Blue Fin Tuna Quality,
Size and Prices Down

by Fishermen's Voice Staff

Harpooning blue fin off tuna Rhode Island. Harpoon fishermen have the advantage of selectivity among a pod of tuna. Wayne Davis photo, wayne@oceanaerials.com

New England tuna fishermen are seeing a lot of blue fin this season. Landings numbers are reported to be good with most of the fish in the mid size range of 400 to 500 pounds.

Rich Ruais of the Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna Association said the stock is in good condition which he hopes will be grounds for increasing the US quota at the upcoming ICCAT meeting this fall.

That said, Bob Fitzpatrick a tuna dealer at Maguro America in South Chatham, MA, confirmed the good landings numbers but cited other factors affecting the bottom line on the business end. Fitzpatrick said that even with a good domestic market profit margins for him and the boats are low. The 400 to 500 pound fish he is seeing have a lot of leather and connective tissue that is undermining price.

The Japanese market is getting a lot of tuna from Australia and New Zealand. But its the exchange rate with Japan that is driving down prices in the U.S.

The Japanese catch is also high this season. The New Zealand, Japan catch and the yen/US dollar exchange rate would likely trump the US catch regardless of size, fat content or volume said Fitzpatrick.

Bob Kliss at North Atlantic Traders LTD said the quality has been poor in the bluefin he has seen so far. That and the fact that the yen is at 100, down 20% over last year at this time.

Kliss said he is selling about 10% of his blue fin to Japan this season where as last year it was 80%. More is going to U.S. markets this year, New York, Las Vegas, California, Philly, all over he said. “The result is we are getting higher returns here in U.S. markets because of the yen.”

Price is based on quality and right now, said Kliss, the meat is “rubbery, dry and low in flavor, but its typical for these early fish. What is different is that Maine fish are usually good when others are not this early in the season. But this year the quality in Maine is also down.

These fish have no girth, they just swam across the Atlantic and have not been feeding yet. The harpoon fleet has been landing better fish said Kliss.

“We had a big June, and then the first two weeks of July were down. We’ve been in business for 20 years and I’m confident we’ll catch the quota. Two consecutive years are never the same. When all is said and done we expect we’ll have a good year. North Atlantic Traders expects to do 1,000 fish. Last year they were on Georges later in the season, off New York in December and finished up off North Carolina in February.

Rick Thompson at the Nantucket Fish Company in South Dennis, MA said he doesn’t expect bigger fish until later in August. He’s seeing concentrations of small bluefin. “They are not Japanese quality, but on the other hand they are not feeding yet.” Thompson said there are a lot more guys tuna fishing this year as downward pressure continues on other fisheries. In addition, “there are more recreational fishermen out there shadow fishing the professionals,” said Thompson.