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ALTHOUGH there was a reasonable amount of fish on the Humber markets yesterday, cod remained in short supply - and prices moving in an upward direction again.
Hull's Fishgate handled over 2,000 boxes of haddock, but a meagre 200 boxes of cod. At Grimsby large cod was selling at just over £3 per kilo, reflecting a continuing difficult situation. Overall, the picture seems to be one of continuing uncertainty.
Market reports suggest that the weather conditions around the UK do not look too bad which should see supplies continue to be topped up. But the Icelandic containers are not carrying a lot of cod and what little is being brought in is certainly fetching high prices.
M&J Seafoods said in its weekly bulletin that haddock supplies were in better shape. However, on the Humber the price graph continues to move upwards.
The availability of farmed salmon from both Scotland and Norway was in reasonable shape and while the spot market appears to have stabilised prices are showing no signs of falling just yet. M&J said that salmon everywhere appears to be selling out each week.
On the prime fish front there are good supplies of wild Pacific halibut, although prices are outstripping the farmed variety. However, these supplies are from a well managed fishery and are arriving headless which means that buyers are not having to pay for the extra waste that would have been there with heads on fish. Supplies of farmed Norwegian turbot remained reasonable. Tuna prices are also stable, but with the monsoon season just around the corner this situation may not last for long, says M&J.
Should fisheries be closed during breeding time to allow stocks to reach more sustainable levels?
