Saving Seafood

Coronavirus outbreak is sinking lobster prices, reports claim

March 13, 2020 — Bring in the dancing lobsters, and get ‘em while they’re hot.

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak is drowning Chinese demand for American lobster, reportedly plunging market prices to record lows.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, lobster prices in the U.S. have hit their lowest in at least four years, Bloomberg reports. China is one of the biggest export destinations for live lobster, where the delicacy is “a sign of wealth and status” among the middle class, as well as a popular choice for Lunar New Year celebrations and weddings as a “symbol of good fortune,” according to The New York Times.

However, no one is quite indulging like they used to during widespread lockdowns and the continued outbreak. Travel restrictions, too, have effectively canceled the once-frequent charter flights of the crustaceans from the U.S. and Canada to the Asian nation.

Read the full story at Fox News

Final 2019 Maine lobster harvest landings were better than first feared

January 28, 2020 — Despite all of the concerns expressed about the 2019 Maine lobster harvest, landings improved at the end of the year and weren’t as bad as feared, Sheila Adams, vice president of sales and marketing and co-founder of processor Maine Coast, told attendees at the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference last week.

Though lobster can be harvested all year off the coast of Maine, the season typically picks up in earnest in July and August. So many in the industry were made nervous in November when Maine harvesters were widely reported as saying they believed their landings were going to finish 2019 between 30% and 50% lower than the 2018 season total (about 54,000t).

Based on Urner Barry estimates, shared at the event, the 2019 harvest in Maine was not quite as bad as that, garnering about 43,226t, down 21% from the year before. The state of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources never publishes its official tally for the previous year’s lobster harvest until March, so it will be a while before the final numbers are known.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

May Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Landings Largest Since May 2009

June 26, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The National Marine Fisheries Service is reporting May 2018 Gulf of Mexico shrimp landings (all species, headless) of 16.281 million pounds compared to 14.585 million pounds in May 2017. This is the largest May total since 16.288 million pounds were landed in May 2009.

The Louisiana fishery led all Gulf states in May with landings totaling 10.369 million pounds. This is considerable since there hasn’t been a single production month in excess of 10 million pounds in that state since June 2014.

The cumulative total for the entire Gulf now stands at 28.14 million pounds; 2.1 million pounds or seven percent below the Jan-May 2017 total of 30.25 million pounds. The trend is still notable as landings in each of the last two months have exceeded the prior five-year average and the 2018 cumulative total stands 5.2 million pounds or 23 percent above the cumulative total of the prior five-year average.

As you would expect, ex-vessel prices are lower, especially for 21/25 and smaller count shrimp; and the Urner Barry markets have come under considerable pressure in recent sessions as seasonal production expands and where carryover inventory exists. Weakness is evident throughout the complex, but especially on 16/20 and smaller headless shell-on shrimp, and all-size PUD’s and P&D’s.

This story was originally published in Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Snow crab prices not melting any time soon

February 6, 2018 — The snow will eventually melt in the US state of Alaska and the Maritime provinces of Canada, but you better get used to the high prices of snow crab because they are sticking around for a while.

A global shortage of the species is expected to continue for a third straight year in 2018, thanks to a combination of reduced catches across North America and continuous demand in Asia, a panel of speakers suggested at a conference in Miami, Florida, last month.

There will be about 104,000 metric tons of snow crab available, down 10% from the more than 114,000t landed worldwide in 2017 and 76% below the 150,000t landed in 2015, based on data shared during a shellfish panel at the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC).

The result: Five-to-eight ounce packages of legs and shoulders are selling for $8 per pound wholesale in the US.

It’s leading seafood dealers in the US to more often offer their clients less expensive substitutes.

Brian Cooper, a partner at Sea Trek Enterprises, an East Greenwich, Rhode Island-based importer of crab and scallops, told Undercurrent News that his company normally sells anywhere from 200 to 300 loads (1,000 cases each) of snow crab each year. But he’s skeptical about matching that number in 2018 and is increasingly promoting rock crab, a species most often found in Washington State’s Puget Sound. It’s popular in Asian markets.

“You can’t charge $20 for a buffet at a Chinese restaurant and put an $8 snow crab in there,” he said. “That’s not going to work.”

Lobster, shrimp, or even chicken and beef could also be used as replacements on menus, said one large seafood restaurant executive at the GSMC event.

“It’s easier to take things off a menu than to put them back on,” he added.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Diners Still Have a Crustacean Crush as Lobster Prices Jump

December 21st,2016  — Compared with most lunch sandwiches, the lobster rolls Alex Robinson sells from the side of his blue Happy Lobster Truck in downtown Chicago were already pricey. So, he was worried customers would go elsewhere after he started charging $17 instead of $15 to cover higher costs.

Turns out, Americans still have a crush on the crustaceans, and many are more than willing to pay up. Even after the price increase this year, Robinson says he hasn’t lost any business. The 4 ounces (113.4 grams) of wild-caught Maine lobster that he drizzles with butter and a touch of mayonnaise on a bread roll remain his best-selling item.

“We haven’t had anyone who said it wasn’t worth it,” said Robinson, who owns the truck. “Prices are going up, and it’s still staying popular.”

Four years after a glut led to the cheapest lobsters since the 1980s, prices on average are up 37 percent this year and the highest on record going back decades. While U.S. and Canadian fisherman have caught more than ever in recent years, output hasn’t kept pace with demand. Exports to China surged, and American restaurants that got used to low-cost seafood have added lobster to spice up everything from soups and salads to macaroni and cheese.

“The market now is outstripping the supply,” said Bernie Berry, president of the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia-based Cold Water Lobster Association, which represents fisherman in Canada. “I don’t think we can catch enough lobsters.”

Canadian claw and knuckle meat — a common variety used in lobster rolls –averaged $28.31 per pound (454-gram) this month, up 7 percent from a year earlier and well above the 10-year December average of $17.85, according to Urner Barry, a Toms River, New Jersey-based researcher that has been tracking food prices since 1858. In July, the average reached $29.44, the most ever.

Read the full story at Bloomberg News 

US Scallop Catches Likely Stable for 2017 after NE Council Approves Plan

November 18, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The New England Fishery Management Council opted for stability in the scallop fishery for 2017, approving a plan that slightly reduces fishing pressure in open areas, and provides for one more trip to the rotational closed areas.

The spatial management of the scallop resource has made the fishery behave similar to a limited access fishery.  In 2016 scallopers were allowed three trips to closed areas, with a set trip limit.

In 2017, they will be allowed 4 trips to closed areas at 18,000 lbs per trip, and the open areas will be managed by a days at sea regime where each license holder gets 30 days at sea.

The net result is stability in the fishery, with landings expected to be around 47 million lbs.  This compares to 46.9 million pounds projected for the current fishing year.

The 2016 projections represent a 30% increase from the 36 million pounds landed in 2015.

The outlook for 2018 is also for continued stability.

“We’re happy. It’s a valuable fishery right now,” said Jimmy Wotton, a Maine scallop fisherman. “People are starting to recognize it’s a top quality product, and they are willing to pay for it.”

Scallops continue to be a popular item even at historically high prices.  Even with the increase in landings, prices are only slightly lower than they were a year ago.  Dry 10-20 scallops – a premium product – are quoted by Urner Barry at $14.79 compared to $15.13 in November 2015.

Treated or processed scallops are sold at much lower prices.  10-20 processed scallops in November were selling for $9.35, more than $1.00 less than the $10.50 price a year ago.  The increasing price spread between dry and processed scallops shows that the increased supply has mostly affected prices at the lower end of the market.

“We’ve certainly seen prices at the auction have been strong,” said Jonathon Peros, a scallop plan coordinator with the New England Fishery Management Council.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

How a national craze caused lobster prices to boil over

October 26th, 2016 — Your next fresh lobster dinner, drizzled in butter and lemon, might crack your budget.

Restaurants are having to fork over more money this year to get their hands on prized Maine lobsters, and that means your dinner bill could soar to $60 a plate. Blame robust demand.

The coast-to-coast craze of lobster roll food trucks has made lobster more affordable, and abroad the appetite for the crustaceans is growing as well, experts say.

“The demand for this product now is really unprecedented,” said Annie Tselikis, marketing director for Maine Coast Co., a live lobster wholesaler based in York, Maine. She spoke Monday just before boarding a flight for a seafood trade show in South Korea, a major customer of North American lobsters along with China and others.

Live lobster prices on a wholesale basis reached $8.50 for a 1.25-pound hard-shell lobster in August, the highest level in a decade, according to Urner Barry, a leading seafood price tracker and a partner in Seafood News.

You’d have to go back to 2008 for the last time lobsters were even above $5 for this time of year, said John Sackton, editor and publisher of Seafood News. Since that time they’ve fluctuated between $3.90 and $4.85 until this year when they’re up again over $7.

“Lobster demand usually follows the stock market and general economy,” said Bob Bayer, director of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. “When the economy is good, lobster demand is good.”

Read the full story at CNBC