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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/72022
Market Report Brown crab landings slide Slight value increases in line with thinning supply B rown crab (Can- cer pagurus) is one of the most recog- nizable shellfi sh in Eu- rope thanks to the "pie- crust" edge to its shell, its distinctive brown coloring and large claws with black pincers. Around 60,000 met- ric tons (MT) of brown crab are caught in Euro- pean waters, making it the region's top valued crab species. T anks to the brown crab's natu- ral abundance in waters off the British Isles, the U.K. fl eet takes close brown crab (€38.4 million, $48.1 million), brown crab is the country's third most valuable fi shery after langoustines and to half the European catch with the remain- der shared mainly be- tween France, Ireland and Norway. In 2010, 24,436 MT of brown crab were landed into the United Kingdom by U.K. ves- sels, up slightly from 24,400 MT in the previous at around £31 million Eel demand dampened Prices rise before Japan's Ox Day A s Japan's biggest day for eel con- eel sumption approaches, high prices are spoil- ing demand. Ushi-no- doyo-no-hi, or "Ox day of the change of season," is to eel consump- tion what T anksgiving is to turkey. Enjoying alliteration, the Japanese like to eat a food that begins with a U (for ushi) on this day (July 27). T us, unagi fi ts the bill. A popular unagi dish is kabayaki-don: roasted eel on rice with teriyaki sauce. But with high prices this year, demand has plummeted. Unagi are river eels; they mate at sea and the elvers return to rivers to mature. Anago, on the other hand, are sea eels that live their whole lives in salt water. Poor catches of river eel fry (elvers or glass eels) for three years in a row have driven prices way up. According to the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market, the wholesale price of river eel on June 11 at Tsukiji was in the range of JPY 3,518 to 4,253 per kilogram, 33 percent higher than the same period last year and 56 percent higher than two years ago. Prices were highest in April, but eased a bit in the fi rst weeks of June due to an expected (Continued on page 13) 12 SeaFood Business July 2012 mackerel. Landings of brown crab accounted for 20 percent of total U.K. shellfi sh landed by weight and 14 percent of the value in 2010. According to (all species) Browns stay down U.K. brown crab landings, in metric tons 17,500 20,000 22,500 25,000 27,500 30,000 2005 2006 2007 the Shellfi sh Association of Great Britain (SAGB), the country's total crab landings year. Valued amounted to 28,500 MT in 2010 with a fi rst-sale value of £37.4 million (€46.3 million, $58.1 million), while the total U.K. shellfi sh landings for the year reached 152,000 MT valued at £266.3 mil- lion (€329.9 million, $413.9 million). Provisional fi gures 2008 2009 2010 Source: Marine Management Organisation produced by the Marine Management Organisa- tion estimate the Unit- ed Kingdom's total crab landings for 2011 fell to around 27,288 MT valued at £36.7 million (€45.7 million, $57.1 million). Catch volumes Early swordfi sh season results in active market From Canada through the Southeast, catch is strong T he unusually warm North American winter is bringing on swordfi sh season ear- lier than usual. While the North Atlantic swordfi sh harvest typically starts at the beginning of July, some boats have been fi shing healthy supplies of swordfi sh since early June. "T ere is a lot of stuff out of Miami, and the Canadian market is starting to open up. Fishermen out of North Carolina and Florida are catch- ing quite a bit," says a Northeast U.S. sea- food distributor. Buyers report that North Atlantic sword- fi sh are of good quality this season and larger than usual, which is expected to strengthen prices. Current do- mestic sword prices range from $5.50 to $7.50 a pound whole- sale for 100s, and between $5.50 and $6.50 a pound off the dock. Small swordfi sh is priced at around $6.50 a pound whole- sale, according to one U.S. distributor. Meanwhile, import- ed swordfi sh prices in mid-June were rang- ing from $4 to $6.50 a pound wholesale for 100-pounders and up. "T ere is a lot of cheap stuff from South America, but the price is going to start com- ing up. South America swordfi sh will die down in four to fi ve weeks because of the heat," says the dis- tributor. Supplies from Ecuador and other South American coun- tries have been plenti- ful so far this year, but their swordfi sh season will likely wrap up around mid-July. Distributors say their buyers prefer to buy domestic sword- fi sh, if the price is right. "If there is enough around, people want to buy domestic," says a U.S. seafood distribu- tor. "By and large, we sell 80 percent domes- tic swordfi sh." "T e [North Ameri- can] fi sh are excep- tional quality. What brings the market down is imports," says another U.S. distribu- tor. — Christine Blank Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com