Bigeye Shortage And Quota Drive Cost To Premium Levelsff

From KITV

For those hooked on having sashimi as a New Year’s tradition, fishing for a bargain is going to be tough.

A popular favorite year-round, fresh Pacific big-eye tuna is an especially hot seller during the holidays. Local fish buyers, who determine the retail price of sashimi, bid to get the best quality of ahi at the best price.

Despite a small selection of fatty fish available at the auction, Guy Tamashiro from Tamashiro’s Market said he was paying more than $20 per pound Wednesday. Based on that price, customers paid $13 on the low end and $30 for the premium. On Thursday, boats brought in a better selection of ahi which increased the price of sashimi to $13.95 up to $34.95 for the very best cuts. Depending on what the boats bring in Friday, that price could change.

Customers hoped with the bad weather in parts of U.S. delaying and canceling shipments that the cost of ahi would drop locally, since in theory more fish would stay in Hawaii. But Honolulu fish auctioneers said that’s not so.

“There’s a significant demand from other parts of the nation as well. We’re not shipping to the East Coast as much right now, but there is still significant demand,” said Brooks Takenaka of the United Fishing Agency in Honolulu.

Takenaka said fishermen hit the annual catch limit for Western and Central Pacific waters around Thanksgiving, forcing boats to move to Eastern Pacific waters, cutting down on the number of days to fish.

“We’re used to maybe 80,000 to 100,000 a day. We’ve been getting 50, 60, 70. Today we got 100. But it’s not enough fish to begin with. So it’s been a very stressful year,” said Takenaka.

In recent years, a quota was set by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to help reduce overfishing by 30 percent.

Takenaka said longline fishermen are obeying limits set by the commission, but unfortunately, there are others who continue to break the rules. Until supply significantly increases, the effort to conserve the dwindling population of big-eye tuna fish will likely keep costs at a premium.

Tamashiro said the highest prices he has seen for premium cuts was last year at $35 per pound and has noticed customers still go with the tradition of buying sashimi-- they just buy less when prices are up.