October Fresh Market Report - Download the October Report

Farmed Atlantic Salmon
Canadian Salmon prices have stabilized and if anything will strengthen as wild salmon season ends. We are still handling Canadian only here in house and are getting strong supply of larger fish right now ranging from 10-12’s through 16-18’s. The farms we have partnered with are getting us great quality fish with very little gaping and low incidences of KUDOA. We are hearing that some farms are having major problems with quality both from KUDOA and sea lice.

Production out of Chile will increase as we move into the winter months allowing us to bridge the gap we have seen in the past with Canadian fish. Scottish salmon remains steady with only mild blips in production due to holidays both here and in Europe that hamper the shipping schedule. We have been proud to exclusively represent the Shetlands Best brand here in Southern California allowing our customers to have access to a premium all natural option. If you have not tried it and you love Salmon you will be surprised with the superior quality and taste that comes along with this highly sustainable product.

Wild Salmon
The wild salmon season is all but over. There is some Native American tribes still catching fish but as the weather turns up north the fish will dissipate.

Sockeye
Season is over frozen fillets are available to be thawed out or sold frozen till the season re-opens in the spring

King Salmon
Season is all but over there are some small niche net fisheries with the Native American tribes with the fish coming to us H&G out of Puget Sound and The Columbia River.

Coho Salmon
Catch is dwindling down in Alaska. Puget Sound is catching small amounts right now with the Keta Salmon.

Keta
The last of the wild runs still left. There are some available now coming out of the Johnston Straits. The Omega oils in this fish right now is very high because it is beginning it’s trek up the Frasier River to finally end up in Puget Sound come the middle of October

Halibut
The Alaskan Halibut season is slowing down with the end fast approaching in mid November. As the weather gets tough up north it is going to get more and more difficult to procure product for our needs. Frozen production has been very light this season so we are hoping by stepping in early we have enough to last us through till March of next year when the season will kick off again. Costs remain steady right with fish still landing from both Alaska and Canada.

Mexican Halibut and Fluke is pretty much non-existent except for a few day boat fish being landed in Matzatlan which is staying local and not being exported here to the US. I am bringing some small Eastern Fluke in to supplement our needs in this category. The rest of the fleet are all targeting shrimp and now pacific lobster which started on October 1st. California spiny lobster season runs from the Saturday preceding the first Wednesday in October, to the first Wednesday after the 15th of March. Adult spiny lobsters make their homes in crevices and caverns of coral reefs, sponge flats, old barrels, and almost any structure where something could hide. Lobsters stay in their dens during daylight hours to avoid predators, and come out a couple of hours after dark to look for food. If you are hunting during the day, they'll be hiding in these places, so look around. You usually won't be able to see the whole lobster, but will usually see a pair of antennae poking out. Most likely, if you spot one pair on antennae, you'll see more!

Sea of Cortez Fish
Full moon is hitting on the 11th so fish should start to get tight next week, but right now costs are down and quality has been great. The fish is currently coming out of Morro Bay, San Diego, Ecuador and Costa Rica. The early shots of sword that we have seen have been nice, but can and will get better as we move along. All projections should come true with a banner season now hitting the east coast we expect similar landings here.

Tuna remains high priced, but it has come down in price somewhat. Supply remains tight but with the full moon next week we should see some good production allowing prices to come down even still. However the quality has been suspect from many areas right now the best quality for both color and texture is coming out of Vietnam and the Philippines.

Shark has been tough to come by. With many of the retail stores in the area banning the species due to it being on many watch lists, boats are staying away from catching. However with the onset of the local season we should start to see some bycatch from these vessels.

Opah, Ono and Escolar have all been tight this past week. Fiji catch has been down so we are looking toward Australia for some potential supply and may have product here early next week.

Please feel free to contact your salesperson or any member of our team at the location that is convenient for you.

American Fish Los Angeles: 213-612-0350

American Fish Arizona: 602-272-8375

American Fish Sacramento: 916-373-0202

Cactus Cover: 760-343-2200

Chesapeake Fish: 619-238-0526

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