KODIAK - Growing demand and poor fishing in other parts of the world are helping wholesale prices for Alaska crab and cod.
Slow deliveries into a strong market have caused a price spike for opilio tanner crab, most of which is caught in the central Bering Sea near the Pribilof Islands.
Since the season got under way Jan. 15, prices for opilio shipped to Seattle have jumped from around $2.95 a pound to close to $3.25.
Fishing in the Bering Sea has been slowed by bad weather during the first few weeks of the season. Through Feb. 6, 52.6 million pounds had been landed, from a harvest guideline of 186 million pounds, according to the Department of Fish and Game.
Unlike last year, Japanese have been bidding aggressively for opilio crab, which has amplified the price impact of limited supply available, according to market watchers. Rather than selling their product ahead of time, as is typical, some U.S. companies have been shipping it to Seattle and then auctioning it off.
Poor cod catches in Europe and along the Atlantic coast of North America are having a positive impact on demand for Alaska's cod.
The price of frozen headed and gutted Alaska cod for salting is reportedly as high as $2,700 per ton. Reprocessing plants in Norway and Canada have been bidding fiercely for product wherever they can.
Alaska's cod fishery, which opened Jan. 1, has a catch quota is 265,000 metric tons, two-thirds of it reserved for the Bering Sea.
The aquaculture industry is rushing to fill the cod void. British researchers say they are pleased with the early results of a pilot project, and say they hope to produce 50 tons of farmed cod a year by 2001. The annual British demand for cod, however, stands at 170,000 tons.
