, then you go on the chalk board, then once you go off the chalk board, you’re done,” Sullivan said as he sliced open a rock fish. “Halibut is off the chalkboard right now.”
Consumers are reluctant to buy expensive fillets in grocery stores and restaurants. A new competitor also is taking over a large portion of the market.
“They went and found alternatives to expensive halibut and the East Coast fish fills in,” Sullivan said.
Fishermen cashed in on high prices last year. Fish buyers in Alaska were eager to buy loads of Pacific halibut, Sullivan said.
By the fall, the market seemed to soften as cheaper Atlantic halibut started to swallow up portions of the market on the East Coast.