Sackton’s Comments on the News SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton - January 5, 2015 The flood of North American lobsters into both UK and China is affecting the prices for other lobsters. Today we report that UK sellers of European lobsters are being undercut by Canada, and that there have been significant price drops in Australian lobsters sold in China. In a story from Fujian, in early December Australian lobster prices dropped to around $33 per lb. — about 40% lower than in prior years. Two things seem to be going on in China - one is that the luxury crackdown is continuing, and has impacted demand at the high end, and secondly that the flood of lobsters into more upper middle class venues has created a lot of competition, and eroded the value of the formerly most expensive lobsters, such as spiny lobsters from Australia. However, we are still five or six weeks away from Chinese New Year, and there is plenty of time for demand to push up prices again. Carlos Rafael, the largest owner of scallop and groundfish boats in New Bedford, says Im gonna cash in and screw.” This is typical of Carlos who rants against regulations that he says cost him money. He would like to see the unrestricted fishing that Portuguese fishermen could do in the early 1970’s before there were any regulations beyond 12 miles. Its not going to happen. Carlos is particularly mad about the fact that NMFS put a cap on the amount of emergency relief that could go to any single boat owner. He says he was the only one affected. As a result, he is trying to sell his scallop boats to a company based in Virginia. John Bullard, NOAA regional administrator who is also from New Bedford, said All Im hearing right now is just noise. And Ive known Carlos a long time ... Ive heard noise before, lets just put it that way.” Finally, over the weekend I was struck by a story about Alaska’s state finances. With the oil price crash - to under $60 per barrel, Alaska is going to take a huge revenue hit. The state had expected prices of over $100 in 2015. Alaska is more dependent on oil revenue than any other state. And although there is a large reserve fund - we could be facing a period of real austerity at the state level. This has big implications for fisheries projects and management. The ADF&G and the Alaska Board of Fish and ASMI all need state money to manage and market fish, especially salmon. At the same time, there is more controversy over salmon certifications and whether Prince William sound pink salmon is sustainable or not - with the jury still out for some certifications. So NGO’s are demanding that Alaska put more resources into fish management and science at the same time the lead agency - ADF&G - may see a big budget shortfall. We have been lucky to have many years where high spending on fishery management has been possible. What happens when this spending is cut back? Who decides on priorities? Here the rubber meets the road and it is fair to ask how the priorities of external groups focused on a narrow range of issues or a single issue relate to an agency that has to manage all fisheries across a full range of issues, from subsistance and fishing rights to bycatch mitigation and recreational use. It seems 2015 will be an interesting year. -John Sackton John Sackton, Editor And Publisher SeafoodNews 1-781-861-1441 Email comments to jsackton@seafood Copyright © 2015 Seafoodnews
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:17:39 +0000