Market Report
August 31, 2010
Shellfish
As we move into September here are the key components in the scallop market to remember:
• Most dry U/10s were harvested from the Nantucket Lightship area in July; there will not be many U/10s harvested again until next season, keeping prices high on this size
• Because most boats fished the Nantucket Lightship in July, the 10/20 & 20/30 catch was limited, resulting in higher prices on these sizes
• With a very limited supply of imports this year, most of the pressure is being put on the North Atlantic scallop market
• Delmarva and Elephant Trunk areas will be closed from Sept 1–Nov 1 to preserve the sea turtle habitat, causing further availability challenges and price hikes
• Approx. 70% of allowable fishing days has been used
There is good availability on hardshell clams, oysters and mussels this week. Please remember to ice your shellfish very well this time of year!
It’s that time of the year again for fresh shrimp, and we are carrying a 21–25 wild hdls Carolina white shrimp. Pricing is very favorable for this extremely fresh delicacy, and we can also get fresh crabmeat from the same area.
East Coast
The weather has been good, and we will have flounder, haddock, market cod, turbot, fresh Point Judith squid, sushi fluke, black tip shark and John Dory and monkfish is starting to show up in pockets. A few more weeks and the boats will actually start targeting monk again, which should make it consistent enough for fall menus.
West Coast
Halibut prices are holding firm with no relief in sight and should continue the trend thru the rest of the season. We have yellowtail jack from Magdalena Bay, tilapia, American snapper and Australian yellowtail (hiramasa) incoming for midweek. Additionally, we will have grouper fillet, California black bass, corvina and arctic char for specials.
Fresh Water
Have you tried our Colorado striped bass? It’s farmed in Alamosa, Colorado, and shipped while still in rigor. It is one of the freshest items we carry, which makes it very popular with all our sushi bars. Lake fish is still nonexistent due to temperatures in the 100s still hanging around Lake Heron. We will have our first shot in a while of Lake Victoria perch incoming for the weekend.
Hawaii
Tuna has been a tad scarce lately due to the lack of quality fish and a huge demand coming out of Japan, but we should have more than enough sashimi big eye, nice ahi yellow fin and even some smaller yellow fins. Tuna, opah, ono and albys are all available, and we can get any other specialty fish from the Hawaiian action for the weekend. Contact your rep if you have a particular need.
Salmon
Wild salmon still looks great; we predominately are running sockeyes but will have Coho and hopefully some Columbia River kings off the new opener for the weekend business.
Farmed salmon is holding steady, and the best bang for the buck is our premium Canadian salmon fillets. Cut every Wednesday, we never have product more than 10 days off the knife, and their whole fish are definitely sashimi grade. We will also have the economically priced Chilean fillets for the cost-conscious users or Scottish fillets if you are looking for something more particular.
Sustainable Options
Ask your rep about our long list of sustainable items—Atlantic Loch Duart Scottish salmon, Gigha Island halibut, New Zealand abalone, MSC-certified Chilean sea bass, Colorado hybrid striped bass, blue tilapia, sturgeon, haddock, Australian hiramasa, laughing bird shrimp and many more. If you are looking to make any menu changes and have questions about sustainability, ask the experts. We do have our MSC certification and would be happy to help you put together a menu that will highlight these items.
