MARKET REPORT | BUYING TIPS | HEALTH / NUTRITION
Market Report Updated June 2014
The sockeye season got off to a questionable start when the Copper River fishery opened in mid May. By the end of the month the cumulative sockeye harvest was approaching 700,000 fish, well short of the forecast harvest of 1.8 million fish. Fishermen were hoping that lower than normal water temperatures meant that fishing would be good the first two weeks in June, before catches normally steeply fall off. If that proves to be the case, Prince William Sound gillnetters could approach the forecast harvest. In spite of the slow fishing, Copper River fishermen were being advanced $3.50/lb. for their sockeyes, which was $.50/lb. less than last year. That put wholesale prices for fresh H&G fish at between $7-$7.50/lb. FOB Seattle for fish from the May openings.
It should be an interesting year in Bristol Bay, where the forecast harvest is 17 million fish. That’s up slightly from last year’s harvest of 15.4 million sockeye in the Bay, but well below the 27 to 30 million fish that were harvested each year from 2008 to 2010. Warmer than average water temperatures were indicating an early run in the Bay, where the sockeye runs typically peaks the first week in July.
Competition for sockeyes in the Bay will be more intense than usual as a Sitka-based processor has built a large plant in Naknek at a cost of upwards of $30 million. With the additional processing capacity – and a relatively small run – that will put a lot of pressure on the newest Bay processor to offer higher prices to lure fishermen to deliver to their plant. Last year, Bay boats averaged $1.50/lb. for their sockeyes, but given the competition for fish, they may get more this year. But that could prove very painful because this year, when it comes to sockeyes, it’s not just about the Bay.
Canada’s Department of Fisheries & Oceans has recently announced that the forecast run for this year’s Fraser River sockeye run will be somewhere between 7 and 72 million fish. While some processors are opining that that’s just an indicator that DFO has no idea how many sockeyes will show up, others are pretty nervous. That’s because the fish returning this summer to the Fraser are progeny of the 2010 sockeye run, which was the biggest in more than 100 years. If this year’s run comes in at the higher end of the forecast it would be double the size of the huge 2010 run.
If that’s the case, the big question; “Who’s going to process all that fish?” The long decline in the B.C. salmon industry has meant that there are a lot fewer plants left in the business. In 2010, the B.C. industry was overwhelmed and processors had to put fishermen on limits. If this year’s run is at the high end of the forecast, there’s no doubt that processors will be dumping fish as fast as they can into the fresh market to try to keep up with the harvest.
Buyer’s Tip: Look for the possibility of some very good buys on fresh and frozen sockeyes this August, as B.C. fishermen and processors take whatever they can get for their fish. Prices for H&G sockeyes could dip down to the $1.50/lb. range FOB Vancouver.
Buying Tips
size-taste-texture
- Size is approximately 6 lbs.
- Mild in taste
- Medium in firmness
seasonality
sourcing
Sockeye has the reddest flesh of any salmon species, and its rich meaty flesh has a high oil content. Sockeye is graded 2-4, 4-6, 6-9, and 9 up. This salmon is marketed fresh, frozen, salted, canned. Generally the further sockeye are caught from their natal river, the higher the quality. There will be major quality differences because of natural variability more so than how fishermen and processors handle the product. Sockeye caught off Central Alaska’s Copper River and Canada's Fraser River tend to be larger and contain more oil than other sockeye runs. The number of sockeye available seasonally varies, and quality can also vary within the same run.
fresh & frozen products
- Fresh: H&G May-September
- Frozen: H&G Year round
substitution options
Sockeye salmon may be used as a substitute for farmed Atlantic salmon.
Health & Nutrition
food safety:
There are no food safety or contaminant concerns with sockeye salmon.
