Market Report on www.inlandseafood.com

Market Report May 21, 2013

Enjoy the new format of our Market Report and please feel free to send your comments or questions to marketing@inlandseafood.com.

GULF & SOUTHERN SPECIES (DOMESTIC AND IMPORTED)

GROUPER
Availability is steady to improving in the US but tighter in Mexico and South America
Expensive but trending slightly upwards for imports
Whole Mexican Blacks, Scamp, Red in stock.
Domestic Red & Black Grouper - more availability with the Carolinas open but still expensive due to demand for Memorial Day weekend

MAHI MAHI
H&G Fish from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Costa Rica arrived this weekend with much better pricing. Dayboat local Mahi Mahi starting to show up in the Carolinas but still a little expensive.
Prices are steady this week so take advantage because the full moon will cause prices to increase.

TUNA
Good Availability with pricing more reasonable.
Domestic and Central American suppliers shipping ample supplies this week
Great sushi quality arriving daily and available; prices for this grade also trending downward.

TILEFISH
Golden and Gray Tile from Maryland & New Jersey coming
Good alternative to Grouper
Steady prices

SWORDFISH
Great fish on hand but the price is escalating rapidly with Memorial Day demand.
Limited landings this week as the boats fish the full moon in the Gulf, North Atlantic, Costa Rica and Panama.

GENUINE GULF RED SNAPPERS
Domestic Gulf Reds are tight & expensive due to demand & weather but we have a small boatload coming into us tomorrow.
Beautiful Genuine Gulf Red Snapper from Mexico arriving today and Wednesday.
Significantly lower pricing on the same species from south of the border.

OTHER SNAPPER FROM GULF STREAM WATERS
Blackfins- Gulf Red’s closest cousin, some in with more due. Eats about the same but at a much lower cost.
Yellow Eyes-A few on hand with more on Wednesday.
B-Liners-Some from Mexico on hand at good pricing. The Carolinas are landing good supplies of local fish when boats can get out but they will be very expensive.

DOTTED SNAPPER
Both 2/4 and 4/6 lb fish on hand with steady pricing. More, possibly, by the end of the week

YELLOWTAIL SNAPPERS
Imports are available pricing steady. Domestic boats are out fishing

MUTTON SNAPPER
Some on hand from weekend deliveries with a little more on Wednesday. A good value snapper.

ESCOLAR
Fish in house
Steady price

CORVINA
Nice fish available
Price is very reasonable especially on Shortfin Corvina

CHILEAN SEABASS
Only frozen at sea product so far this week

AMBERJACK
Plentiful. Key West fishery has re-opened.
Good pricing.

POMPANO
No wild so far but farmed available

SPECKLE TROUT
Very few showing locally pricing up

SPANISH MACKERAL
Good quality available from the Gulf. Suitable for sushi & some 2-4’s available

SHEEPHEAD
Louisiana season over as boats gear up for shrimp season.
Scarce and expensive.

DRUM
Very little coming in because boats gearing up for shrimp. A few large bulls from Lake Pontchartrain on hand

WRECKFISH
None in house, may have some coming later this week

BARREL FISH
It is a by- catch of Wreckfish boats so pre order by letting sales person know you want it when it arrives.

TRIGGERFISH
Carolinas open but most boats have switched to Grouper fishing
Very expensive and little available

WAHOO
A little in house from Ecuador. Catch is picking up so price could fall.

FLOUNDER
Extremely tight and expensive everywhere
Gulf Fluke has little production; Mid Atlantic quotas are done;
New England fish are super expensive; and Mexican is also tight
Prices are high but we getting some day boat Black Backs and cutting fish to order for better quality.
FAS Flounder is a lower price alternative

PORGIES
Lots available at great prices and bringing in more as demand increases. Please let your sale person know your interest is this tasty value fish. Great fish at a great price. Pre-orders needed

STONE CRABS
Season Closed on the 15^th. Due to re-open October 15^th.

CRABMEAT
Sparse domestic product & expensive
Imports coming from Columbia and Venezuela

WILD SHRIMP
Season is open in various areas of Louisiana and whole Atlantic Seaboard.
Fresh shrimp arriving this week. Prices are very high

FRESH SOFT SHELLS
More available but still rather expensive. Cooler water temperatures causing crabs to keep their clothes (shells) on producing a delayed molting. Southern Atlantic states; North & South Carolina, Georgia and VA shed has not happened because of cooler weather keeping crabbers ashore.
Prices are moderating somewhat but Memorial day demand is keeping them higher than normal.
We expect better pricing after the full moon next week.

CRAWFISH
Season is strong in Louisiana.
Prices down on live, cooked, and fresh crawfish tail meat.
Pre-orders are mandatory on Live and encouraged on cooked and tail meat.

EAST COAST & MID ATLANTIC

LOBSTER
Prices are beginning to ease a bit. Memorial Day demand is causing pricing to be steady instead of falling.
Many restaurants using Chicks (1-1-1/8 lb) instead of larger more expensive 2-4 lb lobsters at less money.

FRESH RHODE ISLAND SQUID
Getting 3 shipments per week of cleaned fresh cleaned tubes & tentacles
Whole, all tentacles, and all Tubes on pre-order.

SCALLOPS
All natural scallops in house and now graded from boat bags

MUSSELS
A good supply of PEI Mussels due in house tomorrow

BLACK BASS
Small shot of Large and JumboExpensive, but beautiful fish

STRIPED BASS
Fish from North Carolina due today and tomorrow
Price is steady

SUSHI FLOUNDER / FLUKE
Day Boat fish from Rhode Island due Thursday
Steady

COD
New England’s severely restricted quotas are making local fish crazy expensive. We are now bringing in H&G very large Cod from Scotland & Norway 4-12 pound fish and cutting to order. Some 2-4 pound fillets available.
Huge fish and great quality; FAS in stock for more moderate pricing.

HADDOCK
First Whole Fresh Norwegian product arrived to universal applause last week with another shipment coming tomorrow. Head-on 4-7 pound beauties. Hand cutting to order. Also FAS fillets in stock at lower prices

WOLF FISH
Beautiful FAS fish on hand from large Norwegian fish

MONKFISH
Large Tails on hand from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, from small dayboats.Great value now.

SKATEWING
Plenty of product around and prices are down

DAB SOLE / SMALL FLOUNDER
None fresh.
Our FAS (Frozen At Sea) is others’ “fresh” flounder

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

ALASKAN HALIBUT
New product on hand
Product is a great buy this week but will be up in price in the weeks to come as boats switch to Wild Salmon.

WILD SALMON
Alaskan Troll Red & White Kings coming tomorrow.
Copper River opened on the 16^th with first of the season very limited Kings and Sockeyes now in house.
Prices are very high even on Sockeyes but great quality.
More fish from Monday night opener due on Thursday night.
Copper River Kings now sold out but more Sockeyes arriving tomorrow.
Marble Kings ,a natural wild cross between white &red meat kings were a great hit last week with a few more coming but prices are up on these too.

DOVER SOLE
Fillets in house 3oz up.

PETRALE SOLE
Sold out! No new yet.

BLACK COD/SABLE
Sold out on fresh.
Frozen PBO Fillets at good prices as well as FAS H&G Black Cod available.
Please pre-order.

PACIFIC COD
Alaskan fishery is basically closed
None on hand

MED MUSSELS
Limited amount due this week.
*Pre-order by Fridays, for Tuesday arrivals

MANILLA CLAMS
Arriving today. Pre-order by Friday at 2pm for next Tuesday arrival.

HAWAII & SOUTHERN PACIFIC

OPAH
sold out

BARRAMUNDI
Please pre-order
Fillets available today from Fega - JavaSea, Indonesia

MONCHONG
limited

HEBI
sold out

PACIFIC YELLOWTAIL/HAMACHI
Limited amount on hand this week with good pricing and quality

FARMED

ATLANTIC SALMON
Arrivals every day
Only 2-3 lb fillets available but again with higher pricing; 3 lb & up fillets tight and price is rising.
Whole Scottish and Canadian are also increasing especially on large 14+ fish.
Hopefully these next 2 weeks will be the peak or so we have been told.

IRISH ORGANIC SALMON
Pre-order only

NORWEGIAN SALMON-TROUT (STEELHEAD)
Pricing steady
9-14 lb fish with super fat content. Ocean Raised.

DEVIL’S TAIL REDFISH
New fish in house with more arriving today
Good pricing on 1.25 -1.75 lb fish but more larger fish are showing but at a higher price
Smaller fish make great whole fish presentations.

TILAPIA
A good supply of 5-7 oz and 7-9 oz Tilapia from Central America.
*Please pre-order on All-Natural sustainable Tropical fillets.

LOUP DE MER/BRONZINO
New 400/600 gram fish from Greece in house
Taking orders for next week. Other sizes available on pre-order

DORADE
From Greece; Pre-orders only. All sizes available upon request
*Ask for pricing

RAINBOW TROUT
Supply is picking up from Carolina Mountain; but pre-orders advised for this week
Plenty of mountain raised Columbian Rainbow; perfect cuts and fillets.
Pre orders advised on Ruby Red meat Trout

CLEAR SPRINGS RAINBOW TROUT
Fish available from Idaho on a pre-order basis

HAWAIIAN KAMPACHI
A+ fish available with new shipment in house.
Perfect for sashimi!

CATFISH
Ample fish from Alabama - Mississippi
Skinned /dressed & Whole Fish available by pre-order.

ARCTIC CHAR
Fillets available but pre-orders encouraged

COBIA
H&G fish from Panama available. More coming today.

STRIPED BASS
Some expected Friday; pre orders only by Thursday am.
Wild is very tight & expensive.

TURBOT
Available by pre-order only.

BELIZE NATURAL SHRIMP
Fresh 45-55ct P&D shrimp in house
*New item packed 3x2 lb bags in case.
*Sweet shrimp from the farm that produced Laughing Bird.

Market Report May 15, 2013

Enjoy the new format of our Market Report and please feel free to send your comments or questions to marketing@inlandseafood.com.

GULF & SOUTHERN SPECIES (DOMESTIC AND IMPORTED)

GROUPER
Availability improving
Expensive but trending downward
Whole Mexican Blacks, Scamp, Red in stock.
Domestic Red & Black Grouper - more availability with the Carolinas open but still expensive due to weather & demand

MAHI MAHI
H&G Fish from Guatemala and Costa Rica arriving today as well as domestic fish starting to show up.
Prices are steady this week

TUNA
Good Availability & prices falling
Domestic and Central American suppliers shipping ample supplies this week
Great sushi quality arriving daily and available but prices for this grade steady
New shipment of Itsumo arrives tomorrow. Prices steady.

TILEFISH
Golden and Grey Tile from Maryland & New Jersey coming
Good alternative to Grouper
Steady prices

SWORDFISH
Primo fish on hand
More coming from the Gulf, Costa Rica and Panama
Prices steady

RED SNAPPERS
Domestic Gulf Reds continue tight & expensive due to demand & weather.
Beautiful Mexican/Genuine Gulf Reds have tightened.
Prices firm.

DOTTED SNAPPER
More fish showing up tomorrow, both 2/4 and 4/6 lb fish.
Prices are still strong

YELLOWTAIL SNAPPERS
Domestic Keys’ fish arriving today, but up in price
Imports are available pricing steady.

MUTTON SNAPPER
Due today and a good value

ESCOLAR
Fish in house
Steady price

CORVINA
Nice fish available;
Price is very reasonable especially on Short-fin Corvina

CHILEAN SEABASS
Good supply of product in house

AMBERJACK
Plentiful. Key West fishery back open.
Good pricing.

POMPANO
No wild so far

SPECKLE TROUT
Very few showing locally pricing up

SPANISH MACKERAL
Spotty availability. Some due Friday, we hope. Prices up.

SHEEPHEAD
Louisiana season over as boats gear up for shrimp season.
Scarce.

DRUM
A small amount from Lake Pontchartrain in house

WRECKFISH
None due as boats are out.

BARREL FISH
None yet by catch of Wreckfish

TRIGGERFISH
Carolinas open but most boats have switched to grouper fishing
Very expensive and little available

WAHOO
A little in house
Expensive
No further due as of yet

FLOUNDER
Extremely tight and expensive everywhere
Gulf Fluke has little production;Mid Atlantic quotas are up
New England fish are super expensive; and Mexican is also tight
Prices climbing
Look at Hand Cut short trip New England Blackbacks or FAS Flounder product

PORGIES
Lots available but bringing in small amounts due to lack of demand
Great fish at a great price
Pre-orders needed

STONE CRABS
Season Closes today.
Small amounts arriving on Friday for one last shot

CRABMEAT
Sparse domestic product & expensive
Imports coming from Columbia and Venezuela

WILD SHRIMP
Season is open in various areas of Louisiana and whole Atlantic Seaboard.
Fresh shrimp arriving this week. Prices are very high

FRESH SOFT SHELLS
Very sporadic and expensive
Weather keeping crabbers ashore.
Cool temperatures causing crabs to keep their clothes (shells) on a delayed molting.
Small amounts of expensive Crabs arriving throughout the week.

CRAWFISH
Season is strong in Louisiana.
Prices down on live, cooked, and fresh crawfish tail meat.
Pre-orders are mandatory on Live and encouraged on cooked and tail meat.

EAST COAST & MID ATLANTIC

LOBSTER
Pricing beginning to ease a bit. So far the strike has not had a big effect.

FRESH RHODE ISLAND SQUID
Getting 3 shipments per week of cleaned fresh cleaned tubes & tentacles
Whole, all tentacles, and all Tubes on pre-order.

SCALLOPS
All natural scallops in house and now hand-graded from boat bags

MUSSELS
A good supply of PEI Mussels in house

BLACK BASS
Small shot of Large and Jumbo
Expensive, but beautiful fish

STRIPED BASS
Fish from North Carolina due today and tomorrow
Price is steady

SUSHI FLOUNDER / FLUKE
Day Boat fish from Rhode Island due Thursday
Steady

COD
A handful of New England fish due;
*new shipment of Norwegian Cod arriving today
Huge fish and great quality; FAS in stock

HADDOCK
Small amount on hand, First Whole Fresh Norwegian product arriving today
Hand Cutting fillets on these fish
Also FAS in stock

WOLF FISH
Beautiful FAS fillets on hand from large Norwegian fish

MONKFISH
Large Tails on hand from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, from small day boats.
Huge portion order has created value portions & medallions at great prices on special for this week

POLLOCK
None
*Please pre order

SKATEWING
Plenty of product around and prices are down

DAB SOLE / SMALL FLOUNDER
None fresh.
Our FAS (Frozen At Sea) is others’ “fresh” flounder

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

ALASKAN HALIBUT
New product on hand
Product is sure to go up in price as boats switch to Salmon

WILD SALMON
Canadian Troll Kings coming this weekend.
Columbia River Kings arrive tomorrow.
Copper River opens on the 16^th with first of the season Kings and Sockeyes arriving over the weekend.
Expect very high initial prices.
Marble Kings, a natural wild cross between white & red meat Kings.
Will be a value; watch for weekend specials.

DOVER SOLE
Fillets in house; 3oz up.

PETRALE SOLE
Sold out! No new yet.

BLACK COD/SABLE
Sold out on fresh.
Frozen PBO Fillets at good prices as well as FAS H&G Black Cod available.
Please pre-order.

PACIFIC COD
Alaskan fishery is basically closed
None on hand

MED MUSSELS
None due this week due to spawning
*Pre-order by Fridays, for Tuesday arrivals

MANILLA CLAMS
In house. Pre-order by Friday at 2pm for next Tuesday arrival.

HAWAII & SOUTHERN PACIFIC

OPAH
Some Available today
*Good pricing

BARRAMUNDI
Please pre-order
Fillets available today from Fega – Java Sea, Indonesia

MONCHONG
Available today but limited
*Expensive

HEBI
Available today but limited
*Higher priced than last week

PACIFIC YELLOWTAIL/HAMACHI
New shipment in house and more arriving today
Great pricing and quality

FARMED

ATLANTIC SALMON
Arrivals every day
Only 2-3 lb fillets available but slightly higher pricing; 3 lb & up fillets tight and price is rising.
Whole Scottish and Canadian are also increasing especially on large 14 +fish.

IRISH ORGANIC SALMON
Pre-order only

NORWEGIAN SALMON-TROUT (STEELHEAD)
Pricing steady
9-14 lb fish with super fat content. Ocean Raised.

DEVIL’S TAIL REDFISH
New fish in house with more arriving today
Sizes are mainly 1.25 -1.75 lb fish.
Promises of bigger fish next week but they will be more expensive.

TILAPIA
A good supply of 5-7 oz and 7-9 oz tilapia from Central America.
*Please pre-order on All-Natural sustainable Tropical fillets.

LOUP DE MER/BRONZINO
New 400/600 gram fish from Greece in house
Order early this week
Taking orders for next week. Other sizes available on pre-order

DORADE
From Greece; Pre-orders only. All sizes available upon request
*Ask for pricing

RAINBOW TROUT
Supply is picking up from Carolina Mountain; but pre-orders advised for this week
Plenty of mountain raised Columbian Rainbow; premium cuts and fillets.
Pre-orders advised on Ruby Red meat Trout

CLEAR SPRINGS RAINBOW TROUT
Fish available from Idaho on a pre-order basis

HAWAIIAN KAMPACHI
A+ fish available with new shipment in house.
Perfect for sashimi!

CATFISH
Ample fish from Alabama - Mississippi
Skinned /dressed & Whole Fish available by pre-order.

ARCTIC CHAR
Fillets available but pre-orders encouraged

COBIA
H&G fish from Panama available. More coming today.

STRIPED BASS
Some expected Friday; pre-orders only by Thursday am.
Wild is very tight & expensive.

TURBOT
Available by pre-order only.

POMPANO
Farmed raised fish from the Dominican Republic
*arriving today & Thursday, 1-1.25 size.

BELIZE NATURAL SHRIMP
Fresh 45-55ct P&D shrimp in house
*New item packed 3x2 lbs bags in case.
*Sweet shrimp from the farm that produced Laughing Bird.

Market Report May 8, 2013

We have listened to all of your feedback and developed a new layout packed with great information to help you plan the upcoming week’s special features. We always strive to be better at what we do and to help you, our valued customer, in any way we are able.

Enjoy the new format of our Market Report and please feel free to send your comments or questions to marketing@inlandseafood.com.

GULF & SOUTHERN SPECIES (DOMESTIC AND IMPORTED)

GROUPER
Limited Availability
Expensive
Whole Mexican Blacks, Scamp, Red, and Yellowedge arriving today.
Domestic Red & Black Grouper are scarce and expensive due to weather

MAHI MAHI
H&G Fish from Guatemala and Costa Rica arriving today
Prices are up

TUNA
Good Availability
From Louisiana, Costa Rica and Panama
Some sushi available
New shipment of Itsumo arrives tonight. Prices steady.

TILEFISH
Golden and Grey Tile from Maryland & New Jersey coming
Good alternative to Grouper
Steady prices

SWORDFISH
Primo fish on hand
More coming from the Gulf and Costa Rica
Prices dropping

RED SNAPPERS
Domestic Gulf Reds continue tight & expensive due to demand & weather.
Beautiful Mexican/Genuine Gulf Reds in house with more coming.
Good Prices compared to domestic offerings.

DOTTED SNAPPER
Scarce & more expensive.

YELLOWTAIL SNAPPERS
Domestic Keys’ fish arriving today, but up in price
Imports are tight

MUTTON SNAPPER
Due today

ESCOLAR
Fish in house
Steady price

CORVINA
Nice fish available;
Price is very reasonable especially on Shortfin Corvina

CHILEAN SEABASS
Fresh, never frozen product in house

AMBERJACK
Plentiful. Key West fishery back open.
Good pricing.

POMPANO
None so far

SPECKLE TROUT
Very few showing locally.

SPANISH MACKERAL
Sparse availability. Some due Friday we hope.

SHEEPHEAD
Louisiana season over as boats gear up for shrimp season.
Scarce.

DRUM
A small amount coming from Lake Pontchartrain today

WRECKFISH
None on hand or due because of weather

BARREL FISH
None yet

TRIGGERFISH
Carolinas open but weather hampering boats
Very expensive and little available

WAHOO
A little in house
Expensive
No further due as of yet

FLOUNDER
Extremely tight and expensive everywhere
Gulf has little production and Mexican is also tight
Prices climbing
Look at beautiful Petrale Sole fillets or FAS Flounder product

PORGIES
Lots available but bringing in small amounts due to lack of demand
Great fish at a great price
Pre-orders needed

STONE CRABS
Another week to go on the season
Good supplies still coming this week and next
Pre-orders encouraged

CRABMEAT
Sparse domestic product &expensive
Imports coming from Columbia and Venezuela

WILD SHRIMP
Season is open in various areas of Louisiana and whole Atlantic Seaboard.
Only rumors of fresh so far from anywhere

FRESH SOFT SHELLS
Very sporadic and expensive
Weather keeping crabbers ashore
Only being offered expensive Hotels and Primes

CRAWFISH
Season is strong in Louisiana.
Prices down on live, cooked, and fresh crawfish tail meat.
Pre-orders are mandatory on Live and encouraged on cooked and tail meat.

EAST COAST & MID ATLANTIC

LOBSTER
Pricing beginning to ease a bit
Pre-orders needed for this Mother’s Day weekend

FRESH RHODE ISLAND SQUID
Getting 3 shipments per week of cleaned fresh cleaned tubes & tentacles
Whole, all tentacles, and all Tubes on pre-order.

SCALLOPS
All natural scallops in house and now graded from boat bags

MUSSELS
A good supply of PEI Mussels in house

BLACK BASS
None in house
Possibly for Friday from Maryland
Prices up

STRIPED BASS
Fish from North Carolina due today
Price is way up

SUSHI FLOUNDER / FLUKE
Day Boat fish from Rhode Island due Thursday
*Price up

COD
A handful of New England fish due;
*new shipment of Norwegian Cod for Thursday
Pricing is up; FAS in stock

HADDOCK
Small amount on hand
Also FAS in stock

WOLF FISH
Beautiful FAS fish on hand

MONKFISH
Large Tails on hand from Rhode Island and Massachusetts

POLLOCK
None
*Please pre order

SKATEWING
Limited supply on hand
*Pre-orders encouraged

DAB SOLE / SMALL FLOUNDER
None fresh.
Our FAS (Frozen At Sea) is others’ “fresh” flounder

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

ALASKAN HALIBUT
New product arrived this morning with lots more coming today night
Great Mother’s Day special!

WILD SALMON
Troll Oregon/Washington Kings arrive today
Columbia River Kings arrive Thurs.

DOVER SOLE
Fillets in house 3oz up.

PETRALE SOLE
Fillets in house 4 oz+. Can use as Flounder.
New shipment arrives Thursday.
East Coast & Mid Atlantic Flounder very tight and expensive; this is a good sub.

BLACK COD/SABLE
Hook & Line
5/7 & 7- j cut fish in house
Primo product!

PACIFIC ROCKFISH
Supply is tight
none on hand but large fillets coming Thursday

PACIFIC COD
Alaskan fishery is basically closed
None on hand

MED MUSSELS
None due this week due to spawning
*Pre-order by Fridays, for Tuesday arrivals

MANILLA CLAMS
Arriving today. Pre-order by Friday at 2pm for next Tuesday arrival.

HAWAII & SOUTHERN PACIFIC

OPAH
Available today
*Good pricing

BARRAMUNDI
Please pre-order
Fillets available today from Fega - JavaSea, Indonesia

MONCHONG
Available today but limited
*Expensive

HEBI
Available today but limited
*Higher priced than last month

PACIFIC YELLOWTAIL/HAMACHI
New shipment in house
Great pricing and quality

FARMED

ATLANTIC SALMON
Arrivals every day
1-2 & 2-3 lb fillets steady pricing; but 3 lb & up fillets tight and price is rising.
Whole Scottish and Canadian are increasing.

IRISH ORGANIC SALMON
Pre-order only

NORWEGIAN SALMON-TROUT (STEELHEAD)
Prices steady and new shipments arriving today.
9-14 lb fish

DEVIL’S TAIL REDFISH
New fish in house with more arriving today
Sizes are mainly 1.25 -1.75 lb fish

TILAPIA
A good supply of 5-7 oz and 7-9 oz tilapia from Central America.
*Please pre-order on All-Natural sustainable Tropical fillets.

LOUPE DE MER/BRONZINO
New 400/600 gram fish from Greece in house
Order early this week
Taking orders for next week. Other sizes available on pre-order

DORADE
From Greece; Pre-orders only. All sizes available upon request
*Ask for pricing

RAINBOW TROUT
Supply is picking up from Carolina Mountain; but pre-orders advised for this week
Plenty of mountain raised Columbian Rainbow; perfect cuts and fillets.
Pre orders advised on Ruby Red meat Trout

CLEAR SPRINGS RAINBOW TROUT
Fish available from Idaho on a pre-order basis

HAWAIIAN KAMPACHI
A+ fish available with new shipment arriving today.
Perfect for sashimi!

CATFISH
Ample fish from Alabama - Mississippi
Skinned /dressed & Whole Fish available by pre-order.

ARCTIC CHAR
Fillets available but pre-orders encouraged

COBIA
H&G fish from Panama available. More coming today.

STRIPED BASS
Some expected Friday; pre orders encouraged.
Wild is very tight & expensive.

TURBOT
Available by pre-order only.

POMPANO
Farmed raised fish from the Dominican Republic
*arriving today & Thursday, 1-1.25 size.

BELIZE NATURAL SHRIMP
Fresh 45-55ct P&D shrimp arriving Thursday or Friday
*New item packed 3x 2 lbs. bags in case.
*Sweet shrimp from the farm that produced Laughing Bird.

Market Report March 20, 2013

It seems like fresh seafood has almost disappeared, or is very expensive, throughout the world right now. Prices have been skyrocketing on just about everything right now because of the Lenten season, bad weather and quota closures.

We apologize for the situation but it is really beyond our control.

Farmed Salmon

It seems that every grocery store chain is advertising Atlantic Salmon at prices that made sense two months ago but are now way below the market. They are struggling to get enough fish to cover their promotions. This in turn has caused panic in the market. Their demands have drastically raised prices for Atlantic Salmon from everywhere.

Chile had been producing Salmon below cost for over a year and they have reduced their quantity coming into the US. Prices have risen over $1.50 per pound on fillets since the beginning of November.

We understand and sympathize with everyone and are doing our best trying to procure product and be as reasonable as possible. While we have a good supply of Chilean , Canadian, and Scottish Salmon booked for the next two weeks we are being charged greatly increased prices.

To help ease the pain through Easter, we are running a special of frozen salmon.

2-3 pounds PBO vac-packed Alaskan Artic Ketas @ $3.95/lb or $3.50 per 25 lb. case

Deep skinned 4oz, 6oz, & 8oz, Atlantic Salmon portions @ $5.49/lb for 10lb cases

Grouper

Wild fish is very expensive right now because of weather and closures. In the US boats have been staying close to home because of the weather and the fact that fishing is restricted to beyond 40 fathoms which is a long trip in a small boat in rough weather.

In Mexico, Grouper was closed from February 15-March 15. Boats have just left port so we will not see catches before next week. Demand will then be up in the local markets because of Holy week. In summary we don’t expect any relief on Grouper until the 2^nd or 3^rd week of April.

We expected this so we bought Grouper Fillets at good prices, primarily from Mexico.

Natural sides and Portioned Grouper Fillets
2-4oz fillets $3.49/lb - item #600761
4oz Fillets $7.19/lb, natural - item #600766
4-6oz Fillets $8.49/lb, natural - item #600756
4-6oz Portions $7.99/lb, natural - item #600754
6-8oz Fillets $8.49/lb, natural - item #600756
8-10oz Fillets $8.69/lb, natural - item #600758

Snapper

We are getting some beautiful Louisiana Day Boat Gulf Red Snapper today and the captain is turning around to fish for us again; we hope to have more here for sale on Friday. Stunning quality but they are very pricy. Mexican Gulf Red Snapper is very scarce. If you want the best Snapper, it’s expensive but perfect for sashimi.

Other Snapper species like Yellowtail in Mexico and in the Keys are limited due to bad weather and high winds. They are caught by small artisanal boats and we had our first landing in two weeks today and are flying it here tomorrow. Dotted Snapper out of Central America is also limited because of the same weather related reasons. Northern winds are blowing even into Central America near the equator.

We do have good supply of Frozen Snapper fillets. Please check with our sales staff for more information.

Swordfish

Limited due to closures in many areas due to turtles and the Southern California and Northern Mexico area has been closed since December. We are seeing a little bit from Hawaii, some out of Brazil and Ecuador, as well as, a limited amount from the US. Prices are very expensive.

We do have a great special until Easter on CO treated, Frozen, skinless Swordfish Portions; these are bloodline out too!

6oz & 8oz, vac-packed portions @ $7.59/lb
*This is almost 1/3rd of the price of fresh steaks !

Tuna

There is a supply problem all over the world. Japan is paying record prices for Tuna right now. A lot of the high quality Tuna seems to be going there. One Bluefin Tuna brought over 1.75 million dollars recently. We are getting decent fish, but they are very expensive. Plus, there has been bad weather in the Central Pacific around the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, limiting the catch.

Again we have secured a good supply of CO treated loins that are a great value in this market.

C/cut breadloaf, CO treated, AAA Tuna Loins @ $9.29/lb if you buy a case (30lb avg)

In the mid-Atlantic…

Striped Bass is closing in certain areas of the mid-Atlantic this week. Prices are very strong but less than fresh Grouper. We will continue to stock as much as we can find of this great fish.

Black Bass is closing in New Jersey and Maryland, but we have a little, very expensive, fish coming from open areas.

Amberjack is opened only on the East coast and in Mexico. We have secured a limited amount for this week so order quickly. It is reasonably priced.

Fresh Halibut in Alaska opens this weekend. Prices are sure to be very strong. We did receive some short trip East Coast Halibut this morning and prices will be reasonable compared to what we are hearing on Fresh Alaskan product.

Don’t forget our refreshed Alaskan Halibut Fillet special at $11.99/lb for Skin-on & $12.99/lb for Skinless with portions just a buck higher.

Bright spots for fish over the next couple of weeks includes:

A good supply of Spanish Mackerel is coming in from the South Atlantic off Florida.

Mahi is not as cheap as it once was, but still a good value in the scheme of things.

Baja Short-Fin Corvina, Sea Bass from Southern California and Northern Mexico, a white fish of very good quality and versatile. Same basic species as Red fish and drum.

Speaking of Red Fish, we are having issues with the farm in Mexico as they are only producing fish between 1.25 and 1.75 pounds. We have a good shot coming to us on Wednesday night.

We expect to get a good amount of Lake Pontchartrain Black Drum and Sheephead from Louisiana. We hope the weather allows our fishermen to go out again this week.

Also, out of Louisiana, we are seeing lots of Crawfish. We have Fresh Crawfish Tail Meat almost on a daily basis. We will try to preorder Live Crawfish but we are bringing in excellent Spicy Boiled Louisiana Crawfish. You may want to skip the trouble and buy it ready to go!

Another bright spot is that we are seeing huge amounts of Cod from the Alaskan waters right now as their season is in full swing. Reasonable prices with superb quality. In addition, we are flying huge H&G Cod from Norway averaging 10 lbs. These are sushi quality fish; great for high-end restaurant use.

Bargains are to be had on North Atlantic Hake Fillet from the Northeast at under $6/lb.

FAS Wolf Fish continuing this week at $6.99/lb.

Flounder prices in the mid-Atlanta have gone up again. Because of weather and like many other fish we predict Flounder will remain expensive.

On the farmed fish front…

We have Loup de Mer and Dorade as well as Farmed Turbot from Spain.

We also brought in Barramundi fillet.

We are sitting pretty on Trout, Catfish and Tilapia.

Today we are receiving a new shipment of Norwegian Salmon Trout of exceptional quality. Similar to the Atlantic Salmon market, it is going up.

Lobster has now reached the highest point in recent memory as far as sell and buy pricing. 2 pound and up Lobsters are almost impossible to find. Prices are astronomical. We expect this to remain the case until probably the second week of April when Canada opens up and hopefully warmer, milder weather returns.

Boats cannot get out and when they do the water is cold making the lobsters dormant so they are not feeding and so they cannot be trapped. Prices are very high and all the ones which were tubed and put in pounds have been pulled out. Now we are just getting wild catch, which is very slim and expensive.

We do have great prices on our Maine Lobster Tails. Ours are all-natural, not soaked, no chemical and you get more product on our Maine Lobster Tails in every case since they are not brine frozen Canadian product. Our Maine products are frozen at minus 20 degrees in a liquid nitrogen tunnel.

Crabmeat from Central and South America is starting to show. We will be getting what we can. We have some Calico Bays off the coast of Georgia as well as some Scallops from the Northeast, North Atlantic Scallop prices are also on their way up.

The price of Oysters is unusually high at this time. Normally, this is prime time for Oysters, but it seems prices are going up each week due to closures from fresh water inclusions in Louisiana and Texas. Product is more scarce than normal.

Market Report February 28, 2013

Species Farmed

Farmed Redfish Great Availability!
Verlasso Salmon Pre-order only
Atlantic Salmon Still struggling with supply from Chile and prices are up
Norwegian Steelhead Large and fatty; prices are also firming
Hawaiian Kampachi Good availability
Carolina Mountain Trout No issues; purchase with confidence!
Red Trout Good supplies
American Catfish Good production
Arctic Char Good supplies, preorders recommended
Cobia Good supplies from both Columbian and Panama
Spanish Turbot In House, 3-4lb fish
Tilapia Good supplies
Dorade Pre-order only
Bronzini While supplies last
Pompano Wild supplies are spotty

West Coast Wild

Sturgeon N/A
Dover Sole Filets Weather is poor don’t expect good availability
Sable FAS only, currently
Halibut Also FAS but fresh will open soon, quota cut
Wild Salmon Out of season except a few sporadic Canadian trolls
California Sea Bass Unavailable
MSC Pacific Cod Good supplies of these pot caught fishery
Mussels Meds Pre-order

Southeast Gulf

Grouper Supplies are tightening
Mahi Mahi Large jumps in price due to the full moon
Tuna Poor catches off this last moon
Albacore Limited
Golden Tile Large opening is closed
Swordfish Extremely tight
American Red Snapper Great Supplies
Dotted Lanes Ditto
Yellow Tails Great whole fish presentation
Triggerfish Domestic landings
Escolar Receiving both domestic and Ecuadorian
Pompano Limited
Corvina Should be fish arriving the weekend
Wahoo Limited in the Gulf, waiting for cooler waters in South America
Barramundi Pre-order only

East Coast

Lobsters 2lb and up getting tight and expensive
Scallops U/10 To be expensive and limited through March
Nantuckets Firming in pricing as weather becomes a factor
Mussels Good
Cod Quota cut significantly
Haddock Good Supplies
Skate Tight and expensive
Monk Superior quality in the colder months

Mid-Atlantic

Fluke/Flounder Weather is an issue
Wild Striped Bass/Rock Picking up steam, good menu option
Black Bass Limited
Spanish Mackerel Good supply
Speckled Trout Far and few between

Hawaii

Swordfish Season is open/extremely limited
Tuna Tight as well
Monchong Pre-order
Spear Hebi Strong landings this time of the year

Market Report February 5, 2013

This will also help you with your Valentine's Day Selections!

Species Farmed
Farmed Redfish Great Availability! Stunning quality and taste.
Verlasso Salmon Pre-order only
Atlantic Salmon We will have plenty of Salmon from Scotland, Canada and Chile. Chilean fillets availability affected by flight delays due to produce and flowers. Prices are on the increase due to demand and Lent.
Norwegian Steelhead Large fatty fish. Prices are also firming.
Hawaiian Kampachi Good availability, standard orders every week, pre-orders suggested for next week for larger than normal quantities.
Carolina Mountain Trout No issues, purchase with confidence!
Red Trout Good supplies
American Catfish Good production
Arctic Char Good supplies, preorders recommended, especially for next week.
Cobia Decent availability from Columbia and Panama
Spanish Turbot Shipment arriving later this week
Baramundi Pre-order only
Tilapia Good supplies
Dorade Pre-order only, Thursday deadline.
Bronzini Shipment arrives over the weekend, Pre-orders suggested
Pompano Pre-order on Farmed, plenty of Wild for next week

West Coast Wild

Sturgeon Limited
Dover Sole Filets Arriving early next week
Sable Only FAS and frozen fillets currently
Halibut Also FAS but fresh will open soon; quota cut 7.5%
Wild Salmon Out of season except a few Sporadic Canadian trolls
California Sea Bass Unavailable
MSC Pacific Cod Good supplies of these pot-caught fishery
Mussels Mediterranean Mussels limited, in spawn, pre-orders only

South Waters and Gulf of Mexico

Grouper Reds, Blacks and Gags available, great quality and prices
Tuna Much better supplies than weeks past
Albacore Great Gulf supply
Golden Tile Good supply
Swordfish Still relatively tight
Gulf Red Snapper Great Supplies for Valentines’ Day
Yellow tails Ditto again, great whole fish presentation
Various Snapper B-liner, Mangrove, Yellow Eye and Blackfin available in limited quantities
Triggerfish Good supply, more arriving Sunday
Escolar Receiving both domestic and Ecuadorian
Pompano Some on hand this week, a boat load arriving Sunday, Great prices
Wahoo Limited in Gulf; waiting for cooler waters in South America
Crabmeat Domestic is tight and expensive; Imports, more available but also expensive
Amberjack Good supplies from Florida and the Gulf

Central and South America

Mahi Mahi Starting to tighten up a bit as Costa Rica slows down
Dotted Lanes Good supply
Corvina Good quantities
Chilean Seabass Some fresh available

East Coast

Lobster 1-1 3/4 lb, prices going up; 2lbs and up getting much more tight and expensive
Scallops U/10 to be expensive and limited through March
Nantuckets Firming in pricing as weather becomes a factor
Mussels Good
Cod Northeast quota cut significantly
Haddock Good Supplies
Skate Tight and expensive; try and pre-order
Monk Superior quality in the colder months

Mid-Atlantic

Fluke/Flounder Is king! Great quality and price.
Wild Striped Bass/Rock Very few arriving and pricey
Black Bass Limited
Spanish Mackerel Good supply prices up.
Speckled Trout Few and far between, some availability
Porgys Great value fish, best to pre-order

Hawaii

Swordfish Season is open
Tuna Good availability
Monchong Pre-order
Spear Hebi Strong landings this time of the year

Oyster, Clams and Pre-order Valentine needs.

Market Report January 16, 2013

January is always a difficult month for most of our Pelagic species, as many of the long line fleets in Central and South America stay close to home for the holidays.

Swordfish and Tuna become very difficult to procure and prices are extremely strong. We will have adequate supplies of our famous ITSUMO fresh tuna loins arriving all week. We expect the situation of a tight market to remain in place; at least another couple of weeks.

On to more positive projections…

In the Northeast, landings of Cod, Haddock and Monk have come back relatively strong and we should have good supplies for the remainder of the week.

Mahi Mahi remains a great value and although it hasn’t been declared an El Niño year catches have been good. As the season winds down in some countries don’t expect radical price increases until possibly April.

The Mid-Atlantic is teeming with Flounder, Black Sea Bass, Triggerfish and we expect Virginia to open Stripers to compliment Maryland at the end of the week. Flounder pricing has fallen $2 on fillets over the past week alone! UPDATE….. Weather is beginning to head South, not sure how long the abundance of fish is going to last!

Golden Tile will be a good option for the first quarter as the new season commences. We already have some large Florida fish in house with some of Jersey’s arriving for the weekend.

What Snapper we have been able to purchase this week have been East Coast Vermilion better known as B-liners. We are seeing record sizes and a few six pounders have been landed in Morehead City.

We have a shipment of Farmed Spanish Turbot arriving on Thursday. We had a tremendous amount of success marketing these pristine quality fish over the New Year’s Holiday. Look for a small price increase as the Euro continues to beat up your greenback.

The Devil’s Tail Redfish sales remain strong and the bell curve on sizing has moved up. Expect more fish in the 2-4 lb range as we move forward with this exciting project.

LAST CHANCE to purchase from the sustainable Wreckfish quota in the deep water South Atlantic as the season is officially completed. It was another good year and we have our last small shipment arriving Thursday with a few by-catch of Rudderfish.

Scallops have been extremely expensive on the auctions as most boats have used up their days at sea. U/10’s remain in short supply for truly fresh, not “stepped on” product and they have been less than 10% of the recent catch. Weather becomes the next obstacle before the new permit season begins March 01, 2013.

We will have a few 60-80 lb Canadian Halibut on Thursday. Prices remain strong and will through April when the Pacific season gets kicked into gear.

We have a good shot of Domestic Crabmeat arriving from Bayou- La Batre on Thursday. Product remains scarce and will remain as such, as a cold front moves back in. We will update you as we receive new information.

Market Report December 19, 2012

This is the week we, as Fishmongers, feel we have too much fish before the Christmas Holiday. This changes rapidly as the good quantities of fish to procure today deteriorates. Next week when demand skyrockets our choices are usually limited.

Other Caveats that may affect supply:

-Airlines struggle with volumes this time of the year.
- Truck lines normal schedules are in flux with the Holidays as well.

A few safe buys for next week:

Devil’s Tail Redfish, raised in the clean waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Farm Raised European Turbot; the “Emperors Fish” in Roman times.

Farmed Bronzini (Bronzino; European Sea bass; Loup de Mer) Your choice but 400-600 grams of heaven guaranteed.

“Itsumo”; sashimi grade Tuna

Carolina Mountain Trout- both 8 and 10 oz sizes should be in fine supply.

Hawaiian Kampachi- another great fish for sashimi

Okay, now back to this week’s action…

We have Fresh Cooked King Crab arriving late this evening. Pre-orders have been strong so please communicate our needs to your salesperson, so we can ensure your supply!

Plenty of super-hot deals on many varieties of Snapper!!!!!!! Too many to mention but please contact your Inland representative for pricing and availability.

Good, consistent supply of all flavors of Grouper also for the remainder of the week.

The last few Tuna from Central and South America should arrive stateside by this weekend. There is a possibility of a limited amount of Domestic Gulf Long Liners to arrive the middle of next week.

The weather in the Northeast is expected to turn upward. We are already hearing that Lobster production of value added products could be affected. Haddock and Cod have already begun to head north and we have been very transparent over the last few weeks of what we expect to happen with the Scallop industry.

Nantucket Bays are still readily available at great price points!

Salmon in Europe and now Chile could be a dance as demand and new shipping regulations could cause delays. We anticipate hedging the delays and bringing in some whole West Canadian Atlantics to cut in house.

A few bright spots come from the Mid-Atlantic…

We anticipate the last remaining Virginia, Rock or Wild Striped Bass to be available, although prices will remain strong. Also, Fluke should also be a viable menu option from a quality and pricing standpoint.

Happy Holidays from the Inland Team to all of you and your families!

Market Report December 12, 2012

We find plenty of high quality seafood to purchase and sell over the next week to 10 days, but there is a caveat as a lot of the fleets that we support will not head back out fishing as they will stay home with their families. All good things come to an end and that’s what makes our Industry so spectacular.

The North Atlantic weather has been cooperative and we are seeing the virtues. Large and Market Cod are in abundance as well as cold water Monk Tails and Skate Wings!

The last few Gulf Boats arrived earlier in the week with plenty of Swordfish, Tuna and Wahoo. We anticipate this resource being difficult to secure as well as expensive, leading up to the New Year.

Mahi Mahi, continues to be one of our best opportunities, as quality, supply and price all remain attractive.

Snapper of all varieties has surfaced. We have American Red Snapper, Pink Snapper, B-liners, Mangrove, Blackfin, and Dotted Lane and we are featuring Yellow Tails at extremely aggressive prices.

The Mid Atlantic is still producing good quantities of Stripers, Fluke, Speckled Trout and the occasional Sword and Tuna landings.

The Salmon market remains in check, although there is pressure for the firming of pricing in the European theatre. Look for a potential increase on Inland's superior fatty Scottish Salmon...

We were able to secure a shipment of Domestic Crab Meat albeit at high pricing. As the cool weather arrives and metabolism on most crustaceans slow, they become less active and eat less, creating a more difficult environment to be trapped.

If you haven’t tried our new peeled Royal Red Shrimp, put up in gallons, you are missing the boat. Royal Reds are the sweetest Shrimp in the market and actually eat more like Lobster in my opinion.

Looks like the Calico Scallops have been rediscovered!!! Expect another midweek shipment this week; please coordinate with your salesperson.

Market Report December 6, 2012

Variety, variety, variety is the spice of life…

We have more variety and high quality fish than ever for the start of the December Holidays!!!

On top of the list is Sashimi-grade Tuna. Our Gulf fishermen have sent us premium fish and lots of it! We are able to offer a tremendous cost savings to you and your customers. Get with your sales person while this great run lasts!

The Domestic Swordfish that were landed with Tuna have very clean meat with a cherry red, tight bloodline, confirming its freshness.

Big, fatty, Striped Bass from the Mid-Atlantic will only be around in great supply for the next week or so. This needs to be on your special board.

We are still seeing Fluke and good prices prevail. These fish are bled properly removing any possibility of blood spots.

When was the last time we were able to offer Pompano at $10.99/lb for fillet? If you don’t jump on the Stripers then surely the Pompano will meet your needs as something you haven’t been able to feature in some time.

On Thursday we will be receiving some fresh cooked King Crab sections. I don’t expect to have any left by Friday so contact your salesperson to fight for this limited supply of sweet Crab.

Other species in great supply this week include:

Farmed and Wild Redfish
American Red Snapper
Speckled Trout
Nantucket Bays- Great pricing!
Mahi Mahi
North Atlantic Cod
Monkfish
Scottish Salmon
Spanish Turbot
Fresh Chopped Clams and Strips- *New item*
Hawaiian Kampachi
Wahoo
Corvina and Agria

Arriving on Sunday- Wild Norwegian Fresh Halibut

Difficult to source- Domestic Crabmeat. We have good supplies of imported while supplies last!

On the Land Lover’s front…

Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Duck products are starting to roll in. We have a good supply due Sunday of Grade A Whole Lobes of Foie, Leg Quarters for confit and beautiful Magret Duck Breasts as well as Rendered Fat in foodservice 8 lb tubs. Hudson Valley is one of the premiere producers of Duck meat and Foie Gras in the world. The farm is located in Ferndale, NY. The ducks are specially bred for the production of Foie Gras and are raised naturally. The flavor of Hudson Foie Gras is deep and sweet, the texture is luxurious and the finish goes on and on. The meat from these ducks has a rosy red color, complex flavor and succulent, tender bite. Please contact your sales rep for price and availability. We expect this to sell out fast so order early.

A product you just have to try!

Grassroots Farms
Georgia Grown, Carolina Processed
Pasture Raised Chicken
Vidalia, Ga.; Athens, GA

Grassroots Farms is based on principles of animal welfare and organic agriculture. We treat our animals with dignity and respect. They, in turn, provide us with great tasting meat that we can all feel good about eating.

We started raising chickens as a hobby. In time, with a nudge from some chef friends who really loved the meat we were producing, we took the plunge and began farming full time.

Through time, we built solid relationships with chefs as well as selling direct to shoppers at local farmers' markets. Grassroots is a family run farm; everything is done by human power or by tractor. It is a very fulfilling life and we are very grateful. To give less than 100% in the field is to sacrifice the gift.

Our chicken is out of this world – French Label Rouge genetics- a bird that loves to be outside and forage on pasture. Our birds have plenty of space and fresh air. They spend their days lounging in the sun and chasing bugs...truly a wonderful life for our birds. The flavor of our chicken has been compared to the famous birds from Bresse in France where the locals are absolutely fanatical about their roasted chickens. The meat is rich in flavor, tender and moist. The skin cooks out crisp and brown due to our air chilling process and has amazing flavor as well. This is what chicken should taste like!

Our layers are a mix of Rhode Island Reds and Dominique chickens. They are heritage breeds known to produce exceptional meat characteristics and are well suited to our southern environment. Also, both are hearty breeds and forage exceptionally well.

It is a lot of work but it is all well worth it and we are very grateful. We use a small USDA inspected processor based in Marion, NC which is Animal Welfare Approved. The birds are air chilled and vacuum sealed.

Our birds have been featured on the Travel Channel and are used by a number of famous chefs. They all tell us how great our birds taste and how happy they are to support a small local farming family. "The Little Farm That Could" has come a long way since its inception and we look forward to growing with you.

**Exclusively distributed by Inland Seafood’s Heritage Meats division. Please contact your sales rep for more information and availability.

Market Report November 29, 2012

It feels like supplies are increasing on most fin fish for the popular Holiday season.

A fish we have not had the pleasure of marketing in years past is Devils Tail Redfish. Distributed exclusively by Inland throughout the Southeast, these prime natural fillets eat similar to Snapper at half the price. The fillets are extremely clean tasting, sustainable and the fish protein conversion rates is one of the best in the in the aquaculture industry. Run it as a special now and feel great about putting it on your Holiday menus later.

Farmed Turbot from Spain and Bronzini/Sea Bass from Greece are also very attractive as the Euro decline has made these fish more attractively priced in the states.

Scottish Farmed Salmon, because of demand with smokers in Europe, should increase in price in the coming weeks. Conversely, we feel that Chilean Salmon will remain relatively unchanged.

Pelagic fleets are out as we speak and we expect excellent catches of Domestic Sword, Tuna, Mahi, and Wahoo arriving this weekend.

Grouper, especially large Black and Gags are in great supply and prices are as low as I have seen in recent memory. Get them now and take advantage of this great buying opportunity!

In the Mid-Atlantic, Flounder is filling out its remaining quota; we anticipate good supplies for the next ten days. Some gillnet large Stripers are being caught currently. Virginia will be closing in the next few weeks but Maryland should continue producing limited quantities through the end of the year.

There will be a few Canadian boats landing some remaining quota of Halibut this weekend. We will do everything in our power to secure a few of these fish. It will be pricey!

Up the New England way, Haddock, Cod and Skate are in good supply and the quality is much better with the cooler waters.

Nantucket Bay Scallops are in their prime and we have shipments arriving both Thursday and Friday this week. They always fly out the door so pre-book with your salesperson ASAP!

Sea Scallops are the one disappointment to report on. Large Scallops on the auction have jumped almost $1.50/lb this week alone. This is a trend that we anticipate is going to wane. We at inland would recommend you look at U/15 Scallops and smaller if you need a more aggressive pricing structure.

Market Report November 14, 2012

The big questions this time of year are usually centered around Oysters in the shell and shucked - or sometimes, the lack there-of. We feel really good about the supply of our Gulf Oysters as we are now beginning to see product of Texas in the market place. We are also producing a Wild Chincoteague Oyster that has received rave reviews for just a few more dollars a gallon.

Look for us to receive our first shipment of Blue Points this Friday since Sandy viciously tore through the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England.

We would like to repeat that Pacific Halibut season closed late last week. We will continue to see North Atlantic Halibut through March of 2013 but the IFQ (Individual Fishing Quotas) are almost full so production will be spotty and the fish expensive. Refreshed, and possibly some farmed, will be your friend.

We expect another weekend shipment of Nantucket Bay Scallops although landings have slowed and they seem smaller. They were everything we expected them to be last week and hopefully you had a chance to enjoy them! We were also able to pass along a small cost savings, which always makes us happy.

Sea Scallops on the other hand are rising in price as supplies of big boys are dwindling. Most of the fishermen’s days at sea are limited with 50% of the fleet out of days and the other 50% very limited. The limited remaining days will be targeted for major holidays where demand and price will be high. Of course, Mother Nature will have the greatest impact as fall and spring weather patterns can be treacherous. It would benefit you to be proactive and begin to look at the smaller sizes like our 5lb Inland Seafood Cheesecloth Bag Scallops: Jumbos which grade a 15 or less to the pound.

Flounder from the Mid-Atlantic is still difficult to procure. We have gigged fish from the Gulf and it looks like our first opportunity at some Barnegat Light Sashimi-Quality Fluke arriving Thursday. It’s nice to see that a few fishermen are still able to work in the devastation. Inland Seafood is hoping to send a team this weekend to help in the clean-up and pick up the spirits of some of our fishing family.

Mahi has firmed up somewhat and most of the product being caught in Ecuador is heading to the freezer as wholesale prices remain fairly low. Some of the long liners have even switched gear for Tuna and Sword to try and limit product on the market and get better overall fishing returns on the more expensive species.

We have very good supplies of Domestic Sword and Tuna
leading into the weekend.

Snapper remains our toughest challenge these days. We do expect a shipment of Domestic Gulf Fish arriving Friday.

Market Report November 7, 2012

Most of the coastal communities that shared the brunt of Hurricane Sandy are still in pretty bad shape. New England was spared the devastation that is affecting New York and New Jersey. Many are just now getting their power back.

Shellfish in many of the coastal areas are resuming normal harvesting after testing of local waters. There are some gaps, but we at Inland feel we have come up with a great selection to cover any branded shortages that you may be experiencing. It is important, more now than ever, to communicate with your salesperson regarding selection and availability.

Stone Crab Claw season is back up and prospering after the high winds that we saw in the Keys right after the opening.

We have additional Nantucket Bays arriving on Wednesday. Prices are beginning to abate as many restaurants in the Hurricane zone are still not operational - resulting in lighter demand.

Live Lobster pricing is beginning to firm up and we will more than likely see a gradual price increase through the end of the year.

West Coast Halibut closed yesterday. The fleets are still on the water, although the weather is not particularly pleasant. We anticipate a good 7-10 day supply and then an upturn in pricing as we will be sourcing product on the East Coast. We will be firing up our refreshed program as well, that will include extremely competitive pricing.

This time of the year, with the Holidays right around the corner, we will be importing Farm Raised Turbot from Spain on a weekly basis. Look for some limited sizes that will be larger than the traditional 3-4 lb sizes which meet the market demands.

Plenty of good ‘ole USA Tuna and Swordfish were landed in the Gulf. This is a great opportunity to support US Fishermen! The quality is second to none. We also have good supplies of Escolar (Oil Fish) which were a by-catch of the long liners.

Mahi Mahi remains in good supply everywhere they roam. We are getting domestic as well as larger supplies from Central and South America. Pricing and quality are very attractive.

Farmed Cobia and Hawaiian Kampachi remain staples for your fall menus. Both of these fish are raised in open ocean pens which create a cleaner tasting fillet than those raised in brackish water.

We are still seeing plenty of large Black Grouper but on the other side of the equation we are struggling with all varieties of Snapper. Let’s hope things get better towards the weekend.

Redfish can be an adequate replacement for Snapper as this versatile fish can be used in similar applications and also offers stable pricing and year-round availability. Our Devil’s Tail Redfish is harvested in deep sea, gulfstream waters. According to legend, there was an asteroid that slammed into Earth and ended the age of the dinosaurs. This asteroid landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mayans call this area the Devil's Tail...named after the Asteroid.

Some other great attributes of our Devil’s Tail Redfish…
-Genuine Redfish
-Harvested 20 miles offshore in the Gulf Stream
-Year-round availability
-Deep Sea, Open Ocean
-Extremely High Quality
-100% Sustainable
-100% Traceable

Let your sales representative know if we can further assist with your menu planning.

Market Report November 1, 2012

We wish for a speedy recovery and send our condolences to everyone who had their lives impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Our thoughts are with you all.

In the short term, this storm will wreak havoc with most, but not all, Shellfish harvesting areas in the Mid-Atlantic to Maine. Some of the closed areas could open as soon as some of the waters are tested over the next few days. Damage to the Boston Fleet was much milder than what we have witnessed in the New Jersey, New York arena.

Getting product to the South has been a little bit more difficult to guarantee with trucks and airlines either closed or delayed.

We should be okay with Cod, Haddock, Skate and Monk as we received some stellar product that was taken from some day-boaters that were pushed in after a few hours of fishing.

Heading into the later part of the week, Flounder may be a problem. We at Inland make it priority to purchase as much whole Fluke to hand cut in house, instead of purchasing pre-cut fillets.

Extremely good news is that the fleet fishing the Gulf of Mexico is arriving back to port after fishing the full moon. Initial reports were that it was an extremely good moon to the fisherman, so expect good supplies of Sashimi Quality Sword, Tuna and Oil Fish.

As mentioned previously this month, Grouper fishing is closed on the East Coast and it looks like Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ’s) in the Gulf are also just about fulfilled.

Mexico currently is producing better quantities of Black and Gag Grouper with pricing as close to Red Grouper as we have seen in sometime.

Down the road in the state of Campeche, our new Aqua Sea Cage grown Redfish, “The Devil’s Tail” is one of the hottest products in the market. Get with your salesperson for very aggressive prices.

Our new Verlasso Salmon has received great praise from everyone, thanks for the terrific feedback. With a feed to gain ratio of 1:1 this is definitely a real aquaculture success story! The best part of the product is the taste!

In Alaska, fishing has slowed down for Wild Salmon and the Red Crab season.

Pole caught Cod is reopening and there is just enough Halibut to feed the market.

The Mahi catches were great and they are usually less than stellar on the moon. I can’t imagine prices falling much more than they already have.

Stone Crab traps are back out and we certainly hope that the shake-up of the ocean will produce better results than the opening.

Market Report October 25, 2012

This coming Friday we will finally be receiving some Super Sweet Martha Vineyard Scallops! Supplies are extremely limited so get your pre-orders in ASAP.

All Sizes of Stone Crabs are arriving, although catches haven’t been spectacular; once the remnants of Hurricane Sandy pass we expect our crabbers to resume catching and cooking.

Swordfish and Tuna remain a purchasing nightmare with the pending moon, the threat of Sandy and many of the boats in Central and South starting to focus on Mahi.

Look for Northeast Ground Fish to strengthen in price next week as adverse weather will keep many Fisherpeople ‘tide up’.

Flounder has been abundant and the pound net fish are bled and stored the way the Japanese prefer, producing super white clean fillets; no blood spots on these beauties.

We will have a few Mako Sharks arriving as we approach the weekend.

West Coast Halibut remains in adequate supplies to feed the market.

We will only see a few more weeks of Cohos.

American Red Snapper are coming in strong right now.

Dotted Snapper and Red Grouper are in very limited supplies. I believe the Dotted are a result of the moon and higher tides while the Domestic Grouper IFQ’s are being completed. The Atlantic Coast of the US has officially closed to Red Grouper fishing.

Mexico is landing more large sized Black and Gag Grouper than Red’s currently.

We are seeing better catches on Wild Striped Bass currently being harvested in Maryland. A few 2-4lb fish but most have been in the 8-10lb range.

Farmed Redfish, Cobia and Sea Bass (European) remain stellar menu options for the deeper fall months. Long lasting and clean finishes should put these favorites on your priority list.

Have a great week!

Market Report October 17, 2012

What we are seeing this week…

Stoners:

Florida Stone Crab season opened up on the 15^th. Crab is being cooked as we speak and we anticipate product arriving no later than tomorrow! Prices usually start out strong for the first few weeks and then stabilize. This year may be a better beginning, so please contact your sales rep for current pricing and availability.

Mid-Atlantic Region…

We will be receiving a good shot of Wild Striped Bass on Thursday. Pricing remains firm but it's nice to see some larger fish in the market.

It looks like Flounder are heading offshore and out of the sounds. The pound net fish we have been receiving have been of spectacular quality and some of the best fish we will see all year. Expect VA and NC to open for trawl fishing over the next few weeks to clean up the remaining quotas. Once trawl fishing begins, you can expect to see lower prices; although the prices are pretty hot as we speak!

We have a good catch of local Cobia that were landed in Virginia; arriving Thursday as well.

It looks like the successful run of Speckled Trout and Spots are coming to an end. If you haven’t had the opportunity to offer the Trout on your menu, we should have one last opportunity this weekend so take advantage!

The Gulf has been a little quiet recently and until we get to the full moon on the 29^th we anticipate the status quo. We are receiving large supplies of Gag and Black Grouper and have been able to pass along significant cost savings to all of our friends. Please enjoy!

Yellowtail Snapper in the 1-2 lb. range are also high in quality and supply. Great whole fish presentations!

Farmed Redfish is back in good supply. We aren’t seeing a lot of large fish but the natural sides are clean and delicious. Inland anticipates marketing this fish aggressively for fall menus. Look for special pricing in the near future.

Wonderful eating and priced just right is our Mahi Mahi. It is off conservation in Ecuador and we are seeing plenty of fish coming in from other places in Central America as well. They grow rapidly and unlike the past few years we are being told that it’s going to be a slight El Nino year, which will increase overall production. Be high on this fish for the next 6 months.

Alaska and the Pacific Northwest…

Just when we think Halibut is cooked, fishermen surprise us. Good supplies will be available all week!

Coho is coming to a close but we are seeing Alaskan Cod, Canadian Sable, Black Cod and some Dover Sole fillets.

Most Shellfish grounds are back open. Expect supplies to increase all around! As always, a knowledgeable Inland representative is here to help!

Specialty Products and Proteins

Pork…

Bellies have been experiencing seasonal supply issues causing bacon stocks to diminish. Our All-Natural Berkshire and Duroc producers from Iowa have recently been forced to ration their Bacon. We expect these supplies to stay tight until March when weather warms up and menus begin to lighten up for spring. Expect prices to be rising on bellies and bacon as suppliers push for more money for these highly sought after cuts. A great option for restaurants that use bacon for salads, soup bases, garnish, etc., we carry Eden Farms Applewood Smoked, value sliced Bacon frozen in 15lb cases. These are the random slices that come from squaring off the finished slab bacon to get it ready for making foodservice and retail sliced bacon. The same bacon with all the flavor for a fraction of the price!

Osso Bucco of Pork: We have secured a good supply of Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Osso Bucco for the braising season. While prices are pushing slightly north of last year on increased cost of feed, this cut still represents amazing value for old-line, heritage breed Berkshire pork. Cut at an average two inch height, these weigh out at about 16oz each and make a great center of the plate protein option.

Lamb…

The Domestic Lamb market is a smart buy right now. Due to a glut in supply, we have been getting some great deals from our vendors on Fresh Domestic Lamb Racks, EZ Cut Short Loins, frozen all-natural Ground Lamb, frozen hind shanks, semi boneless legs and baby back ribs. Frenched Racks are currently selling at levels similar to or less than their imported counterparts. Sweet, rich and tender, there’s no equal to great domestic lamb.

Beef…

Market for braising cuts is up and product is scarce. We have had trouble securing enough Short Ribs, both bone-in and boneless, however we have found 1500 pounds that will arrive Thursday and will go fast. We are also starting to see a push north in prices for Lipon Ribeyes and Tenderloins. The timing is about right for seasonal buys from retailers to start putting pressure on these cuts and the expectation is that prices will continue to get higher until January. We are currently trying to work some quantity buys for these cuts to last us through the first couple of weeks of December.

0x1 Striploins are a solid deal with the market holding steady at the moment. We were able to make a buy on 100 cases of Strips from Creekstone Farms and will be able to hold an aggressive price until they are depleted. Get them while they last.

Portioned Hanger steaks and Flatiron Steaks also remain very hot. These fantastic value cuts offer versatility on the menu and deliver the depth of flavor and tenderness that diners love. We have a broad range of specs for both cuts and steady pricing. Hangers run $7.99/lb for portioned product ready to go. 4oz portioned Hangers are just $6.59/lb and one of the best deals we have in the building. Portioned Flatirons are $7.99/lb and we stock 4,5,6,8 and 10oz specs.

Chicken…

We are just a couple of weeks away from our first delivery of Georgia grown, 100% Pasture Raised Chickens from Grassroots Farms. This is singularly the best chicken any of us has ever tasted. It reminds us of the spectacular Bresse Chicken from France. We will have only 300 birds a week to start!

Enjoy this beautiful cool weather and check back with us next week for the latest industry news!

Market Report October 11, 2012

Good news this week, everybody! Everything white and flaky is in abundance and we have quite the variety!

Grouper- We have both Domestic Red and Blacks along with some great quantities and wonderful quality, imported Gags, Blacks, Reds, Scamps, Yellow Edge and Snowys. We have the best prices in weeks as the market has stayed fluid with no clear signal of where supply is headed.

If this isn’t enough variety we have some lesser known species that eat very similar to Grouper--and to the refined pallet, these options may be even better. You have the ability this week to indulge your clients with Golden Tile from Barnegat Light, New Jersey; 7-10lb average and stunning.

Off the deep water of Blake Plateau which spans North Carolina down to Florida, our Wreckfish fisherman were very successful; we have a nice shipment and the average size is 12-15lbs each.

Barrel Fish, an underutilized species also caught off the Blake, have been hitting hard as well and these 8-12lb fish are as fine eating as it gets!

American Red Snapper have been very active as well and since we were able to land 6lb and up fish in such good quantities we were able to lower our price for your shopping pleasure. Please get with your salesperson for inquiries on pricing and cooking options.

Halibut from the West Coast showed up in limited quantities and although pricing has stayed expensive, we should have fresh fish through the weekend.

We had a very productive Gulf fishery this week following the full moon. Plenty of Domestic Tuna, Swordfish including a couple of Pumpkins, Escolar or Oil Fish, and a few lost Mahi, Mako Shark and Wahoo were all landed in some quantity.

Looks like there is potential for a cold front to hit the Mid-Atlantic and the pound netters are getting excited for the Flounder to get active and move into the sound. Sashimi quality fish is in abundance at sharp prices (which always make the buyers and salespeople smile here at inland!).

We saw just a few 16/20 Fresh Shrimp arrive this week, look for increasing supplies and, as always, wonderful East Coast quality.

Buckets of Fresh Surf Clam Strips have been wildly successful in the few weeks we have been carrying them. Every so often it’s good to shake it up and give Squid a break...

Stay engaged as we procure some terrific aquaculture products for your fall menus in forthcoming market reports!

Market Report October 3, 2012

Okay, baseball purists love this time of the year so let’s throw it around the horn! Seafood availability that is…

The flood gates have opened up; between cooler waters, a recent full moon and only some minor closures on the East Coast, we are in better shape from a supply side than we have been in weeks.

Let’s touch on North American availability for your pending menus…

We continue to see large Canadian and Northern Swordfish arriving daily. On top of these super fatty fish we are also going to get some of our first fish tomorrow from our short trip Gulf fleet. We predict another 10 days of great fishing and it is an understatement to say this run is some of the most amazing quality seen in years. Prices are pretty impressive as well; please get with your salesperson for that special quote.

Tuna, FINALLY. It has been a struggle but we have some good quantities of Product of the USA arriving today. Add to the mix some larger fish coming in from Panama and Ecuador. We may be around the corner with better supplies and hopefully lower pricing, but it is still too early to make a call.

There was a little bit of by-catch from the long line fleet. Expect some domestic Wahoo, Escolar (Oil Fish) and a few Mahi which are coming off conservation in Ecuador in the coming days. Prices are already set very aggressively and with a mild El-Nino expected this season it should be one of the better seasons in recent years.

The World famous Nantucket Bay Scallop is upon us! There is a possibility we will have some product this coming Friday. There may not be a better seafood option in the World. Their combination of smell and taste can’t be matched in our humble opinion. There just isn’t a sweeter meat; take them directly from the bucket and pop in your mouth. WOW and our apologies to Uni!

We have some large Golden Tiles that should arrive today. Grouper supplies are improving with larger quantities of Black Grouper arriving at our GFSI certified facility.

Smaller sizes of West Coast Halibut and some 60-100lb East Coast Halibut will be arriving over the course of the week. Prices remain firm; we have initiated our FAS program if you are looking for pricing options.

We have been getting a good mix of Pompano and Snapper, both domestic and imported.

East Coast White Shrimp supply seems to have increased this week as well but we aren’t seeing any sizes larger than a 21/25 count.

We met with some old friends from the Virginia Seafood Council who stopped by to promote the state’s seafood resources yesterday. They were at the Atlanta ACF meeting and to honor the slogan “Virginia is for Lovers”, as a friend noted, we have selected a few local Virginia oysters this week.

Watch House
Chincoteague
Milford Havens
James River
Stingrays
Rigby Islands

Our Oysters sell out quickly so availability cannot be guaranteed!

Market Report September 25, 2012

As always, we at Inland are constantly in tune with the moon phases and how they impact tides, fishing and crazy people (fish buyers). In anticipation of the full moon this Saturday, September 29^th we will do our best to forecast the next seven days, for your dining pleasure.

It has been a spectacular few weeks for Swordfish. Our primary fishing grounds have been the Emerald Basin in Eastern Canada. With short trips, spectacular amounts of fat and tight bloodlines have been the signature of these fish. We hope you have had the opportunity to enjoy them and we will continue to source these fish although the weather may deter us.

This week we will also be sourcing Swordfish off the coast of South Carolina. The boat arriving Wednesday was only able to produce 3 sets as they developed some mechanical problems and were forced back to shore. The carbon footprint on these select fish is as good as Inland can produce as we back haul them on our own trucks that service the culinary treasure of Charleston, SC.

Most of the Tuna we are seeing is currently coming from Central America. The quality has been good but the sizing a little less than desirable. Most of the domestic fishing fleet will be departing mid-week to fish the moon and we expect some boats back as early as the first. Look for some easing of prices the first few weeks of October.

Mahi-Mahi, although affordable for this early in the season, may tighten as they tend not to school on the moon and there is plenty of live bait from which to choose. By the middle of next week, we should be back on normal production patterns.

On the moon, there is an increase in the size variance in the tidal waves. The height of the waves will become negative exposing more shellfish grounds. Look for Razor and Steamer Clam production to increase, but the increased supply doesn’t have as much impact on pricing as other forms of Seafood.

Lobster have also become less active searching for food, creating lower catches in the traps.

Good landings of Vermilion or more commonly known B-liners are currently being landed in the Carolinas. We also are hopeful for a few Black Bass and some greater Amberjack.

Domestic American Red Snapper (ARS) are biting hard currently and we should have some of our best supplies of the year.

Grouper supplies have stabilized and we anticipate slight decreases in cost over the next several weeks. We will do everything in our power to reduce our sales price to you as soon as possible. Please be patient with your salesperson.

There could be a Wreckfish boat arriving from the Blake Plateau as early as Thursday, we will keep you posted as information materializes.

Oyster production is coming back, albeit slowly, we hear the yield is increasing and more areas are opening up. This can only mean future price decreases around the corner.

Pompano fishing in Florida is beginning to pick up. We expect at least two shipments throughout this week.

Farmed Redfish is a struggle currently. We anticipate increasing supplies in the coming weeks.

As the weather cools in the Gulf, we anticipate very good supplies of Black Drum at affordable prices. Please consider this an affordable substitution for Redfish or even Snapper preparations.

Halibut sourcing remains arduous, as the season comes to a close in Alaska and weather is a factor on both coasts. We at inland have started our FAS Halibut Program that was so successful last year.

Kings from the Columbian River and a few troll caught Alaskan Cohos are the Wild Salmon of choice for the next few weeks. Cohos out of Alaska should be coming to a closure the first of the month. There is still a possibility of a late run in the lower 48 once we receive some significant rainfall.

We have sold out of every order of our new Fresh Chopped and Strips of Fresh Surf Clams within 24 hours of arrival to Atlanta. We certainly appreciate your support when we bring in new exciting products.

Market Report September 20, 2012

Our most favorite season is fall and the official beginning is Saturday! Football season in high gear, fowl migration is in full swing and the waters in the Northern Hemisphere begin to cool. The cooling of the Atlantic creates many more fishing opportunities for the hardworking fishermen and women that Inland Seafood is proud to support.

In the Sounds off of NC, the pound net Flounders are beginning to show up in quantities and the quality that your most discriminating Chef will surely appreciate. Prices will stay relatively firm until the new openings in October for trawl fishermen in the surrounding states of the Mid-Atlantic.

We are seeing the occasional Pumpkin Sword, a fancy 225lb fish just arrived and what a fish it is! When there are home games in Tennessee the Volunteers’ faithful will gobble this fish up before it even arrives. Get with your salesperson and let them know in advance that you would like some; there is a long waiting list.

In the Deep North…

We have been getting some of the best Swordfish of the year. Expect another catch of short trip long lines arriving to port on Friday for a Sunday arrival into Atlanta.

We were able secure 4 - 80lb Mako Sharks that we have not seen in a few months. Once again out of Canada, these fish are half the price of Swordfish with similar cooking and eating credentials.

Halibut on the East Coast has definitely tightened up and the market is extremely firm.

Haddock, Cod, Hake, Monk and Skate will continue to be a hit and miss. We do anticipate improving weather and increasing supplies for next week.

We have a wonderful shipment of Golden Tile in house. These fish range between 7-10 pounds, and eat extremely close in flavor and texture to Grouper.

Black Bass and Stripers continue to be a struggle.

Down South…

Speaking of Grouper, we have some of our best supplies in months... large Blacks, Gags and Reds. Mix in a few Strawberrys and Kitty- Mitchels, Snowys and Scamps and your options are endless.

American Red Snappers remain tight as well as large Pacific Lane Snappers better known as Dotted. We were fortunate to land some really nice and good quantities of 1-2, 2-4 and a few 4-6 Yellow Tail Snappers to take the pressure of the larger fish. Ask your salesperson about our natural cut sides at extremely aggressive prices.

Tuna has been a battle. Look for continued firmness in the market and smaller loin sizes over the remaining weeks of September.

Keep rocking with the Hawaiian Kampachi. We have developed quite the loyal following and can’t thank everyone enough for putting this versatile fish on your menus. The next hot aquaculture product from Inland for the fall that we are betting on is Turbot from Spain. Stay close for details.

West Coast Halibut is getting close to ending and the weather has been difficult. We have a good supply of pretty Coho Salmon and some Columbia River King Salmon that have bright color and good size.

We have a very small shipment of Golden King Crab Clusters arriving Thursday. FRESH never FROZEN!

For those who attended our 2012 Inland Seafood Experience, and it looks like most of you did with our record attendance...We Thank You.

Inland’s first new item from the show will be Fresh Surf Clam Strips and Chopped Clams, packed in 4lb units. People used to think all Clam Strips were the same until tasting these at our Vendor’s booth. We all know how big Calamari is but this product should rival it on your menus and return a better food cost. Product arrives Friday with a limited quantity so get your orders in early!

Also, Did you know we have…

Mahi Mahi “Buffet Cuts” 2/3 oz
Item #805186 $4.29/lb

Deep Water Opilios “Japonicus” or “Red Snow Crab” 3/5
Item #400560 $4.49/lb

South Atlantic Turkayi Crab looks and eats like King Crab 20+
Item #400565 $6.89/lb

16/20 Split Brown King Crab Legs
Item #400013 $12.39/lb

Dry Japanese Hokkaido Scallops 18/23ct
Item #210210 $11.79/lb

Market Report September 12, 2012

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the Inland Seafood Experience on Monday….. a record number of vendor and customer attendance! Look for upcoming updates on new exciting products from the show……..

It’s been a while since we discussed Alaska and the West Coast of the US and Canada...

Halibut fishing is slowing and there is firmness in the market place. Demand has been decent but we would recommend one last menu placement before fish becomes really scarce. On the Wild Salmon front, we finally have an inventory on Cohos that is worth passing along to you all but fishing has not been that great. We expect to be out of the Puget Sound King Salmon for the weekend but there is going to be a small opening on the Columbia River and we’ll see this weekend how good the fishing is! We have good supplies of high quality Pacific Cod as East Coast Cod remains limited and expensive.

Hot off the press! Rachel was able to secure some of the best quality Swordfish we have ever seen. The weather turned bad on the Emerald Basin off the coast of Nova Scotia, forcing the Becky H back to shore after only 1 set. If you weren’t aware, the Canadian Long Liners generally lay 6-12 sets per trip. These fish literally are the definition of a day boat fishery! These fish are loaded with fat, with a tight, very red, bloodline.

Most of the Tuna we are receiving these days are from Panama and CRI. We have good supplies but pricing is definitely strong. We expect to see the Louisiana fleets arriving back to port the first of next week.

Another show favorite was the farmed Norwegian Steelhead. This superior colored, ultra fat fish is some of the best sashimi quality protein in the market place. Pair this up with some Hawaiian Kampachi that just arrived and create a culinary masterpiece.

From the Deep South…

We have ample supplies of Triple Tail, Yellow Corvina and Agria with good long term outlooks on all three varieties.

Most products in the North have been difficult to secure and we have especially been struggling with Skate. With the weather improving we are hoping for a reprieve for next week with increasing supplies. Another show note, get with your salesperson if you require any in-shell live Scallops that were saucer size!

In the Carolinas and surrounding states…

Fishing has been very limited. NJ has seen limited catches on Tile and there is a state limit on Flounder of 500lbs per trip.

Looks like Stripers could be finished in Maryland for the month. There are some pound nets being worked in the sounds of North Carolina. These fish are superior quality; we just aren’t seeing a lot of them. We suspect the current cool front could be just what the fishermen need to increase catches.

After vanishing for a week, we just unloaded some Domestic Crabmeat. Supporting this product, coming in over the weekend, will be an additional shipment of our Columbian Crabmeat. Venezuela should be off conservation soon!

Once again, thanks to all of our customers, vendors and friends who attended the 2012 Inland Seafood Experience!

Market Report August 30, 2012

The 2012 Inland Seafood Experience is around the corner!
September 10, 2012, 1:30-7pm at the AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta!
For information and registration visit Inlandseafood.com/experience.

First and foremost we would like our Inland Family in the New Orleans and the Gulf area to know we are thinking about them, their families and friends’ safety. Not only the many fine people who run the Inland operation but all the Fisherman, Shrimpers and Crabbers that we are fortunate to support through your continued patronage to all the Inland Companies.

Isaac made a tough sourcing week even more arduous as most of the Gulf fleet would be working themselves out to the prime fishing areas to fish this Friday’s full moon. Expect to see what pelagic species we are able to source over the next few days out of the Northeast, Eastern Canada and hopefully Central and South America. We do anticipate price increases on Tuna in the near term.

Swordfish and Wahoo should remain good values which are uncharacteristic this early in the year.

Mahi is in rather good supply with sharp pricing. Contact your sales rep for details.

Grouper is the other challenge as most of the domestic long line boats were forced in early as the original path of Isaac was the West Coast of Florida. The boats that did get out in the Yucatan were primarily focused on Octopus although the price is about half the value per kilo from last year’s record highs. Have no fear, our Purchasing Team has been aggressively sourcing ALL options to come up with the limited amount of Grouper we have in house through the weekend.

We have large Golden Tile arriving from the Jersey Coast today, Wreckfish arriving today and Friday from Cape Canaveral and just outside Charleston, SC and a short trip Sword boat.

One potential positive of adverse weather is that it shakes up the ocean and gets everything moving around including pushing Shrimp inshore and a lot of prized fish will follow! Fishing will improve…

We have a few East Coast Pink Snappers (Porgy) and sashimi quality Vermillion (or B-liner) Snapper; on the small size but pretty.

We have a good supply of Wild Cobia arriving for the weekend as well as an average haul of Triple Tail.

Lobster pricing is on the upswing as Hardshells remain relatively hard to find.

Scallop pricing is stable at this point.

For the Land Lover’s…

We have 0x1 Angus Striploins on special; at $7.99/lb this is a great value when all other beef prices seem to be going up, these premium Angus Strips are a real deal. While supplies last…

100% All-Natural PSMO Tenderloins; we have decent supplies of these great tenderloins from Creekstone Farms. Raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics, these tenderloins deliver deep, beefy flavor. This will remind you why Filet Mignon is still the most popular steakhouse cut in the world!

Beeler's All-Natural Duroc Pork 10 Rib Rack; humanely raised on small family farms. The Beeler family prides itself on producing richly flavored, tender and juicy pork from the heritage Duroc breed. Chop ready, frenched 10 bone racks are only $5.59/lb for a limited time. Perfect grilled, smoked or pan sautéed, makes for a great center of the plate special.

Have a great and safe Labor Day!!!! Sounds like swordfish and steak on those grills……

Market Report August 23, 2012

The Pacific Cod market should improve after the pot fishery opens September 1^st. We anticipate a 30 day opening, of this well managed resource. In the short term Atlantic Cod remains scarce and expensive. If you haven’t tried skinless Haddock, you owe it to your customers. Flaky, more ready available, and in our humble opinion sweeter than Cod or Halibut. We will cut and skin this product from whole fish, ensuring some of the best product in the market place.

Halibut fishing in Alaska has improved to the point where we feel comfortable with supply if you would like to use this fish on menus for the next few weeks.

Very few Wild Striped Bass to purchase these days. North Carolina is seeing a few 3-5lb fish and prices are crazy.

We were able to land a few additional, smaller, Tile Fish out of Wanchese, NC.

Flounder are beginning to move around and we are starting to see pound net production in VA and NC. This, by far, is the best method to secure the highest quality Flounder. If the catch remains good, we could possibly see lower prices to our valued customers as early as next week.

The Tuna market has constricted considerably with catches domestically at their lowest levels in months. We are still seeing fish from Ecuador and Trinidad with Panama getting ready to produce large volumes. Most of our domestic product will be back in full bloom the first of the month, following the full moon as usual.

We are seeing good supplies of Wahoo the last few days. Mahi, although still on conservation in Ecuador is showing up in Panama and Mexico.

A couple of openings that could play into your menus in the near future…

There are some good catches on Florida Spiny Lobster and it looks like some may be affordable this year as the Chinese export market doesn’t seem as hot as last year.

Brown or Golden King Crab season has opened in the Bering Sea and it seems like the fisherman and processors are still in negotiations. We will give you updates as we receive them.

Many closures on West Coast Shellfish this time of the year; please contact your salesperson as we have a plethora of options from the East Coast.

Grouper and Snapper remain a struggle, but Inland is seeing the first signs of an improving climate. Please remain in constant contact with your salesperson as flavors and availability are changing daily.

A few local Dorys arriving tomorrow!

Market Report August 16, 2012

With the advent of school now upon us in most of the South, I am always curious why almost in sequence fishing around the globe dissipates. After following the trends the last few years, it seems that fish don’t school this time of year, making fishing more difficult than usual!

Snapper and Grouper in the Gulf of Mexico have been very difficult to source as of August 1^stwith the onset of Octopus season. Yellowtail, Mutton Snapper and American Red Snapper are all in tight supply. We are also seeing very limited supplies of Dotted Lane Snapper that most of our Chefs enjoy and become a better option with the struggles in Mexico. Look for Domestic Red Grouper to be king but pricing should be on the upside of the teeter-totter.

One option of late for Grouper has been the 5-8 lb Gray Tile Fish that we have recently received out of Wanchese, North Carolina. Many of our Chefs are concerned with carbon footprints and there is a large following for local products. In the fishing world this is about as good as it gets.

We have a good supply of Tripletail arriving on Friday, that also could take some pressure off the Grouper resource. Please consult your sales person for pricing and characteristics of this fine fish.

As mentioned last week, Wild Striped Bass season in Massachusetts has closed but we were able to secure a few smaller fish from North Carolina.

Jacks of all wild varieties remain a challenge. One option is ultra-high quality Farm Raised Hawaiian Kampachi. This fish is very versatile as a component in sushi as well as lightly seasoned and sautéed. Naked or with a sauce it is one of our favorites.

Venezuelan Crabmeat is on a 6 week conservation beginning yesterday. Most of our availability will remain with domestic product from Bayou La Batre, AL and our new perfect Mexican Crab which is as sweet as you can get.

We are getting just enough Flounder to meet demand from Boston to Cape Canaveral, although prices remain firm. The next cool spell should get these flat fish moving a bit and we should see some pound net fish which will provide us, and you, with some premier quality.

Swordfish and Tuna remain reliable and priced well; definitely a recommended fish for the next few weeks.

We anticipate some West Coast Shellfish to arrive this weekend. There are still several areas that remain closed, it is very important to ask your salesperson about pending arrivals.

Oyster yields for meat production are very poor currently. We are absorbing the poor yields but if there isn’t a turnaround soon, expect prices to increase. One positive is that Louisiana is producing large sized shell stock currently.

Have a great week!

Don’t forget to register for the 2012 Inland Seafood Experience on September 10, 2012 at the AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta!

Register for the 2012 Inland Seafood Experience!

Market Report August 9, 2012

I hope everyone had a chance to run specials with the Massachusetts Wild Striped Bass?

If not, this looks like your last weekend to feature this wonderful fish. The million pound quota will be met sometime today and closed for the remainder of the year in Massachusetts. We will be able to get some of these large fatty fish here for Friday night shipping. It would be recommended to feature them one last time.

We are seeing good supplies of firm or New Shell Lobsters. The Hard Shell Lobster market is increasing in price. We are getting plenty of our ultra-fresh Lobster Jumbo Lump. This is the sweetest meat in the market place!

Ground fish in the North has been extremely limited and expensive. As mentioned a few weeks ago the warm weather has shortened the shelf life on our Skate. Get them as soon as they come in and serve them as quickly as possible!

Octopus season in Mexico is under way and the initial temperature in the marketplace is that prices will not be as crazy high as last year. This may have a positive effect on Snapper and Grouper as some deeper water vessels may continue to focus on this fishery. Stability would be a positive sign.

The Gulf of Mexico really produced some beautiful fish this week. We have incredible domestically caught Tuna, Sword, Escolar and one of the larger catches of Wahoo in quite some time. A few Pompano should be arriving on Friday as well.

As previously mentioned, the warm weather in the Mid-Atlantic has adversely affected the fishing. We were able to land a great Grouper alternative in Grey Tile. All applications for Grouper will work for this versatile fish.

We are getting a few Fresh Shrimp. All sizes will be available for the weekend.

We have a large shipment of 1-2 Yellow Tail Snapper arriving today. These fish are priced well for whole fish and fillets. Please contact your salesperson for details.

Don’t forget to register for the 2012 Inland Seafood Experience on September 10, 2012 at the AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta!

Market Report August 2, 2012

Speaking of poker, we have four jacks in our hand (inventory). This is surely a win!

· Hamachi-wild
· Hawaiian Kampachi- farmed
· Greater Amberjack- wild
· Hiramasa- farmed yellow tail Jack

As a general rule the farmed products will be exceptional for sashimi applications. Please contact our knowledgeable sales team for other details and pricing.

We're still kicking it with Stripers out of Massachusetts! Market fell yesterday and we will have fish arriving Friday and more on Sunday. Expect slightly lower prices for the first part of next week’s deliveries.

Live Lobster prices on New Shells have fallen and in the short term, we could see moderate price increases on Hard Shell Lobsters. We will keep you well supplied with information as Inland Lobster in Maine informs us.

The full moon is tonight. As mentioned previously, the long line fleets of the Americas will be out in full force and we should see excellent supplies of pelagic species like Swordfish and Tuna. Expect larger by-catch of Domestic Wahoo this month.

On the reverse side the Mahi don’t school, so the ever difficult fish to procure will be extremely tight the first part of next week.

This coming Friday we will have some Wreckfish arriving from South Carolina. This is in addition to the six varieties of Grouper we currently have in house, primarily from the Gulf of Mexico

On the wild side…

Sockeye Salmon is coming to a close, we should have fish around for the next few weeks from Alaska and then we will see some select Indian fisheries in Puget Sound. Coho’s in quantities are still a few weeks away and there will be another opening on the Columbia River for the ever elusive King Salmon.

We have less than 100 days left in the Pacific Halibut season and 55% of the quota has been caught. With a scheduled November 7^th closure and the typical adverse weather we are predicting strong pricing models throughout the rest of the year. We will be at our best to procure from each coast offering the best quality in the market place.

Market Report July 25, 2012

The dog days of summer seem to be all around us….

In the fish business, this can translate into limited catches.

Massachusetts is producing 300 lbs of Fluke per boat and prices have gone up significantly. There is absolutely no relief in the Mid-Atlantic so we have many feelers out in the Gulf for gigged fish.

Skate Wing have been very elusive and we feel the quality has been slightly compromised so we are going to wait for a green light from our fisherman.

Good supplies of East Coast Halibut remain.

After a small window of well-priced, superior quality Stripers the market spiked up and we are holding our breath to see what yesterday’s opening will bring us. Not sure where pricing will fall but we can recommend these fish with confidence as we have numerous testimonials on the quality of the fish we have been able to offer our loyal customer base since the opening of the season. Stay tuned and communicate with your salesperson.

Other than a few Soft Shell Crabs, Domestic Dory and Shark fishing has been very limited. Hoping we see a few B-liners for the weekend.

The Brown Shrimp season has been a disappointment but there is an expected rebound on the East Coast with the White Shrimp season approaching. Look for larger sizes over the next several weeks.

There are still good landings in the Gulf of Mexico of Swordfish and Tuna.

Mahi remains a challenge with the few fish landings being on the smaller 5/10 lb sizes which translates into difficult portions on the larger portion sizes.

Columbia River Sockeye season has concluded and King Salmon has tightened up considerably. Look for a few Kings coming out of California and Coho’s are beginning to run. Be Careful what you menu!

Canadian Snow Crab landings continue to improve. Look for lower prices to hit the market place over the coming weeks.

Our Meat Buyer is raving about our Domestic Lamb quality and pricing. Currently, our domestic pricing on 2-2.5 lb cap-on racks is less than our imported product!

Market Report July 19, 2012

There are several wonderful buying opportunities currently and more to experience the first part of next week.

We are experiencing some of the best catches of Swordfish and Tuna in years. Swordfish from the good old USA, MSC certified grounds in Canada and Ecuador and Costa Rica. Most of our inventory is domestic, where the fishing is very well regulated (some might say over regulated) and the US fisherman seldom meet their catch limits set by ICAT guidelines. Stunning quality and prices on both of these pelagic species! Call your salesperson and maximize your profits.

Striper season in Massachusetts started out firm as expected. If you haven’t seen the fish from this past Monday’s opening, we have more arriving Friday and Sunday. The market has fallen today, as of this writing, like I have never seen before in all my years of buying! Look for Inland to issue new lower prices for Monday shipping, but based on the quality alone of the fish in house you’ve gotta get some!

We will have great inventories of Farmed and Wild Cobia and one of our buyers was able to secure a great shipment on NC Wild Redfish.

We have good supplies of sweet Domestic Crabmeat and we were fortunate enough to find a new vendor that is producing Mexican Crabmeat that equals the sweetness of the domestic product.

As a bonus we received some Super Jumbo Lump and Jumbo Cocktail Fingers. Please get with your salesperson with details on pricing. This supply should be extremely valuable when product is short in cold weather months domestically and when the annual moratoriums are in effect in South America.

Be sure to speak with your sales representative about our full line of Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork and Poultry from our Heritage Meats portfolio and Gourmet Cheeses, Oils, Vinegars and Specialty Items through our Artisan by Inland program!

Market Report July 12, 2012

Let’s start on the East Coast and up yonder…

North East Halibut is hot as a pistol right now. We are offering our lowest Halibut prices of the year and we anticipate being able to offer our superb quality at our current low pricing levels into next week. Menu this fish!

As good as the Halibut landings are everything else has fallen off the map. If you need Skate, Haddock, Cod, Hake or Pollock talk to your salesperson early as we have been struggling with our dedicated group of fisherman.

If you saw the lonely kayaker on the news this week being eyed up as lunch by a Great White, we are fighting back and anticipate a few landings of Mako Shark for the weekend.

The most exciting news is that Wild Striped Bass season opens in Massachusetts this Friday the 13^th!

How lucky can we be as this fish should hit our docks early next week but the price will not be cheap? Expect some big fatty fish that have been gorging themselves as they move north. We anticipate having a few in house that will be a little pricey but the market should fall as we get well into next week and beyond.

Mid-Atlantic…….

There have been small amounts of Black Bass and we are hoping to have some more of those fancy B-liners that we received the first part of the week that received rave reviews.

Shrimp in the Wanchese, North Carolina area are starting to get large enough to offer some 16/20 and Friday we will have a good supply of 21/25’s.

A little further South should produce a few of the ever popular Barrel Fish for Friday shipping.

In the Gulf…..

We hit the jackpot, Domestic Swordfish, Crabmeat, Black and Red Drums, beautiful Yellow Fin Tuna, a few lost Wahoo and Oilfish. Look for some Domestic Snapper and Grouper to arrive on Friday and there is a very small chance of the random Softshells.

We will do our best not to run out of 1-2 Yellowtail Snapper for the weekend or better yet I challenge you to make me eat my words. We have a great supply and have priced them accordingly.

Down on the farm(aqua-farm that is)…..

Spanish Turbot including some as large as 6 lbs each! Ample supplies of Bronzino and Dorade. We have a shipment of Hawaiian Kampachi arriving on Friday; these are great fish for sashimi applications.

On the left Coast…..

Alaskan King Salmon are in good supply with very good fat content. Plenty of Sockeyes and a few Coho’s are being landed.

Add all the Wild Salmon options to our Norwegian Steelhead, Scottish Atlantics, Chilean Atlantic fillet, Columbian Red Trout and Icelandic Arctic Char; I think we have most of the world covered!

Market Report July 05, 2012

July 5, 2012

We’ve got a short week this week due to the 4^th of July Holiday, but we’ve had a lot of boats coming in with some unbelievable catches! The exception being the Northeast, availability has been spotty and what has been caught remains pricey.

In the Gulf…

Whole Domestic Grouper will be tight due to hurricane Debby; all boats staying in until after the 4^thto wait out the storm and celebrate the 4^th before going back to fishing as the Gulf settles out.

We do have a good supply of Mexican Grouper Filet, but it is a bit on the expensive side for this time of year.

On the West Coast…

The big news is Wild Alaskan Salmon. We have trucks rolling in with Sockeye Salmon from all over the state, as well as the featured ‘Blue Back’ Columbia River Sockeye Salmon, which is the first Sockeye to appear in the commercial marketplace in 50 years. For a change, we brought the fish in head-on, making them great for display and for cutting. These head-on fish are running at $4.29/lb… an unbelievable price!

These are Pictures of The Columbia River Blueback Sockeyes and of the Native Americans on the Columbia River using dip nets in their ancient tradition to catch the Columbia River Sockeyes.

We also have a good supply of Wild Alaskan King Salmon, a high-quality fish with excellent flavor.

We have availability of some beautiful 2, 3, 4, and 5 ounce portions of Deep-skin Sockeye Salmon at an incredible value! All are skinless and boneless 100% usable and packed in 5 lb. units. Prices will be less than for Atlantic salmon portions and are listed below:

2 oz sockeye portions $4.99/lb
3 oz sockeye portions $5.79/lb
4 oz sockeye portions $7.29/lb
5 oz sockeye portions $8.99/lb

We will be offering volume discounts if you can take 15lbs. or more, this is a great item as an introduction to the true flavor of Wild Alaskan Salmon which ought not to be missed! We will have this delicious fish regularly for the next 3-4 weeks. There’s no better time to experience one of the true gifts of nature from Alaska.

In Other News…

Swordfish is a great value this weekend. It is a wonderful grilling fish – very appropriate for your weekend barbecue feature mixed with the season’s first heirloom tomatoes.

We have some good quality High #2 Tuna on hand at great prices from the boats bringing in the swordfish.

In addition, there are numerous opportunities on Halibut, both Day boat East Coast as well as West Coast Alaskan Halibut.

There is good run of Fluke Flounder out of Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard and we have these sushi Flounder and a great price.

As a special this week we brought in California White Sea Bass which is very tasty and a true West Coast/L.A. area specialty.

That’s all for this week, we hope everyone had a Safe and Happy Independence Day!

Market Report June 27, 2012

As positive as last week’s report was in regards to beautiful summer weather and the abundance of fish, this one is going to be a little more challenging! Tropical depression Debbie has been wreaking havoc in the Gulf and the Southern East Coast. Long line boats around the world are anticipating the pending full moon on July 3^rd which means most won’t venture out to the fishing grounds until the weekend.

Grouper and Snapper boats were advised to stay docked from the Yucatan through the Gulf and now she has crossed into the Atlantic; blowing most fisherman back to local ports.

The good news…

One boat that was forced in was one of our favorite Wreckfish captains with 3000 lbs of these most prized Grouper substitutes. Calling it a ‘substitute’ is a little disrespectful as it truly is a ‘stand on its own’ quality fish, also known as Stone Bass. Product will be in house today, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

We were able to get some King Clip from the Pacific Coast of Mexico and these fish are getting rave revues. Pick up the phone and place an order for these wonderfully light and sweet tasting fillets! Did we mention that the price is really a bargain!

A few Golden Tile will be heading down from Jersey later in the week and can be used in any Grouper recipe as well.

Alaska is finally producing all three of early run Wild Salmon with King, Sockeye and Keta in good supply. Halibut from both coasts is plentiful.

In addition we have a special treat on Wild Salmon that has not been seen for almost 50 years...
Columbia River Sockeye Salmon. At one time this was the largest run of Sockeye in the United States or its territories, since that was what the State of Alaska was before 1960. Before dams were built on the Columbia River during the 1930’s an estimated 15-20 million Sockeyes used to swim up this giant waterway to spawn as far away as the tributaries of the Columbia River in Idaho and Alberta, Canada.

This year for the first time since the early 70’s the river has produced enough Sockeyes to allow a few fish to be caught. These fish are called Blueback Columbia River Sockeyes and have the highest fat content of any Sockeye. They are little fish (probably because they have to get way up the river to spawn) that average about 2-3 pounds headless in weight and look like little diamonds. We are pleased to offer these fish for 7.99 whole and 10.59 for PBO fillets.

We have more Massachusetts Fluke in house; we were able to sharpen the pencil and lower prices for this week’s business.

Scallop fisherman are now working in formerly ‘closed’ areas and they are producing great quality u/10’s and still limited amounts of smaller 20/30’s.

Rhode Island Striper season is over, but we at Inland have firsthand knowledge that they are beginning to show up around the Martha’s Vineyard area for more extensive feeding. We can’t wait!

Early next week, we will be receiving some of our famous Spanish Farmed Turbot. Along with this shipment, we do anticipate our initial arrival of the infamous Farmed Dover Sole. Please ask your salesperson for more detail about the pending arrival.

Fresh Shrimp is still showing limited availability and it looks like most of the White Shrimp could be done. Another positive is Debbie could shake up the oceans a little bit providing better shrimping!

I am quite certain Wednesday’s large arrival of Mahi could be it for the near future and what might be available could possibly make it too expensive for anyone. If you have this on your menu, please be in constant contact with your salesperson for availability.

*Look at Farmed Cobia or East Coast Amberjacks as possible substitutions.

Market Report June 21, 2012

Summertime in New England…..

It’s wonderful time of the year for the beach and some of the best fishing as well……

More Scallop grounds are opening up and the cool waters off the Georges Bank and Channel areas are providing good catches and nice firm meats. If the catches remain strong on larger sizes we may even began to see record prices receding.

We are also anticipating good catches on Live Lobster and once there are shedders in the market place prices should begin to fall as well. Keep in mind shedders don’t have the shelf life of hard shell Lobster so just a heads up for those of you who don’t have tanks.

Swordfish catches worldwide are on the rise. We will be bringing in some fish from the north that will have a great fat content. Is there anything better for the grill???

Fluke is appearing in larger quantities and Rachel (Inland’s buyer) is getting primarily 1-2’s but the fish are spectacular!

We’re seeing just a few Stripers so far the sizing is good but the prices are very high. The market should improve over the next 30 days.

There is enough Haddock, Cod, Hake, Pollock, Skate and Monkfish to keep everyone happy!!!

Purchasing in the center of the coast has been a bit more challenging….

Not much of anything but a few Gill-net Flounder that have been sky high.

The occasional Swordfish a few tunas but other than that fishing has been cool at best.

Soft Shell Crab has been virtually non-existent.

When Vermillion Snapper (B-liners) open we should begin to see one of our favorite fish, Triggerfish!

Shrimp season has been very strange to read. We are seeing limited amount of 16/20 and 21/25 white Shrimp. We have been out for a few days, but having said this have close to 1000 lbs arriving Friday. Get with your sales rep as product will move quickly. Brown Shrimp are becoming available but the sizing is very small, but they will get larger over the next few weeks.

Our friends in the Gulf…..

Sword and Tuna fishing has slowed. The next big influx of fish will be after the 4^th of July holiday. We hope to see some Wahoo coming off those boats in July.

Amberjack is closed and it looks like Almaco Jacks on the East Coast will be closing soon but Greater Jacks will still be targeted.

Grouper catches are at about 50% of normal this week, we have enough but the market was up significantly and unfortunately we had to pass along a price increase. Let’s hope it is limited and we get back to better fishing next week.

Alaska and the Pacific Northwest…

Cod fishing remains limited with a few pot fishermen still bringing in wonderful quality.

Our first of the year Ketas are here and we are offering them at fabulous prices. We have taken a few pictures for you to inspect, please get them while supplies last.

Sockeyes, after the great opening in the Copper River, have slowed down tremendously. We are getting reports of fish showing up in other areas, but the pipeline has a long way to go to get filled and retailers are clamoring to run ads through the month of July.

It is our opinion that the Sockeye shortage has led to Kings remaining strong in pricing. We are seeing some Columbia River fish and have an adequate supply for the weekend.

Our inside track is the Halibut quality on Pacific fish will not be as good as the Day-boat fish coming out of Canada. Look for us to have up to 50 lb fish coming of the east Coast!!

Market Report June 14, 2012

June 14, 2012

From the Gulf…

We are sourcing great quality and supplies of Domestic Sword, Tuna and Escolar. Quality, supply and pricing are some of the best of the year.

As mentioned previously, we feel comfortable if you would like to put Farmed Redfish back on the menus!

Both Black and deeper water Yellowedge Grouper have been stunning quality and the pricing on these fish will match stunning! Call your salesperson before you miss this great opportunity

Snapper fishing has also been good with ample supplies of American Reds, Muttons and the ever popular Dotted Snapper which are also marketed as Lanes.

A few Wreckfish and Barrelfish will arrive tomorrow; get them quickly as supplies won’t meet demand.

In the mid-Atlantic….

A few Gill Net Flukes are showing up in Virginia but prices are at New York levels. So we went up to Boston and secured a fair supply of “stiff as a board” Flukes at a lower price than the VA fish, so that prices can remain the same!

Softshell Crabs remain limited and firm in pricing. It doesn’t look as if we are going to get that one or two great sheds that we seem to get every year that allows frozen product to be put up at aggressive pricing. Supplies have been consistent though.

In the great state of Alaska…

Cod quota is all but finished, but we will still see limited amounts from Southeast area.

Copper River fishing has slowed down on both Kings and Sockeyes. New fishing grounds are beginning to see some fish including Ketas from Prince William Sound and the Sand Point/Kodiak area.

Halibut remains a staple.

From the East…

The big news is we are seeing a few big and fatty Stripers, unfortunately the prices mimic the size of the fish. Some might say the quality is so superb you can’t afford to not serve your guests this great fish!

Finally we are seeing some relief on Cod, Haddock, Hake and Pollock. At last supplies have improved.

We should have some large Golden Tilefish arriving over the weekend form New Jersey.

A note on a few frozen items…

King Crab pricing is beginning to head South after record high prices.

There are some great quality and prices on Larger Gulf Shrimp; we are talking 16/20-U/15 sizes. Call your salesperson for more specifics.

Make sure that you ask your sales person about our Heritage Meats and Artisan programs for a full line of Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb and Fowl along with Cheeses, Oils, Mushrooms and other specialty items!

Everyone at Inland Seafood wishes you a healthy, happy and successful
Father’s Day Weekend!

Market Report June 7, 2012

June 7, 2012

This week the word is variety!

From Hawaii we have another shipment of sashimi quality Hawaiian Kampachi. These Amlico Jacks are averaging about 4 pounds each and have all the qualities of a clean, fatty protein for sashimi application.

If you are looking for a less expensive option we will have some Pacific Wild Yellowtail arriving by lunch time tomorrow.

We might as well stay on the West Coast…

Halibut supplies are meeting demands, but with Wild Salmon, the Copper River openings this week have been a disappointment. The good news is that we will begin to see openings in the Prince William Sound and Kodiak areas soon.

We have also secured some California Seabass that is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Mahi supply, because of the recent full moon, has been a struggle but was anticipated. Supplies should improve this weekend for the first part of next week.

In the South East…

We are getting some Domestic Swordfish, good supplies of Wreckfish and we anticipate one of our larger shipments of Barrelfish arriving today.

Farmed Cobia for this weekend and Wild Cobia for the first part of the week will be plentiful.

It looks like the Farmed Redfish difficulties are abating and we should see good marketable size fish moving forward!

Tuna supplies are as good as they have been in quite some time.

From the Mid-Atlantic…

Weather the last week or so has been terrible. So much so that a waterspout came on land over last weekend and hit several of our most respected suppliers in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Everyone is fine but there has been significant damage to buildings. Most are getting back up and running and we should see a great shipment of Grey Tile arriving Friday.

Northeast rumblings…

The same weather pattern that caused so much damage in the Mid-Atlantic has also affected fishing in the North.

Scallop catches have been the one bright spot. We have been selling a great deal of our 5 pound Cheesecloth bags and the feedback we are receiving has been great! Ask your sales person about them today.

Haddock, Cod and Hake have been difficult, but we are anticipating a good supply of Fluke for the weekend.

Speak with your salesperson to confirm product shipments to stay informed about availability!

Market Report May 31, 2012

In the Gulf…

We have some stunning Black and Red Grouper from Mexico. For the weekend we expect ample supplies of Domestic Red Grouper and American Red Snapper as well.

With the pending full moon on Monday June 4th, we anticipate Mahi supplies to be arduous and a potential spike in pricing on Sword and Tuna. Don’t fret though, as we have you covered until the boats come back in by the middle of next week.

We will have some 1-2 lb Pompano arriving that our supplier was raving about as well as a few 3 lb Domestic Spanish Mackerel. They will go fast so pre-order with your sales representative.

We are getting Day Boat Speckled Trout out of the Cancun area. Speckled Trout is considered a game fish in a lot of gulf waters but in Mexico it is a dynamic resource with a lot of production. We are getting fish in almost daily at great prices. Speckled Trout is one of the most versatile fish, and we should have a good supply for the next 3 weeks.

From the South East…

The Wreck Fish quota is down but what fish we are currently procuring are big and beautiful. Also from this fishery, we are seeing a limited amount of Barrel Fish. If you haven’t indulged, Barrel Fish flakes and eats like Grouper with a firmer bite.

Amberjack fishing should pick up after the storms passed through earlier in the week. Catches have been very reliable so far!

In the Mid-Atlantic…

Not much happening here, Flounder fishing is closed, we are getting a few Grey Tile and Mackerel. A small by-catch of Redfish is beginning to show up as well.

It looks like we will get an opportunity to purchase a few Soft Shells this weekend after extremely low supplies last week. We don’t expect much relief in the price point though.

Up North…

Looks like Black Bass season has closed. We are anxiously awaiting improving supplies of Fluke Flounder, stronger quality on Haddock and Cod as the spawn seems to have concluded.

If you haven’t tried Inland’s Fresh Cleaned Squid, you need to jump while great supplies are available.

Live Lobster is holding its own; we believe we are getting close to the eventual summer drop in pricing, stay tuned…

Alaska and the West coast…

The outer Copper River is having a wonderful harvest of Sockeyes. We have lowered our pricing to mirror the great catches.

The King catch has been low as most scientists believe the Kings are closer to the mouth of the river and this area has not been open to fishing on the limited openings. We do have a few hundred pounds arriving today, airlines permitting.

Halibut is pretty much doing what everyone expected with a lower quota…Standing firm. Supplies have been adequate to meet the fresh demand but prices have remained firm.

Make sure you speak with your sales rep about the full line of beef, veal, lamb and fowl through our Heritage Meats program and our selection of cheeses, oils, mushrooms and specialty foods from Artisan by Inland!

Market Report May 23, 2012

This is one of the times of year that we really enjoy here at Inland Seafood. Not only is it the beginning of summer vacations for many, but this seems like the time when prices have finally fallen on fresh seafood!

In the Gulf…

The great news is that fish is starting to roll in from the Southern United States as well as from Central and South America. Grouper prices have fallen domestically and we have some great quality whole fish out of Mexico. The same goes for Genuine Gulf Red Snapper and we have beautiful Genuine American Reds coming from both the US and Mexico at exceptional prices.

We have been working for years in Mexico and developed a system to get whole day boat quality fish into the United States at very fair price levels. We are reducing prices as we speak! If you want to feature Gulf Red Snapper and Grouper for the weekend, this is the time to do it!

Until August when Octopus season starts in Mexico, , we should have great prices on these Gulf Red Snapper and Grouper along with Yellowtail, Mutton Snapper, and Hog Snapper.

In addition, we are getting Day Boat Speckled Trout out of the Cancun area. Although Speckled Trout is considered a game fish in a lot of gulf waters, in Mexico it is a dynamic resource with a lot of production. We are getting fish in almost daily at great prices. Speckled Trout is one of the most versatile fish, and we should have a good supply for the next 30 days.

Off the Southern East Coast…

Amberjack season is rolling off of Florida, lots of Day Boat Amberjack coming in as well as some Barrel Fish, Wreckfish and a very few Redfish.

The Fresh Shrimp season is going well off the coast of Georgia, South Carolina, and into North Carolina. Prices are coming down slightly every week and will probably drop even more next week after the holiday weekend.

In the Mid Atlantic…

The Mid-Atlantic is very quiet, as not many fisheries are open. We are seeing some Black Bass and by-catches of Mutton Tails. Even Soft Shells are hard to get and very expensive since the crabs shed so early—before fishermen were even out looking for them—so we never got the big shed that we were expecting with cheaper prices. Hopefully we will get crabs throughout the summer but that remains to be seen.

In the Northeast…

Cod and Haddock catches are becoming scarce because of the closures in the Gulf of Maine. We are seeing a little bit of Fluke out of New York and Massachusetts, but prices remain very expensive.

We are getting good landings of Lobsters and should be getting production of Fresh Lobster Meat shortly, and prices on Lobster should fall after Memorial Day. We should see New Shell Lobsters that are shippable by mid-June and those prices will be a bit lower than where we are right now.

The good news is that we still have an abundance of Large Lobsters which are great for grilling and we are featuring them this Holiday Weekend for $6.99/lb! Speak with your sales person for details.

Scallops remain fairly plentiful; prices are going up slightly especially on U-10’s as the current open areas are not areas where U-10’s are available.

This is the time of year we should start seeing landings of Swordfish and Tuna out of New England, as well as some Short Trip Halibut.

Speaking of Tuna, it seems that there is a worldwide catch of tuna going on now and fresh prices seem to be falling. Although we believe tuna has been overfished in some areas, the problem has been blown out of proportion. Tuna is very sensitive to ocean currents, temperature, and seismic activity. With the volatility we have had in the past year with seismic events around the Western Pacific Rim such as the massive earthquake in Japan, the resource has moved and it looks like they have been found again by the fishermen.

Another factor that most people don’t realize is that tuna has become not only a very popular fish in the US but worldwide due to the growth in popularity of sushi. Since the demand has risen, so have prices.

Off the West Coast…

Mahi is going to be tight and expensive for most of the summer due to the close of the seasons in South and Central America.

We are expecting good supplies of Corvina out of Central America and will hopefully also start getting Wahoo out or Ecuador as well.

In Shellfish…

As we move into June the waters get warmer and as always that presents some problems with Oysters. We will carry a smaller inventory than normal as well as all other Shellfish, so order in advance!

Bay Scallops start up again on Monday as the Calico Plant has relocated to the Georgia Coast – so now we can advertise “Georgia Calico Scallops” on local menus! They should be in steady supply starting next week through the end of the summer depending on weather circumstances off the East Coast.

We are a little short this week on Fresh Crab Meat out of Colombia due to a 3-day national holiday this week but we stocked up on their pasteurized in preparation for the holiday. We should have more of the Holman’s Fresh Columbian crabmeat in by this Friday. We do have a lot of Fresh Domestic Crab Meat coming from the Gulf and there is some East Coast Crab Meat available as well.

On the Farm Raised Front…

Salmon prices remain steady although Scottish Salmon is more expensive, prices should come down by next week. All other farmed products seem to steady as she goes for the time being.

Copper River Heralds the beginning of the Wild Salmon Season…

Copper River opened with a bang; they caught 9 times the amount of Sockeye Salmon they were expecting on the first and second openers and only 40% of the King Salmon they were expecting. Some of this has to do with the areas they were allowed to fish but, regardless, this is good news and pretends well for the rest of the Whole Wild Salmon season.

Prices are dropping as we speak on Sockeyes. But both Copper River and other Kings are going up in price but we should have good supply of Copper River Sockeyes for the next 2 weeks. Check with your salesperson for our latest prices! Troll season and catches off of the West Coast have been lagging for Kings and prices should remain high until next week when we should get some better weather!

And in Proteins…

We have a good supply of all Painted Hills product and all natural proteins as well as Eden Farms 100% Berkshire Pork for the weekend… make sure to take advantage of our great selection for grilling over Memorial Day Weekend.

That’s all for this week! We hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day! Check back with us next week for the most up-to-date information on everything Seafood and the best selection of quality seafood and proteins in the industry!

Market Report May 16, 2012

After Mother’s Day, everybody’s looking forward to summer arriving! Although some fish have become scarce in the past few weeks due to closures for sustainability spawn quotas, we have some very exciting new seafood items increasing in availability!

In the Northeast…

Weather is iffy in New England and prices are expensive on just about everything except for Hake and Pollack, which both should be reasonably priced. Both of these fish make great specials as they are very versatile fish. Try one (…or both) today!

In the Mid-Atlantic…

Catches have been few and far between as most seasons come to a close including Striped Bass and Flounder.

June 1 marks the start of Pound Net Flounder season; prices will be very high at the beginning.

We will be getting small peripheral catches of Black Bass, Spanish Mackerel and Monkfish out of the Chesapeake area along with some Croakers.

Hopefully we will continue to see good quantities of Softshell Crabs for the next week to 14 days.

Scallop fishing has closed from Virginia to New Jersey, although the Grand Banks remains open, so most of the Scallops will be coming from that area.

Down the Coast…

Over the next 30-45 days we are expecting a good run of Amberjack.

Good news is that we are still seeing good quantities of Shrimp out of the Carolinas as well as Georgia and Northern Florida!

We are seeing a nice run of Mahi Mahi out of the Carolinas along with landings of Shark, Wreckfish and a few Barrelfish coming to the docks. Prices on this Cherry Point Mahi will be expensive but in the same range as imports, so take advantage of freshly packed domestic fish off of the coast of the Carolinas.

The Carolinas are now opened up for off shore deep water fishing, so we are expecting some short-trip Grouper, Snapper and B-liners especially out of docks in Wilmington and the Outer Banks. We will also see some Triggerfish and Scamp that will be expensive but overall the production should be good and the quality will be great.

We are also seeing Calico Bay Scallops from the South Atlantic. This fishery is setting up a new processing line closer to the bed, so products are fresh, fresh, fresh! We will have 4 lb and 8 lb units beginning next week and this will be an item to menu and a great feature for just about anyone!

In the Gulf…

We are seeing some decent landings of Tuna, but prices remain high.

We are also starting to see some Swordfish coming in after the moon as the fleet makes one more trip before moving to the Northeast for the summer!

Also in the Gulf of Mexico we are seeing good landings of Grouper and Snapper and all of the peripheral by-catches that are associated with these fisheries. We expect this to stay steady for the next couple of months, and are expecting good catches of both Grouper and Snapper over the weekend.

Off the West Coast…

Fishing is generally poor as many seasons are closed, however there are some Dover Sole still coming in, which is a delicious and very versatile fish!

Cod is disappearing because most of the catch seasons are closing and most boats in Alaska have switched gears to get ready for the Wild Alaskan Salmon Season.

Off California and Northern Washington, troll fishing for King Salmon is just getting underway. So far catches are not as good as predicted which could be attributed to the fact that fisherman from Southern Oregon to California haven’t fished King Salmon in close to 4 years. They may have to go through a relearning process before catches improve. Some Wild King Salmon are coming out of the Columbia River this week, and also Hook and Line fish out of British Columbia

This week on the 17^th the Copper River opens with its usual fanfare. Even though it is opening later than last year it still may be a slow opening due to heavy ice pack from a very cold and snowy winter in Alaska.

In the Pacific Northwest, this is the best time to buy Halibut, which is why we are running a feature on it this week! Prices are lowering and should stay down for the rest of the month until Salmon season gets fully underway.

And in Shellfish…

Lobsters are continuing to come down in price, but demand overseas for processed, whole-cooked and Lobster Tails are keeping prices in Canada higher than they should be. There may be an early shed this month or early June in Maine, which means we will have Fresh Lobster Meat down here by mid-June. Although the meat will be of great quality, prices will remain high, we’re afraid.

BUT stock up now on our Frozen Lobster Meat including a limited amount of Lobster Jumbo Lump that we froze last January at prices that will be a couple of dollars less than fresh will be initially.

Crab Meat has begun to show out of the Gulf of Mexico and there is a good abundance of Crabs out of Chesapeake Bay area. The only issue with Crab is lack of workers, as it has been years since there has been an abundance of crabs in that area.

More good news is that there is still a great abundance of high quality Blue Crab out of Colombia. If you haven’t tried it, do!

Oysters are starting to become more problematic as the weather gets warmer. With the warm weather out of the Northeast this winter we expect to see more closures and more red tides—which unfortunately means lack of oysters. This will still affect oysters out of the Northwest even though the water has been a little colder there.

*Please preorder oysters; we will not have oysters on speculation to ensure a fresh supply and to minimize waste.

Mussels out of the Northeast and PEI are currently in the middle of spawning, but hopefully that will be done by the 1^st week of June. We advise you to wash your Mussels in cold ice water upon receiving. We have a sheet on how to wash your Mussels to preserve quality when they are spawning at this time of year. Please contact your sales rep for that information.

On the Farm Raised Front…

There is a lack of small farm raised Salmon as generations are changing; bad weather in Scotland has postponed a harvest or two, but we should be fine for the rest of the week. The good news is that there are a lot of big fish in the market place!

That’s all for this week’s Market Report. Check back with us next week for the most up-to-date information about the Seafood Industry. Thanks for stopping by!

Market Report May 8, 2012

May 08, 2012

We’ve got great news! Mother’s day week is shaping up to be a great week for seafood!

As always some fish will be tight this week but we have got some fantastic specials and some of the catches are up on some very exciting fish as well!

In the North Atlantic …

Cod and Haddock continue to be expensive due to the bad weather last week but there will be some fresh fish around.

Hake and Pollock are both good buys, let your sales person know and we’d be glad to bring in extra this week for you! Prices are below $6.00/lb for fillets on both so these tasty underutilized sustainable choices should be looked at more seriously.

Skate also has decent availability; please preorder and let your sales person know your needs in advance to take advantage of this great seafood delicacy.

For Mothers Day this week, we are seeing more beautiful frozen on ship Wolf Fish that we will be replenishing for the holiday. Wolf Fish will be a great item for this weekend at great price!

Scallops are steady, but the prices on U-10’s are inching upwards.

We are seeing a little bit of Peekytoe Crab meat.

Lobster prices are steady and the quality on firm Canadian hard shells is excellent. Since a lot of the production is coming from Canada we are seeing more large Lobsters in the run right now. We have a good inventory in stock of large Lobsters that range from 5-8 pounds and some over 8 pounds!

These larger Lobsters make a great family center piece for Mother’s Day dinners. These lobsters are big enough to use just one lobster prepared and split up into a beautiful appetizer to share for a family of 6-12 people! There are so many delicious lobster recipes, we encourage you to get creative and take advantage of a great item at a low price. People will be talking about how great it was until Christmas when the supply of these big lobsters will appear again.

In the Mid–Atlantic…

The most exciting news this week is that it is molting time! Soft Shell Crabs are in abundance! We are expecting daily shipments with prices that are very attractive and feasible to serve. And to make it a little easier for those of you who don’t have time to prepare, we will have Dressed Jumbo Crabs in this week as well!

With most fishing quotas and seasons closed, we are not seeing any more Flounder or Striped Bass. The seasons for just about everything in the mid-Atlantic have been curtailed, with the exception of Black Bass & Monktails which we are still seeing a few landings.

Down the coast…

We are seeing some beautiful, Fresh East Coast White Shrimp coming in off of the coast of Georgia and South Carolina whose season opened just today! We are expecting more availability in the weeks ahead so stay tuned!

Off of the Carolina and Georgia coasts, we’ve had good landing of Calico Bay Scallops. This scallop is great quality and has been receiving rave reviews! If you haven’t tried them, now is the time! They are bright white with a beautiful sweet flavor, reminiscent of Nantucket Bay Scallops but at a quarter of the price! We are featuring them for $5.79/lb all this week again.

In the Keys…

Amberjack and Yellowtail are starting to show off of the Keys and the Eastern Florida Coast.

The last run of Stone Crabs will be in this week. We may possibly get some more in on Friday but we are looking at the end of the season. The good news is that fishermen are reporting a decent year!

From the Gulf…

We are seeing good supplies of Day Boat Red Grouper coming in along with spotty catches of Gulf Red Snapper which remains very expensive.

Tuna and Swordfish boats are expected to land decent catches from this weekend’s huge full moon but right now prices are sky high and availability is weak. We are hoping to get both from new landings in by Mother’s Day at lower prices than they are now but we will have to see if this happens. One constant is Itsumo sushi grade Tuna. Itsumo means ‘Always’ (as in ‘Always consistent high quality’) in Japanese.

Also in the gulf, we are seeing a good supply of Crawfish Tail Meat, along with decent catches of live Crawfish and Lake Pontchartrain Drum.

In the Pacific Northwest…

We are still waiting for King Salmon season to start in California.

In the meantime, we have been able to secure some Ivory King Salmon off the coast of British Colombia and the Oregon Coast at decent prices, as well as some gorgeous Halibut in Alaska and Washington State from short trip boats.

Coming from the same boats out of Washington State, we are seeing some Red Rockfish of gorgeous quality! This is a great whole-fish special for this week.

Since our Dover Sole special last week was so popular, we have decided to bring in more. If you didn’t order in-time last time, this is your chance! It was met with rave reviews! We are expecting another shipment this week with 3 ozs and larger fillets.

Some more good news, Alaskan Cod is on the way! The prices are much better than for North Atlantic Cod, and it is a more sustainable fishery to boot! This fish will be a great feature for the week ahead!

From Around the World…

We are expecting good quantities of Grouper filet from Mexico and Costa Rica.

Some great news, Mahi Mahi has reached peak, and prices are coming down and leveling out!

Dotted Snapper are on the expensive side and should stay that way all week.

We are expecting a good supply of whole Mexican Red and Black Grouper, as well as excellent quality Gulf Red Snapper this week out of Mexico, we are hoping for a Wednesday arrival.

Out of Central America we are seeing bigger catches of Triple Tail, and some more beautiful fish out of Hawaii – more information in a special Hawaii Report coming your way on Wednesday or Thursday so stay tuned!

On the Farm-raised Front…

Prices are up on Loup de Mer and Dorade, we are expecting some in on Wednesday. Note: Dorade is by preorder only! We need orders 5 days in advance so get in touch with your salesperson if interested!

We are seeing a good quantity of farmed Cobia coming back as another farm has opened up availability to us.

We are also seeing bigger quantities of Atlantic Salmon from Canada, Norway and Scotland of great quality, as well as some beautiful Salmon filets in from Chile.

We again will have some gorgeous Norwegian Salmon Trout in this week. It is the fattest and best tasting farm-raised salmonoid in existence! We beg you to look at this, the tastiest farmed salmon type of fish in the marketplace.

Tilapia and Trout are both steady and we should have decent inventories of both for the whole week.

Shellfish…

As it is a Holiday Weekend, PLEASE preorder shellfish this week! We have a strict 10 day policy on Oysters, we will not sell them after 10 days! You MUST preorder them to ensure delivery in time for Mother’s Day!

Crabmeat should be coming in from the gulf. We have also received 3 shipments of Blue Crab Meat and pasteurized Crabmeat out of Columbia. This is the nicest Blue Crab Meat we have seen in a while from anywhere, both domestic and imported!

Mussels and Clams are sure to be in short supply, so again, please order in advance!

As for Frozen Lobster Tails and Meat … we have specials! Ask your salesperson!

Proteins…

We have got a great inventory on all of our meats!

Check with your salesperson for this week’s specials on Lamb, Eden Farms Pork and Marcho Farms Veal as well as Australian Grass fed Tenderloins!

We got a good shipment in today of Painted Hills Natural Beef, if you haven’t tried our portion program by Meats by Linz and Mattingly give it a try! Great quality and price!

We hope you are all as happy as we are about the great catches we have received this week and expect much more exciting news as the week continues. Check back with us later in the week for our special Hawaii Report and the most up-to-date Mother’s Day Specials!

Market Report April 30, 2012

Two Sundays from now is Mother’s Day and tomorrow is the beginning of May and new seasons of seafood are opening as other seasons are winding down and closing.

In the Northeast…

Boats are going out but the Cod quota has been cut drastically in the Gulf of Maine so north Atlantic Cod will be very short and very expensive. Hopefully we will have enough Cod from Alaska and the lower 48 and British Colombia to supplement your cod needs. We do positively know that we have a good amount coming in the next 10-14 days. This will be a good reasonably priced item to look at for Mother’s Day.

Haddock would have been plentiful and downright cheap but the prices, because of the Cod shortage, will be more expensive than they were at this time last year.

Flounder is starting in the Northeast which is a good thing since Mid-Atlantic Flounder is closed until the fall and we await pound net season for our next shot at any Mid-Atlantic Flounder. Be cautious when menuing or featuring flounder fillets because Northeastern Flounder is subject to being closed at a moment’s notice because of Yellowtail quotas. These have been cut so severely that NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) may close the season at a moment's notice. Alternatives will be fish coming out of eastern Canada as well as some scattered landings of Rock Sole and Petrale Sole out of the northwest.

We are also pushing the idea of using Day Boat Dover Sole fillets that are graded 3 oz. and up which we have at a very attractive price. Dover, like all flatfish, is a delicate soft-fleshed fish and very tasty. It would have to be handled with care and is great for broiling and also for frying as long as it is encapsulated by a batter or breading. It is too soft to be grilled; careful handling is required to be pan sautéed or turned on a flat top. It is excellent with an egg wash batter as well as a great fish to broil with a nice topping or even to make a roll as a roulade. Price on this fish will be well below any other Flounder; we are thinking in the $6.50 range for 3 oz and up filets.

We are seeing a good bit of East Coast Halibut coming in off of day boats. The quality is exceptional and the prices are fairly reasonable, about on par with West Coast Halibut once you factor in freight.

Some other great seafood alternatives to look at are under-utilized species out of the Northeast like Hake and Pollack. We also have F.A.S. Wolf fish as well as F.A.S. Haddock and F.A.S. Cod on hand for those who want a reasonably priced alternative of these species as a fresh item. The quality, especially on the FAS Wolf fish, is exceptional and the prices are very good.

Boats are fishing Scallops in earnest. The areas that are open present opportunities for U-12s and 10-15s and some 20-30s but predictions are that U-10s will be very scarce and prices will be going up on that size. Prices are relatively moderate on 10-20s and 20-30s at this point on a fresh basis.

It will be June before the fleet of Swordfish and Tuna get up to New England to fish and it will be July before Striped Bass will open for fishing in the North Atlantic.

Lobsters should be a good alternative as prices have moderated. We have a good supply of large Lobsters on hand that are about the same as regular sized lobsters at this time of year. We are still a ways away from processing Lobsters which should be early this year. Until then we have a good supply of freshly cooked and frozen Lobster meat as well as a great supply of Lobster Maine Tails in 3-4s, 4-5s, 5-6s for Mother’s Day. In fact we are running a special on 3-4s for the month of May; please check with your sales rep for pricing.

In the mid-Atlantic…

We are expecting the shed of Softshells to start this week and continue for at least the next 3-4 weeks. In case you haven’t read the news it looks like the Crab resource is at a 20-year high in the Chesapeake Bay area. We expect to have a good shed this year as well as a resource of North Carolina and Virginia crabmeat if people can get workers into their plants and train them. It’s been a while since they’ve been able to process any abundance of Crabmeat so the skilled pickers are not available.

We’re getting almost daily deliveries of Fresh Shrimp from the Carolinas and Georgia. We expect the season to continue with some pretty good catches as well as some Head/on Shrimp available. If you need Head/on Shrimp please let your sales person know so we can pre-order it for you.

It will be May until day boat fishing is allowed off of the coast of the Carolinas for Grouper, Snapper, B-liners, Triggerfish, and Amberjack so they are scarce and expensive at this point. That may change later this week as boats are allowed to fish.

The season is very short on Wreckfish out of the Carolinas but we expect to have that for the next 2 or 3 weeks. The quota has been severely curtailed. It’s a very political football as to why this has happened but it’s a reality so we will see some catches in that for about 3-4 weeks then the quota will be filled.

At the same time we think there will be a good amount of Barrel Fish coming in which will be a good alternative.

********The bright news is off the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and northern Florida, a huge bed of Calico Scallops has been rediscovered. After some trial and error in perfecting the processing of the scallops, we finally believe that this resource is something that you can count on for the 2-3 months.

***********We are going to feature this item for the month of May for $5.99/lb.************

These are dry, sweet as sugar, 90 count Calico Bay Scallops. We think this will be great to feature and use fried, broiled or baked in salads, pastas, tacos, toppings or for when you would want a tasty Bay Scallop.

Moving to the Keys…

There will be a little bit more Yellowtail Snapper coming in.

Amberjack opens up May 1st so we should see a little bit of an increase in Amberjack if the fish haven’t started migrating up the Florida coast.

Also on May 1^st, the 30 Fathoms line in the Gulf of Mexico is open for Grouper fishing. This means the spawn is over and boats can now fish closer to shore. We should see decent landings of Grouper in around 10 days and hopefully prices will come down which would bode well for Mother’s Day specials on domestic Florida Grouper and northern Gulf Grouper.

Also in the Northern Gulf…

We will see landings of Tuna and Swordfish on the full moon. Speaking of Swordfish, the full moon will be before Mother’s Day; expect the prices to be moderate for that weekend and we expect that to be a good feature to run. Prices will be firm for the next 5-7 days and then should fall after the moon. There will be landings of Tuna at that point and if the weather cooperates we will also have landing of day boat Gulf Red Snapper. The fishermen tell us that the waters of the Gulf are full of Snappers right now.

In addition we hope to have some more Drum out of Louisiana with the possibility of some Pompano also showing up.

Farmed Redfish is few and far between as it is between growth cycles so that fish is very limited.

In Mexico we have heard that the boats decided not to go out in unison after Easter so we are seeing boats trickle in and prices have remained up on Grouper and Snapper. We expect that to change in the next 7 days and we should see an onslaught of Grouper, Snapper, and by-catch coming in from Mexico.

In the Central American countries of Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras boats are out fishing. As long as the weather cooperates we should see things like Dotted Snapper and Yellowtails moderate in prices as well as some Pacific Grouper.

Mahi will be expensive and stay that way, especially during the full moon coming up. We have a decent supply of frozen Mahi portions that you may want to check out. But for all intents and purposes, until we get a decent East Coast season on domestic Mahi, prices will remain very high most of the summer.

Moving to the West Coast…

We have already talked about the flat fish that will be available.

The good news is that on May 1^st the Troll King Salmon Season opens up off Northern California and all of Oregon and Washington coasts. Biologists tell us that we can expect a record catch. Hopefully that will mean more reasonable prices. In the meantime we have Alaskan Troll Kings in stock as well as Canadian Troll Kings from this weekend’s catch coming in by mid week. Prices are high but not crazy and everybody is anticipating that Copper River, which will open around the 20^th of May, will be astronomical as usual then moderate as the season goes on. Hopefully a good catch off of the lower 48 will take away some of the stupidity that always greets Copper River in pricing.

May has the highest landing of Halibut so we expect Halibut to remain steady in price. It will be a good feature for Mother’s Day and will be readily available until they start going after Salmon at the beginning of June.

From the Southern Pacific side…

We expect maybe another week or two of the Baja Short-fin Corvina/Sea Bass to continue at moderate prices and then that season will wind down. Hopefully there will be some Pacific Hamachi to replace it but we don’t know yet.

On another note we are looking very seriously at bringing fish in off the Hawaiian Islands as their tourist season winds down. We have made arrangements with two buyers on two different islands to start bringing in day boat products depending on what the catch will be. We will send out emails and post on Facebook and Twitter what fish will be landing and when so that you can pre-order it. This will be a nice supplement for the available fresh fish and is something exciting to look forward to having. We hope this will also end up giving us a good supply of sushi-grade Tuna which is still in a worldwide shortage.

On the Shellfish side…

We have talked about Lobsters, Scallops, Shrimp and touched on Crab. We are still getting some Crab Meat out of the Gulf along with stellar Fresh and Pasteurized Blue Crabmeat out of Columbia. We are also starting to see increased catches of Peekytoe Crab out of Maine.

We continue to have Fresh Florida Stone Crabs until the season is over which is the 15^th of May. Don’t forget Stone Crabs when you’re looking at Soft Shells or other crabby shellfish items.

There are plenty of Crawfish coming out of Louisiana as well as Fresh Crawfish Tail Meat and prices are down considerably, so you need to check that out. We are running a special on the Fresh Crawfish tailmeat at $14.99 per pound and it is due here Wednesday. If you have never tried it you are really missing a southern treat.

Oyster season changes May 1 and areas open and close. During the summer months area are more subject to red tide and it is even more urgent that you give us pre-notice of what you want for Oysters because we are really going to be cutting down on our available selections. So we encourage you to per-order and we will ship it to you within a day or two of receiving it in Atlanta. We will be publishing an order day guide and a receiving date guide for Oysters over the next week on our Website and Inland App.

Northeastern Mussels are in a spawning cycle so it is very, very important that you follow our instructions for washing them. This is the weakest time of year for Prince Edward Island and Maine Mussels.

Pacific/ Mediterranean Mussels are great quality now because they spawn in the winter and are wonderful.

On the Farm-raised front…

We are bringing in the beautiful Turbot from Spain as well as the good supplies of Arctic Char from Iceland. The good news on Cobia is that the Cobia from Colombia is returning and we should have good quantities of that and hopefully prices will moderate slightly over the next 2-3 weeks. Again let us know if you would like Arctic Char because we are bringing that in on a pre-order basis.

We continue getting rave reviews about our Norwegian Salmon Trout/Steelhead, the fattest farm-raised salmonoid in the world. Everyone who tries it can’t believe how good it tastes and how beautiful the color appears.

Prices on Salmon remain steady. We think that we won’t see price increases or drops, barring a natural disaster. So prices should be steady to slightly down over the month of May.

Tilapia is very steady in price but Loup de Mer is going up in price because the farms have cut back on their production. So Loup de Mer will be going up slightly over the next 2-3 weeks due to this shortage of supply in Greece and Spain.

Catfish remains steady in price. Hopefully we will start to see that start to come down but we have no way of knowing.

Rainbow Trout seems to be holding steady and supplies are good on trout from North Carolina and elsewhere.

On the Protein side…

We are seeing a good supply Painted Hills coming in. Prices are slightly up on that as they are on all beef products.

We have a good inventory of Australian Tenderloins for Mother’s Day at really reasonable prices. We are also expecting prices to hold steady on Springer Mountain Chicken during this whole period.

If you haven’t tried our Heritage Beef program this is a great time to get involved with it. We have tested and then signed agreements with two small, quality-conscious old line meat cutters. One is in Chicago, Meats by Linz and one is in Kentucky, A. Thomas Foods. Both these cutters hand cut their meat and take great pride in producing the best product they can source from aged USDA Choice and Prime sources and sending it to us in portions. Prices are very competitive and the quality is second to none. When you open up the box you see what you are getting- if you are getting choice you can see it and if you are getting prime you will be able to note it.

Meats by Linz also does a custom packed Dry-aged Choice and Prime for us. Linz does some of the highest quality steakhouses in Dallas, Chicago, and the upper Midwest.

In addition, we are now carrying conventional primal cuts of USDA Prime Beef sourced through Linz that we think you will compare to just about anybody in the marketplace.

We have a good supply of All Natural Veal on hand for Mother’s Day but the market is very high.

On Lamb, we are getting good deliveries of Lamb from Colorado. Prices are very high on Lamb and Veal and we do not think that will moderate.

One bright note is that the Eden Farm’s Berkshire Pork prices are steady and they have made an agreement with us to keep them steady at least through the end of the summer.

We are getting a decent supply of Margret Breast from the Sonoma Savoir people on the Duck side as well as Foie Gras. They are supposed to wind down by July 31^st due to a law in California banning the force-fed growing of ducks. There is a bill before the California legislature led by a coalition of chefs that are protesting this bill and want to get this bill over-turned. They believe as we do that freedom is all about giving people a choice about what things they want to eat. So if you have chef’s and foodie friends on the West Coast or you are so inclined to help yourself, please urge anybody you know to protest this closure of a true Artisan family-operation that has raised duck with a method that goes back to the ancient Egyptians.

We are now carrying fresh Pekin Duck out of Pennsylvania both whole and fresh breast meat. This product is pasture raised and not injected like other regular duck products on the market. We are also sourcing local Poussin and Squab out of South Carolina as a special order. Again, as you know we are really big believers in plantation Quail right down the road in Manchester, GA and the product is superb. All of these products are all-natural and hormone-free.

On an Agricultural note…

We will have our first shipment of Morels at the beginning of the week. Prices are still expensive but we expect them to fall. Hopefully we will see a couple of Porcinis as well.

The best news is that we are getting French White Asparagus every week. It is a limited amount and pre-ordered. These are jumbo cases which have around 80 pieces/case and they are $17.99/lb. If you have never tried a French White Asparagus you do not know what you are missing. It is probably the world’s best Asparagus. If you would like some cooking information on that please call and we will be glad to explain what these are and how to cook them if you are not familiar with them. A couple of restaurants are putting two spears on a plate with a nice hollandaise sauce and getting $10-12 which is a good plate cost when you consider what you are putting on the plate.

We will have some weekend specials later in the week!

Market Report April 19, 2012

In the Northeast…

Prices are coming down on Cod and Haddock as boats are coming back from their first post Easter trip.

There are some beautiful Flatfish being landed in New England. Although prices are high they are about the only flounders around as the mid- Atlantic Fluke quotas have been filled.

There are starting to be a good influx of Sea Scallops and prices might actually come down a bit on certain sizes. However this year, because of the areas that are open, we are not seeing a lot of U-10s, consequently they are going to be more expensive at this time. The value in Scallops, if any can be called a value, will be in the 10/20 per pound size.

We have started a new program where we pack 5 pounds of Inland Seafood Fresh Sea Scallops into a cheesecloth sack similar to what comes off the scallop draggers when they land. They are a beautiful presentation and this allows the scallop to breath. We are presently carrying a U-10; U-12; and a Jumbo which is actually a 13-15 sized scallop.

We are getting Day Boat Hook and line Halibut out of the Northeast and Canada.

The real bargains are on Pollock and Hake, which are both great substitutes for more expensive fish. We are expecting very reasonable prices on both, probably below $6.00 on fillets weather permitting.

In the mid-Atlantic...

Seasons are about closed on Flounder and also on Striped Bass, for which most tags are done. The Striped Bass season remains open only in Maryland and continues to yield some larger, very expensive fish. This presents a problem because both Flounder and Striped Bass have been staples on a number of menus since the first of the year. The good news is that the shortage makes way for some other beautiful fish whose seasons are now open!

Some Soft Shells are coming out of the mid-Atlantic. Although prices are up this week from a few weeks ago, good production is coming and prices will come down then.

Down the East Coast…

The big news this week is that we are starting to see some White Roe Shrimp production now that the season is has opened in Georgia and the Carolinas.

In the Southern Atlantic…

We are not seeing a lot of Amberjacks being landed and Tilefish season has closed.There are some good landings of shark coming to shore. Another bit of good news… We are once again stocking Calico Scallops!

Landings are starting to pick up on Fresh Bay Scallops and the kinks for shucking these Calicos seem to be finally worked out so we are expecting an arrival today. We are running them on special for 5.99 and they are packed in a 4 pound tubs.

In the Florida Keys to the Gulf …

Amberjack season has closed in the Keys until the first of May. Fish are expected to migrate up the Atlantic coast at that time from the keys but we are seeing more Yellowtail Snapper from Key West.

In the Gulf we are also seeing spotty catches of Red Grouper, Gulf Red Snapper, Black Grouper. We are also seeing Swordfish boats coming in on both sides of Florida with decent catches.

Grouper hasn’t been as abundant due to the government restrictions prohibiting fishing in shallower waters. The boats can only fish in deeper waters beyond 35 fathoms. This gives the Grouper time to spawn. Grouper fishing will open up in all areas after May which should cause domestic prices to come down significantly.

In the Western Gulf….

And throughout the world, Tuna is beginning to show up and prices are going to come down as soon as the market has some volume.

Crawfish are starting to show up in good quantities and prices are coming down.

And down into Mexico…

We are seeing a good run of day boat Speckled Trout and Pompano as well as Mexican Red Snapper and Grouper.

On the West Coast…

We are seeing Dover Sole and hopefully will soon see some good catches of Petrale Sole as well this will help us with the shortage of flounder.

Wild King Salmon season beginning and although prices are high the quality is great.

We’ve got a good supply of Frozen Pacific Sockeye Salmon fillets vacuum packed – they are on special this week, get in touch with your salesperson for the most recent prices!

Imported Seafood & the Farm raised front...

Salmon and Loup de Mer remain steady. We are still getting big fatty Norwegian Salmon Trout every week.

We are bringing in Spanish Turbot to rave reviews, 3-4 and 5-6 lb turbot at very reasonable prices considering their high quality.

There are good supplies of Arctic Char, however we suggest that you preorder item because it will go fast!

Ample quantities of Tilapia and Trout are around and we continue to have a very steady supply of both from all over the world.

Dotted Snapper from Central America should start coming down in price as the fishermen come back to shore after Easter.

We are having quite a run of Kingclip from these areas as well and prices are very reasonable.

Other Shellfish…

We are seeing Crab Meat coming from a lot of different areas including some very high quality Holman’s brand Blue Crab Meat from Columbia that is both fresh and pasteurized.

Prices are inching down on Domestic Crab Meat, but prices of imported Asian swimmer crab meat are staying very expensive, they are predicted to stay that way due to crab meat’s high demand in Asia.

Lobster prices are coming down as the season opens in Canada. In Maine, prices are expected to drop in the next 10 days. As May approaches and preparations for Mother’s Day begin, prices will level out for a while.

Lobster Tails are currently in short supply, and although we have kept a significant inventory it is wise to pre-order and stock now, as it is expected to be a scarce item by Mother’s Day.

Whole, Hard-shell Canadian Lobsters from 5-7lbs are on special right now for $7.99 per pound. Ask your sales representative about them.

Stone Crabs are still coming in until May 15; good quality and excellent prices.

Market Report April 12, 2012

Now that Easter is over it’s going to take a week or so for things to get back to normal. A lot of boats came in for Easter and will start going out.

On the farm-raised front…

Most countries were shut down for harvesting last Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and plants are just beginning to operate again. So farmed Salmon, Tilapia, and Trout are a little bit short but this will rectify itself by the end of the week. Hopefully we can look forward to more availability on Scottish Salmon. New fish are arriving every day.

In the Northeast…

Boats are just now heading out and prices are very high; with Cod and Haddock super high.

At this time of year we need to point out that we carry a Refreshed Haddock of excellent quality as well as a Refreshed Wolf Fish which is one of the appealing and under-utilized species. These are both caught and frozen aboard-ship in Norway and prices are very, very competitive. These are items that you may want to look to in order to supplement the Northeastern catch.

In the mid-Atlantic…

Flounder is a little bit high but hopefully that will come down after the holiday; perhaps by the end of this week or the beginning of next week, although cooler weather has set in and the winds have picked up so it may be a little longer before we see less expensive prices on Flounder.

The cooler weather has also slowed down the expected shed of Soft Shells in the mid-Atlantic. We are getting a handful but prices are back up. We should look at the run of Soft Shells that we had the last couple of weeks as bonus because Soft Shells usually don’t start until the last two weeks of May. Hopefully the weather will warm up again and we will have Soft Shells very quickly.

Striped Bass is few and far between. We are getting a few 3-5 lb Stripers. The fish are primarily coming from Maryland and they are super expensive. The same is true for Black Bass.

Going down the Atlantic Coast…

Most fishing is closed off in the Carolinas for moratoriums.

We are getting a little bit, and we mean a little, of the first-of-the-season White Roe Shrimp and a very small amount of Amberjack. Amberjack is closed in the Gulf and we have heard that it will be closed for the rest of the year because the quota was over-fished last year. So Amberjack will be a very tight item from the Gulf and from certain area in the Keys on moratorium in the month of April.

We are seeing good landings of King Mackerel off of the Carolina Coast but the prices are astronomical and in Northern Florida we are also getting some Spanish Mackerel and those prices are very attractive. If you haven’t tried Spanish Mackerel it is a great fish and is very reasonably priced.

Grouper is beginning to come down and landings are increasing. The boats that came in before Easter in Mexico have affected the local prices coming out of the Florida Panhandle and the areas on the Gulf-side of Florida. We are also seeing some catches of beautiful, domestic Gulf Red Snapper as well as imports in from Mexico.

Also In the Gulf…

We are getting a couple of boats in with some Tuna, including some gorgeous Bluefin which has really nice, fat Toro. If you have ever wanted to try Bluefin Toro this is the time to try it. Prices are relatively reasonable considering Toro of this quality could go for $200/lb. and these are around 15% of that price.

Swordfish is extremely beautiful this week. New landings are coming in all through the South and prices have dropped considerably. We hope that they continue to do so.

In the Pacific Northwest…

On the West Coast we are starting to see a lot more action. We are getting Wild Salmon out of the Colombian River from an opening that started last week and will continue into this week.

Troll Kings are being caught off of the coast of Oregon as well as Alaska. Prices will stay expensive until the first of May when California opens for the first time in three years for Troll King Salmon and the prices then should be very reasonable.

Certain areas of Alaska are open for Cod right now so we are getting some good quantities of that out of Northern Canada and Alaska. We are getting some great Dover Sole now with a few Petrale mixed in.

The big news is Halibut seems to be staying moderate in price and we expect a good quantity in this weekend as well as next week. So Halibut is another fish that you should look at.

Shellfish…

There is local Crabmeat coming in. Crabmeat is high priced and will start to work its way down. Cooler weather may have slowed it down a bit domestically but we are getting some beautiful imported Hollman’s Jumbo Lump and Regular Lump as well as Fingers. The quality and prices of these are incredible.

Lobster prices are moderating and we are running a special for Jumbo Canadian 4-8 lb Lobsters at really reduced prices. Get with your salespeople to find out the latest prices!

Thanks so much and we will be back next week with our forecast for the rest of April.

Market Report April 4, 2012

Things haven’t changed very much since last week. Tuna is still tight.

All Salmon, including Canadian, Scottish, and Chilean filets are plentiful.

From the West Coast…

As a quick recap, there is plenty of Halibut in the marketplace. We also have a good quantity of Alaskan Cod, because Cod in the Northeast is astronomical.

We also have a small bit of Red Rock , Fresh H&G Cod, Black Cod, Whole Ling Cod and Dover Sole fillets from the West Coast. We had a small shot of troll Alaskan King Salmon for the first time. We also will have the first of the season Columbia River King Salmon.

From the Gulf of Mexico…

We are getting in super fresh Pompano.

We have a good shot of Gulf Red Snapper both short trip domestic and hopefully some Mexican Day boat Red Snapper.

Additional domestic Red Grouper will be in on Thursday night.

We do have the beginning of Mexican Grouper Fillets coming in and prices should be trending down.

We are starting to see landings of Swordfish all throughout the South and in the Southern Hemisphere. Prices are trending downward on this great item.

We do have a couple of Bluefin Tuna coming in from the Gulf of Mexico boats but Tuna is still very, very expensive and extremely tight.

From the Northeast…

Northeastern fish are very expensive as Good Friday approaches. We do have some good quantities of Squid and Skatewing.

In the mid-Atlantic…

Stripers, for all intents and purposes, are over. There are some small openings in Maryland but astronomical prices.

Flounder is edging up because of the holiday; we hope it falls afterwards.

In the South Atlantic…

We are starting to see Soft Shell Crab; prices are fluctuating a great deal because of high demand. They have actually gone back up in the last 2 days again and will stay that way until after the shed from this weekend’s full moon.

We are also getting Amberjack and Spanish Mackerel out of Northern Florida.

As far as Shellfish goes…

Off the coast of Carolina to Northern Florida we are getting more Calico Bay Scallops. Since no one has processed these since 1990 it has been a learning curve to get them right. We think we are there now because the scallops are a nice vanilla color and have no membranes on them. They are about an 80 count. This is our weekend special at $5.25 a pound in a 4 lb trial tub.

We do have our new, exclusive Inland Seafood Scallops in 5 lb. cheesecloth bags as well as gorgeous Day Scallops off of the South Atlantic coast.

We have good shot of domestic Crab Meat as well as a shipment of our Colombian Holman’s Fresh Crab Meat coming in tomorrow.

We are still getting Stone Crabs and the quality is excellent. Another large shot is coming into us tomorrow night.

Plenty of Oysters, but again we ask you to pre-order as we keep a very limited supply on-hand.

Live Maine Lobsters are still high but we have lots of frozen tails and meat on hand.

On the Farmed front…

We have farmed Cobia, lots of Loup de Mer, Spanish Turbot, Trout from North Carolina as well as imported, plenty of Tilapia, and Farmed Redfish is due in tomorrow.

We also have a nice shipment of Norwegian Salmon Trout that just arrived!

In Imported fish…

We are starting to see some Dotted Snapper and Imported Mexican Grouper fillet is starting to show up along with some Mutton Snapper but prices are still high.

Mahi and Corvina are the most reasonable fish from these areas.

Land Lover’s…

It is very important that you pre-order your proteins as soon as possible.

We have a good selection of Eden Farms’ Pork, including Hams, and we are sure that we will sell out, so order in advance.

We have a nice selection of domestic Colorado Lamb and frozen New Zealand Lamb, a traditional holiday treat, so please get your orders in early for lamb.

Also on hand is a great selection of all natural hormone free famous Painted Hills Beef and a good selection of Veal in all shapes and sizes.

Also our Meats by Linz and A. Thomas choice portioned steaks are winning cuttings everywhere we go. Isn’t about time you tried our great Artisan hand cut beef?

We would like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Easter!

Market Report March 30, 2012

March 30, 2012

We have not seen prices as high as they are right now during this year’s Lenten season. There seems to be a worldwide shortage of most seafood items. That being said, there are some good opportunities in certain species. Prices should drop after Easter, but there are no guarantees.

Here is a rundown of specials to consider for the next 2-3 weeks…

Firstly, we have Norwegian Frozen-at-Sea Wolfish Fillet. This tasty fish, which is a staple at a popular restaurant chain, is a fatty, terrific clean tasting fish. We sell it as a skin on as well as a skinless, boneless fillet and we are running a special until Easter at $7.29/lb and v-cut boneless at $8.99/lb.

In the North Atlantic, they are having a nice run of Hake Fillet right now. This white fish is excellent for grilling, sautéing and even frying and we are running this at $6.99/lb. This is a fresh-caught fish out of the Gulf of Maine and is a great quality and value.

Lake Pontchartrain Drum is a great value as well and quantities are up as fishermen have gone back out. This feature is at $6.99/lb for skinless fillets and $7.99/lb for portions. The fillets are averaging approximately 2-3 pounds which is perfect for all applications in which you would use Redfish; the Drum’s near cousin.

After much experimentation to get the process right, we have finally gotten bright white Southern East Coast Calico Bay Scallops in our building averaging 80-100 count. We are featuring this item in 4 or 5 pound tub for $5.99/lb until Easter.

These are all great specials for this week as well as all next week including Easter weekend. These also make great Easter buffet as well as menu items.

From the Northeast…

Fish is fairly high but we expect it to tighten up as the market demand increases for Holy Week so Cod will probably be going up as well as Haddock from that area.

We are getting landings of a few Monk Tails and Skatewings which will make nice specials.

In the mid-Atlantic…

Striped Bass is going to be expensive as the fishermen have to pull their nets by this weekend so this will be the last of the shipments of large fish until probably June. We are trying to buy as much as we can to get us through Good Friday and Easter.

We are also getting some sushi quality Black Bass that are 1-2 pounds. Prices are remaining high.

Flounder is a bright spot. We thought prices would go way up but they have moderated as catches have improved. Prices are reasonable and Flounder is something to look at for the next 2-3 weeks.

Down the Atlantic Coast…

We are getting good landings of Black tip Shark and Amberjack. This great quality Amberjack is coming out of the East coast of Florida along with a catches of Spanish and King Mackerel.

Gulf of Mexico….

Grouper and Snapper out of the Gulf are very expensive and will stay that way through Easter. We do have some Frozen-at-Sea Florida Red Grouper that we are thawing and cutting from whole fish that are very sharp looking fillets at $11.99/lb.

Also in the Panhandle and the East coast of Florida, we are getting great quality Swordfish from short-trip boats. Prices are moderating a bit but with the full moon next week they are likely to go up again.

Tuna, both domestic and imported, is astronomically expensive. It is worldwide shortage and there are no reasonable prices in the market. If you are hearing cheap prices then be very cautious. Buyer beware.

The boats that we are landing with Tuna in Louisiana are producing a by catch of Escolar which is a nice fish to feature and reasonably priced.

We are getting a little bit of Redfish out of the Gulf at high prices along with some out of Farmed Raised fish out of Texas.

On the Farmed fish front…

We are seeing good supplies of all Farmed Atlantic Salmon and Tilapia. The Catfish and Trout market seems to be steady.

We are getting some big 14 pound plus Whole Atlantic Salmon in over the weekend from Canada.

Scottish Salmon is coming in as well. These have higher prices but excellent quality. We are also receiving Chilean Salmon fillets.

Exotic Farmed Fish News….

We are also expecting another shipment of our Norwegian Salmon Trout. A wonderful item if you have not tried it. They are the fattest and most delicious Farmed Salmonoid ever and weigh over 10 pounds.

We are bringing in shipments twice a week of Spanish Turbot which is a great item for the next 2 weeks as well as Loup de Mer. Dorade is also available by special order. Please let us know your needs in advance.

There is some very expensive Farmed Cobia out of Panama. There is only one supplier and they control the market.

On other imported fish…

We are seeing lots of Mahi again but it is still expensive but has fallen a bit. We think it will go up next week because of Holy Week. We don’t know where the market is going but we will have a good inventory of it.

Dotted Snapper out of Central and South America is following the Gulf Red Snapper market and is at an all-time high. We don’t expect those prices to fall.

We are seeing good quantities of King Clip out of Costa Rica, which is also a good fish to feature at a good price.

In the Pacific Northwest…

There is a spot of good weather that is rapidly deteriorating but we should have some Dover Sole in over the weekend as well as the Alaskan Cod fillet.

We are also getting good quantities of Halibut out of Washington State and Alaska. Prices are down after the super high opening. This is a great fish to look at for this week and next. This will probably be the lowest price of the year on West coast Pacific Halibut.

On the Shellfish side…

We are seeing Soft Shell Crabs appear. We are getting a good shed out of South Carolina and it is going to move to North Carolina and Virginia. The quality is excellent and prices are coming down almost every day. A great spring feature even before spring with this very warm weather.

We are still getting some Stone Crabs twice a week. With everyone looking at Soft Shells, there are some good buys on Stones. This is a great time of year for Stone Crabs; they are more succulent than the wintertime when they have a tendency to stick to the shell.

We are also getting good landings of Scallops. We have a new program; an Inland Seafood exclusive Day Boat Scallop packed in a 5 pound cheesecloth bag of U-10’s, U-12’s, 10-20’s and Jumbos packed by one of the largest packers in the Northeast and we think you will be impressed!

We have great inventory of Pasteurized Crab Meat.

We are also getting great shipments of peeled Rock Shrimp out of Florida as well as Laughing Bird Shrimp.

Fresh Shrimp is few and far between but we keep hunting and hope to see some soon.

As far as Oysters go, we have a nice variety but we are not speculating so you must preorder and let us know your needs.

The Lobster market is way, way up on Live Lobsters. It is that time of year before catches start and prices are very high. We have a great inventory of Frozen Lobster Tails from Maine which we believe are the best Tails around!

Frozen Jumbo Lobster Lump is available along with Claw-Knuckle-Leg Meat which has become a very sought after item.

We are starting to see some Domestic Fresh Crab Meat come in from the Gulf at very high prices but the real deal is our exclusive Fresh Columbian Hollman Blue Crab Meat at around $4/lb less expensive than domestic with equal quality. This is a genuine Blue Crab off the coast of Columbia.

They also produce an All-Natural Pasteurized Crab Meat which is $4-5/lb less expensive and higher quality than all the Swimmer Crab coming out of Asia. Truly a great item.

On the All-natural Protein Front…

We have secured good quantities of Fresh Colorado Lamb and Frozen New Zealand Lamb so please get your orders in early for Easter. There will be great demand on lamb.

In addition, we have good amount of Le Quebecois and Marcho Farms Veal and Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Pork. Please get your orders in early for raw and processed Hams. We have a great inventory of Black Forest and Honey Glazed Hams and 10 Rib Racks. There is a special on the Eden Farms 10 Rib Racks so ask your sales person for details.

We have good supply of Sonoma Foie Gras and Magret Breast and Jurgielewicz Pekin Duck.

A great locally grown item is our Manchester, Georgia grown Quail and of course, our Springer Mountain All-Natural Chicken. Please let us know if you have a big order so we can ensure the freshest product possible for you.

From the foragers…

We are seeing Hedgehogs and Black Trumpet Mushrooms come in and even though it is warm here, it is not warm in the Northwest so we are far from seeing Porcinis or Chanterelles.

The good news is that because of the rainy weather up there, we are getting plenty of Oregon Truffles. If you have never tried them, they are superb. We are featuring them for $17.00/oz for this week and next.

Market Report March 21, 2012

The Latest Headlines….

Alaskan Halibut, as we talked about in last week’s report, opened up on Sunday. We have our first shipment arriving on Thursday. There will be limited amounts on that Thursday shipment because we anticipate prices falling daily. We will have larger quantities coming in to Inland early next week. So Pacific Halibut is something to look forward; being the first on your block to have the first of this season’s fresh Alaskan Halibut.

Black Bass- There are limited amounts; not a good menu item, better for whole fish preps and fish of the day.

Wild Striped Bass prices are firming up and we have some beautiful 20 lb and larger fish that just arrived. This local fish is much less expensive than Grouper

We are still getting good amounts and have a strong supply of Baja Corvina.

We mentioned last week that good quantities of Mahi Mahi have been difficult to come by. We have good quantities this week, although prices are up significantly and supplies remain fairly depleted. The reason is that a lot of cool water has moved into the Pacific coast catching area. Boats have to once again travel 160 miles off the coast of Ecuador where the few boats that can make this journey have been able to get a large amount of Mahi. We think the season is about over when only the big boats can get the fish and not the artisanal shore based fleet.

Another fish showing up in decent amounts is going to be King Clip coming out of Costa Rica and Panama. Prices are stable and quantities are ample.

In the North Atlantic…

Cod and Haddock from the Northeast remain very difficult and expensive to find. Please check out our cut-to-order Frozen-at-Sea Norwegian Haddock fillets as well as fresh Alaskan Pacific Cod.

Monkfish is a decent value right now and availability will only improve with all of the good weather that they are getting up north.

In the Mid-Atlantic…

In the Flounder world, North Carolina has closed down and we are relying on Virginia for the fresh catch. We do anticipate prices increasing going into the weekend. Availability will tighten up so if you plan on using Flounder get it early and get enough to get you through the weekend.

Striped Bass and Black Bass have been reviewed but each week brings new quota changes. We will keep you posted.

Southern Fish…

We haven’t really seen any Grouper from Mexico yet as the boats have just gone back out to fish. This means the shortage, with high prices, will continue on this most popular southern fish. We will have a little bit of Day Boat Red Grouper and Day Boat Black Grouper arriving on Friday at high prices. We are still seeing a good supply of Pacific Black Grouper coming out of Costa Rica at very high prices. We don’t anticipate any supply issues going into the weekend.

We are looking for another shipment of Pompano as early as Friday.

We have good inventories, and the market has remained strong, on American Red Snapper; both Mexican and domestic, as well as Dotted Lane Snapper.

Swordfish is becoming a pretty good value. Look for supplies to be good and prices are steady or slightly down. We are getting some very good domestic product. We have a long liner that has landed off of the northern Mid-Atlantic and we will be seeing some product out of a day boat fishery and an MSC certified fishery out of Florida. So Swordfish remains wonderful in quality with good supplies.

Tuna is still a struggle. No one who has been in the business any amount of time can remember Tuna ever being this tight. We have been trying and will be receiving product from Vietnam, the Philippines, as well as some domestic fish coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. We are currently trying to get some product out of Brazil and Costa Rica. There is a little bit of product coming out of Trinidad as well. We are trying to buy Tuna from basically every country which exports to the States and we are not seeing a lot of it from any particular country. Hopefully we have enough to keep everyone in Tuna for the week.

We do have a good supply of frozen smoked Tuna steaks, saku blocks, and loins at prices we would have thought to be absurdly high a couple of months ago. One Tuna veteran believes that with worldwide demand expanding Tuna will be as expensive as Chilean Sea Bass soon.

Farm Raised News…

We’ve always brought Farmed Cobia in from either Colombia or Panama, but Colombia is on a next-generation cycle so we are not going to be able to get any product from Colombia. We will be getting limited amounts of farm-raised Panamanian Cobia going forward.

Farmed Salmon prices are stable from all over the world in countries like Scotland, Canada, USA, and Chile. We continue to get rave reviews on our Fresh Norwegian Ocean Salmon –Trout (Steelhead). Chefs cannot believe the consistency and fat content of these fish. One diehard Wild Salmon fan said that this is the best farmed product that is comparable to Wild Kings!

On the Shellfish front…

Soft Shell Crabs are still limited. There are some in the marketplace right now. They are in tanks, waiting to bust out but we are not seeing any quantities and prices remain strong although we do expect some reductions soon. With all the warm weather out there sheds will definitely increase and during the full moon in April we will definitely see some more sheds.

One thing that we mentioned last week (and everyone here at Inland has had an opportunity to try) that are just unbelievable is Viking Village Scallops.

We also have another Great Scallop in a 5 lb cheesecloth bag. This will be an Inland Seafood exclusive and a terrific, versatile item; especially in the early parts of the week when many restaurants aren’t quite as busy as they are on the weekend. Now you can buy 5 lb bags of Never-Frozen, Fresh Inland Scallops. We have all sizes in stock. Please talk to your sales rep and tell them you want to try these jewels.

We haven’t been seeing much in the way of quantities of Domestic Crab Meat in the last month or so but we will be receiving a shipment this morning. We will have plenty of our extraordinary quality Imported Blue Crab Jumbo, Regular Lump, and Clawmeat from Columbia at lower prices than Southeastern Asian pasteurized Swimmer Crabmeat.

If you haven’t tried our Martha’s Vineyard Oyster, we have a couple of weeks remaining so please try to get your hands on some of these wonderful, salty Oysters before it is too late. Please let us know what you need on Oysters as we are not speculating on the more spendy varieties.

We are also starting to see a jump in pricing on all Live Lobsters, and we expect it to get higher between now and Easter. We do have great supplies of Frozen Maine Lobster Tails and Lobstermeat at great prices to supplement your lobster needs.

Market Report March 16, 2012

March 16, 2012

We are starting to see a little bit of Amberjack coming out of the Keys.

Here’s some big news to look forward to; it’s going to be the opening of the Alaskan Halibut season on the 17^th. Saturday, the season is going to open up and we do expect, with a reduced quota, prices to remain firm especially at the beginning of the opening. We will keep you posted when our first fish arrive. In the interim our FAS Alaskan Halibut is superb and a great value in the wacky world of wild fish.

Mid-Atlantic…

There hasn’t been a lot of fish coming out of the mid-Atlantic. Wild Striped Bass has gone up and from what we understand the weather hasn’t been that great and we expect price increases on Wild Striped Bass for next week, but the fish that we are receiving have been absolutely gorgeous. Along that front, Flounder, from Virginia, opened up last week. There have been decent landings but not great ones so prices didn’t get as low as we anticipated. We do think that this weekend and the first part of next week that the prices are going to remain fairly strong. But with all fish prices very high this is still a great, versatile tasty fresh seafood value and very fairly priced compared to what else is out there.

The Northeast…

It has been pretty much a disaster with some ground fish. There’s limited amounts Cod, there’s absolutely no Haddock. About the only area producing Haddock is Iceland and it looks like prices are staying pretty strong. We should have decent amounts of Monkfish.

The Gulf of Mexico….

Mexican Grouper comes off moratorium this weekend though it will probably take 10 days or so before we start seeing any fish come out of Mexico. In the meantime, we have some absolutely gorgeous, but limited, Domestic Red Grouper. More boats are landing this weekend so we should have another shot next Tuesday. We are also getting some Pacific Black Grouper filet that is coming out of Costa Rica, prices have been very strong because there is limited availability but we do anticipate over the next several weeks for things to loosen up and prices to come down with it. We have a large shipment of this Grouper for this weekend.

The one fish they are catching in Mexico that is extremely fresh is Gulf Pompano. The Pompano arrived at Inland yesterday and it is one of the few fish we are receiving in decent quantities right now and prices are extremely attractive. The quality is stunning! The fishermen in Mexico are doing an excellent job in taking care of their catch and handling these precious fish gently and the quality shows.

Any Snapper of any kind, whether it’s American Gulf Reds or Pacific Dotted Lane Snappers remain extremely expensive. We have seen a little bit of increase in the supply but not enough to bring down pricing at this point. We will have Domestic Gulf Red Snapper, hopefully for this weekend, from the panhandle of Florida as well as Pacific Lane Snapper on Sunday night in our building for sure.

Swordfish and Tuna worldwide remain an arduous task in securing ample amounts but being a large buyer that pays promptly we will have some decent, though expensive supplies. The pipeline on these species has been extremely dry for several weeks.

The outlook looks like we will have Tuna as well as some expensive Swordfish. We are going to have some Sashimi-grade Itsumo Tuna arriving next Tuesday. The catches were pretty poor but what we did get in was spectacular. The boats are already in and tied up but the weather in the Gulf was choppy so a lot of the boats just came back with very limited success. Prices have remained very strong on Tuna and Swordfish.

As much as we thought we would get a break this week and next from the full moon fishery we just don’t see it happening. It’s tough out there.

One thing that we are seeing is Baja Short-fin Corvina (White Bass), we have a good amount of this fish right now if you haven’t tried; it really is affordable; nice flaky white meat and a great-value menu item. We have another 4,000 lbs of Short-fin Corvina arriving this weekend so that is one item that you can offer your guests as a feature.

Our Salmon supplies this week have been good. The word on the streets is that over the month we should see an increase in supply from all areas of the world where Salmon is farmed. We do feel that the pipeline for Salmon is going to get a lot better. Our buyers were at the Boston Seafood Show and it looks like there is going to be a lot of farm-raised Salmon from all countries that produce Salmon and therefore we are really optimistic that there are some price reductions coming. We are still getting rave reviews on our Large Norwegian Salmon-Trout (steelhead) which average 12 lbs each for its luscious texture and firmness with flavor. It is the tastiest Salmonoid around.

Corvina has been relatively tight but we have seen plenty of King Clip coming out of Costa Rica; supplies are extremely good. Please contact your sales rep about pricing.

Traditionally, fall and spring is when we see a lot of imported Mahi but it’s been a La Nina year so there has been limited production and we are starting to see rapid increases in price. We are not talking about dimes and nickels, we’re talking dollars so be very cautious if you have Mahi on your menu as supply is rapidly diminishing. It seems most countries in South America are talking about the season being finished. We expect to have a good shot coming in over the weekend but it is very high in price.

Stay tuned for some new offerings on Shellfish that we have discovered at the Boston Seafood Show.

Inland Seafood has been working diligently on finding the best dry Scallops in the marketplace in addition to our Gold Standard-The Viking Village Seas Scallops.

We are quite certain that we have found them. We have a new product for everyone to try arriving today. This is one of the products that came out of the 2012 Boston Seafood Show and will be in 5 lb cheesecloth bags. Most purists would buy 30 lb cheesecloth bags of Scallops. What we have done is reduce the amount of handling by having the cloth bag brought directly from the boat. Please check with your salespeople for sizes and pricing.

Market Report March 8, 2012

March 8, 2012

Amberjack out of the Gulf of Mexico is closed. We are seeing limited production out of the South Atlantic region; the quality is absolutely stellar.

Wild Striped Bass seems to be stable; there is still a decent amount of product coming out of the Mid-Atlantic region. We expect the supply and price to remain stable, at least from a short term standpoint.

Corvina from South America remains relatively tight; we were able to get some short-fin Corvina from Mexico.

Mahi is failing to show up in any kind of significant quantities so we expect Mahi pricing to remain strong and it could be the beginning of the end for production is Central America.

Northeastern fish…

For the most part, Ground Fish supply out of the Northeast has been horrible. The weather has been bad; a lot of blowing winds, very short supply so there are some holes and gaps in people’s inventories. We have been trying to supplement out of the mid-Atlantic region with Monkfish and Skate but we haven’t been seeing a lot of Northeast Ground Fish at all.

We anticipated strong landings of Flounder for the first part of the week that we didn’t see, so prices are firm. We hope by the weekend that there is going to be enough product, since the new Virginia season opened up, to have a significant impact on pricing. The product that we have been receiving has been absolutely spectacular so that is something that you can feature on your menus going forward.

Grouper is still on moratorium in Mexico. We are still getting some product out of Central America and some very nice domestic fish as well.

We’ve been struggling with Snapper. You know we sell an awful lot of Dotted Snapper at Inland Seafood. We are having problems getting any kind of imported product; like Dotted and American Reds from Mexico. With such little out there; the market is up so Snapper remains a challenge.

There is good news on Swordfish and Tuna. It has been very, very, very tight but there is a full moon on March 8^th(today). There are a lot of people out fishing right now and we hope by Sunday and Monday we are going to start to see the first landings which should lead to an increase in supply and hopefully a decrease in price.

We continue to carry plenty of Itsumo Tuna; the prices have been strong and we haven’t seen any relief. That remains a number one option for all Tuna users.

We expect things to start getting a little bit back to normal next week in Western Europe in terms of our wonderful supply of high-quality Scottish Salmon. We will update you as the week gets under way but we are starting to see some smaller Atlantic Salmon fillets that are coming out of Chile with some pretty good numbers. We do expect supplies of Chilean fish to increase over the coming weeks.

Please don’t forget about our larger, Spanish European Turbot. We do have an adequate supply and we are bringing this fish in weekly, generally about mid-week and prices are very attractive for this super high-quality fish.

We are having some difficulty getting large Tilapia sizes, 7-9 ounces and larger. A lot of it has to do with demand from Lent and also some over-projection on some of the ponds that they are using.

Something to look forward to in March is that Fresh Halibut season opens back up mid-month.

Shellfish…

Gulf production of Domestic Crab Meat is down. 99% of the plants are closed because there really isn’t any Crab coming from Louisiana. Most of the traps have been pulled. We do hope to see things get better in the next couple of weeks. We have a limited amount of Imported Crab Meat that we are receiving out of Colombia. It is very high-quality and very clean.

Arriving tomorrow is another shipment of our high-quality Viking Village Scallops and we have both U-10s and U-12s arriving. If you haven’t tried these you owe it to your customers to give them a shot.

If you haven’t had a chance to try our Martha’s Vineyard Oysters please do so as we expect availability to decrease in April. New to Inland’s repertoire of high-quality Oysters:

These Oysters are sourced from Captain Jason who is a young hard working fisherman, fishing Tisbury Great Pond on the south side of Martha’s Vineyard. He works hard to keep his oysters clean and consistent. Sized about 3 inches this Oyster will continue to get saltier and saltier as the town opens the pond to let in more sea water. This Oyster is a true gem of Martha’s Vineyard when it is in season, but act fast because the season is coming to an end on April 1^st. Get your orders in early because they are going quick.

Market Report March 2, 2012

March 02, 2012

For the first full week of Lent fresh fish is very expensive. To ease the pain we have some specials that will get you through the weekend.

First, we have some great quality Gulf Red Snapper 1-2 and 2-4 pounds at really good prices. Expect these prices to rise significantly in the next couple of weeks so buy these now.

We have a good inventory of Alaskan Boneless J-cut Cod Fillet that just arrived in our doors, averaging 12 ounces and above. We are running a special this weekend (and this weekend only!) at $6.95 / lb. if you buy a 10 pound case. It is a fillet and a perfect fish for all applications.

We still have great prices on Mexican Grouper both whole and fillet. We brought in a boatload from outside of the moratorium area. Prices are good but this is only one boat in one area and we do not think that this will hold up.

We have Day-boat Red Grouper coming in from Florida today. We expect all prices to go up soon.

Snapper; Imported Dotted and Gulf Red; are going to go way up over the next couple of weeks. Grouper will as well because of closures.

Looking into the future, prices on most everything is heading North for Lent this year.

BUT…

Amberjack remains a good bargain, one of the few.

Black Bass is available but prices are very high.

Another fish to consider that is relatively inexpensive is Wild Striped Bass out of Virginia.

Mahi is heading up in price and will probably continue that way with the full moon.

Since the full moon is next week, we are seeing a real shortage in the marketplace of both Swordfish and Tuna. Our suppliers tell us that Tuna will be problematic for the next 4-5 months. Expect to pay much higher prices. One supplier said, “Do you remember what happened to Chilean Sea Bass?” He expects Tuna to follow suit because of the demand in Asia. He predicts prices will go through the roof and stay there, time will tell, we hope he is mistaken.

On the Farm Raised front…

Prices are increasing on Salmon, we hope it is a temporary thing but right now we are seeing higher prices for next week. Hopefully it will not last long because there is plenty of Salmon in Eastern Canada, Western Canada and in Scotland; the weather just needs to be good in order to harvest it.

Tilapia is very firm with some suppliers shorting customers; but not us!

Rainbow Trout is finally back to normal from imports.

Catfish is steady and has not increased any more.

Farm Raised Cobia has gone up as the supplier has finished harvesting.

We have good supplies of all the Exotic Farm-raised Fish; these prices are high to begin with.

We have some shipments in of Loup de Mer and Farmed Turbot which just hit our doors, as well as, Arctic Char and Barramundi Fillets; which is a pre-order item.

Don’t forget about our Norwegian Salmon Trout which is a terrific fatty fish that makes a great menu choice as Salmon prices rise almost every day.

In the mid-Atlantic…

Fish from the mid-Atlantic is fairly steady and one bright spot is Flounder as Virginia opens up on Monday and we think prices will come down in the near future.

We are getting daily shipments of different species so check regularly with your sales rep for inventory.

The Shellfish Story…..

Lobsters are inching up as well as Crab Meat. Lobster Tails are still a good buy. We still have a very aggressive price on Lobster Tails and Lobster Meat but this will probably change. We expect Lobsters to go up around 40 cents to one dollar a pound over the next 2 weeks.

Fresh Shrimp is almost non-existent right now. We do have some Rock Shrimp in inventory now.

The Scallop market is heading up due to Lent.

If you haven’t tried the Calico Bay Scallops, exclusively distributed by Inland Seafood, you need to. It is a great Southern product and ultra-dry. We have stocked a 4 pound gallon for those of you who want to give it a whirl. Prices are good on this item.

From out of the water...

We have good supplies of Painted Hills.

We have another small shipment of Perigord Truffles coming in and this will definitely be the last one for the season. We did manage to get 3 pounds of Oregon, Dog-hunted Truffles that are gorgeous. They were the hit of the Asheville Truffle Festival and they are only $25/oz. Expensive; but not nearly what the Perigord costs.

For March Madness…

It’s here again and we have some items for you on special!

Whole Broilers – 4 pounds and up

Whole Broilers 3.5 pounds and less

Boneless, Skinless Breast

Airline Chicken Breast

Split Chicken Breast

*Please speak with your sales person for details and pricing.

Market Report February 24, 2012

February 24, 2012

The first week of Lent and, as usual, every Grocery store is advertising some sort of farm raised fish whether it be Salmon, Tilapia or Trout and it is creating a severe shortage in the marketplace.

We are looking good on Tilapia, a little short on Trout, and Salmon is available but unfortunately prices are way up.

We expect this to be a temporary thing; we think prices will be up next week but decline after that with plenty of fish coming into the market.

In the Northeast…

The beginning of Lent is bringing with it high prices from the Northeast as always. Everything is a little bit higher. As weather improves and Lent gets under way, prices should go down.

In the mid-Atlantic…

Striped Bass has moderated a bit but Flounder has gone way up due to poor weather as two fronts have moved through.

We will have by-catches of Monkfish but Flounder in the Carolinas and Virginia will be going up.

In Florida…

The Tilefish season is closing and boats are coming in. We will have some this week and next but after that Tilefish will be very limited.

Amberjack is plentiful and makes a good menu choice.

From the Gulf…

Domestic Gulf Grouper is plentiful but Mexican-caught Grouper is fading out as they are on moratorium until March 15^th.

There are Day-boat Domestic and Mexican Genuine Gulf Red Snapper coming into the marketplace.

We anticipate a lot of Puppy Drum and hopefully things get back to normal for Crawfish and Crabmeat from the Gulf so we should see better supplies of Domestic Crabmeat, Crawfish Tailmeat and Live Crawfish which is a pre-order only item.

We also anticipate having a good supply of our Fresh Columbian Crabmeat come in now that Mardi Gras is over. They also celebrate Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in just about every Latin American country as well as in Louisiana so we will have it here for next week’s business.

Mahi is also tight because of Carnival in South America. Fishermen are back fishing now so there will be good supply but prices will inch up a bit.

From the West Coast…

We are seeing a lot of Alaskan Cod but not much else.

Feature…

One of the biggest news items now is the reappearance and opening of the Calico Bay Scallops, exclusively from Inland Seafood. We are featuring them through the entire month of March for $6.99/lb!

After 20 years, the Calico Scallop is back in large numbers…and we are bringing them to you! The Calico scallop is a tasty treat that has been missing from tables for two decades.

At one time, a substantial harvest came from Scallop beds occupying the continental shelf in Florida to the Calico Scallop fishery originally developed in North Carolina…primarily in Snead’s Ferry, in the 1960s. Peak landings were recorded in the early 1980s, but landings had never again reached even half of its original numbers. The Calico Scallop was deemed overfished and in 1999, the Florida Fish and Wildlife adopted a rule outlawing the harvest of Calico Scallops. The intent of that rule, with its strict size limits, was to make it unfeasible to commercially harvest the product.

The focus of the fishery shifted to the Cape Canaveral beds during the early 1970s as the extent of those beds was realized and the equipment necessary for the large-scale processing was developed. Docks are now buzzing again with the daily activity of loading and unloading of the long awaited Calico Scallop. As the product is unloaded off the trawlers, it is placed in refrigerated trucks headed for Shallotte, NC, where Inland Seafood, the exclusive distributor, brings the Calico Scallop back to your tables!

The Calico scallops are live harvested and placed on boats that rush to shore where these tiny jewels of the Southern Atlantic are then loaded onto trucks and head back to where the original shucking house was located in the very southern part of North Carolina. This was where the only remaining machinery specifically designed for these Calico Scallops laid dormant for all these years. The hope was that the beds would rebuild and again there would be a Calico fishery sometime in the future.

Well the future is now and with the number of boats restricted and a small allowable catch monitored by the people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) it is hoped that we will be seeing more of the jewels of the South Atlantic coming into the market in a sustainable fashion yet again.

Upon arriving in the shucking plant the Scallops are slightly steamed to open their shell and automatically free the sweet abductor muscle we call the Calico Scallop from the shell and the membrane. This steaming process gives the very edge of the scallop a quick partial exposure to heat, sort of like a blanching. This makes sure the scallops, which are an 80-110 per pound, have a great shelf life. These are perfect as an appetizer or with a special sauce on a pasta or rice or as some Chefs are discovering; a great topping for everything from a piece of fish to a chicken breast and even on a fillet mignon.

Market Report February 16, 2012

February 16, 2012

After the hopefully busy Valentine’s festivities, we are now looking at Fat Tuesday next week and the beginning of Lent. This is the traditional season for seafood and prices generally go up, at least for the first 2 weeks of Lent. We will give you an idea about what we think will be available and what is going on around the world.

Starting in the Gulf of Mexico, we are starting to see more fish show up.

In Louisiana…

We are beginning to see more Drum, Crawfish and Crawfish Tailmeat but because of the Mardi Gras celebration next week things will come to a screeching halt until next weekend and the week afterwards. If you have an order for these items, please let us know by today or tomorrow.

We should also have some good landings of Swordfish and Tuna. Prices are still very high and will probably stay that way.

If you are not aware, there is a world-wide shortage of Tuna. Prices, even on canned Tuna, are expected to double over the next year. The reason is because the Tuna are not where they normally are and the fishermen cannot find them. Catches worldwide are down 30%. Some say that it is because of the unrestrained purse seine catch method of small fish in the Asian Western Pacific and they have been catching the young for too many years. Therefore there is not enough biomass to regenerate the Tuna population to recent levels. Others say it is because of the massive earthquake around Japan that has changed the ocean bottom and the currents so the Tuna have moved.

This shortage, along with the demand skyrocketing in the Asia with the newly emerged middle-class in countries such as India, China and the other smaller Asian countries, is spiking price. Even CO treated Tuna steaks and Saku blocks are really high right now. Itsumo Tuna is also costing more so expect an increase there and with other Tuna prices from around the world.

We are also seeing good catches of Red Snapper, especially in the Northern Gulf.

Some supplies of Pompano and Redfish are also coming from the Gulf.

Black and Red Grouper are also showing up more and we are expecting prices to go up as Mexico starts its conservation through March 15^th when they are not allowed to fish for Grouper in the most productive areas off of Progresso. Prices will be stable for the first 10 days of the closure and then we will see prices go up through the last week of March.

Moving into Florida…

We will see some Amberjack and Yellowtail, as well as, some Stone Crabs showing up as the weather gets warmer.

On the Atlantic side, there is some Tilefish landing as well as some Shark.

In the mid-Atlantic…

In the Carolinas, Flounder remains plentiful and will probably stay that way with good prices through this month and next.

There will be some supply of Triggerfish but B-liners supply off of the Carolina coast will soon end as that fishery closes sometime this month.

Striped Bass will probably inch up in price but will be available for the next month or so.

Black Bass will be expensive, but there will be some.

We are going to see some Shad Roe. It is very expensive right now but there is some around. Please speak with your sales person about it.

People who fish Swordfish should be coming in any day so we should have a good supply, but again prices will remain strong.

Into the Northeast…

Traditionally prices skyrocket for the beginning of Lent, as we mentioned, and we expect that to be the case for Cod, Haddock and all of the by-catch fish like Skate, Monk, and Hake.

On the West Coast…

We are seeing nice quantities of Alaskan Cod come into the marketplace. Hopefully the weather will stabilize for the boats to get out and continue to fish. At this time, the catch is 45% down from last year.

Landings are coming in with some Dover Sole with a little bit of Petrale and we are looking to bring in Rockfish fillet which is a terrific, medium-priced fish, for the next couple of weeks.

For imports…

We are seeing some Gulf Red Snapper and Red and Black Grouper coming in from Mexico this week along with Speckled trout. (Please see our notation about Grouper in the section on the Gulf fish)

Normally, the beginning of Lent means that prices increase on seafood from Central and South America because of the high Catholic population giving up meat, but as one supplier said, “I can’t see prices going up a lot more than they already are!”

Expect prices to increase on Dotted Snapper and especially on imported Grouper, Corvina and even Farmed Cobia.

On the Farmed front…

Salmon traditionally goes up this time of year, although the market is down. Scottish Salmon is going to be higher next week.

Chilean Salmon demand has increased and we expect prices to increase slightly on that.

We are also bringing in fish from Scotland and Western Canada.

In addition, we have the Norwegian Salmon Trout which has been a big hit and we are increasing our supply. As with all Salmon, prices are a bit up.

We expect things to settle down in a few weeks as more salmon comes into the Chilean market during Lent.

We will also see good supplies of Tilapia but prices are a little up.

We will have some Farmed European Turbot from Spain as well as Loup de Mer from Greece.

We still have availability of Arctic Char and a good availability of Trout from all over Central and South America.

Shellfish…

There should be plenty; it is a good time of year for all shellfish including Oysters. Again we would like to remind you about pre-ordering Oysters as we are trying to manage our supply and waste.

Our Fresh Columbian Imported Crabmeat has been a great hit. We will have another shipment on Monday and intend to bring this in over the next 2-3 months and expand the pasteurized program. If you have not tried this great Blue Crab meat (the same as the domestic crab), you really need to look at it.

We are hoping to hold the prices steady on crabmeat.

As is normal this time of year, Scallops will probably go up a little.

Fresh Shrimp is virtually non-existent.

On the Foraged front …

It seems like the severe weather in Europe is ending the Truffle season so we only have 1 more shipment coming in next week and that will most likely be it for the year. Prices will be up on that as well.

For other mushrooms, we are seeing a good supply of Black Trumpet, Hedgehogs and Yellowfoots coming in right now.

For the Land Lovers …

We have a huge order from Painted Hills Beef coming in over the weekend and we will be in good shape on Monday with all cuts.

We are also getting daily Portioned Beef through our Premium Angus and Meats by Linz programs.

We are increasing our supply of Springer Mountain Chicken as well.

Thank you and we hope everyone had a terrific and successful Valentine’s Day and look forward to the Lent season.

Market Report February 8, 2012

February 8, 2012

We have a pretty good idea about Valentine’s Day now, on what will be available. Valentine’s Day is shaping up to be a good one in the world of seafood and the other items that Inland specializes in bringing to your kitchens and stores. We have some real good bargains and good availability on products that have been hard to get for the last month and a half.

On Farm-raised Fish…

We have some super specials this week. We have plentiful amounts of Scottish Salmon, both whole and filet along with another shipment of Norwegian Salmon Trout coming in at the end of the week with big, whole Scottish. We have a good supply of Chilean Salmon filet coming in and overall prices on Atlantic salmon are around 35% less than they were last year. Icelandic Arctic Char is available by pre-order.

We have another shipment of our Fat Farm Raised Spanish Turbot arriving at the end of the week; the quality is unbelievable and the price is outstanding for this gourmet treat.

We also have Barramundi filets coming from the Far East on Thursday. In addition, we have some farm-raised Redfish from Texas and farm-raised Cobia from Panama. We have a shipment of our very popular Loup de Mer coming this week, but we will have limited availability so please pre-order.

Of course we will have the old reliables of Tilapia, Rainbow Trout, and Catfish. By the way, Catfish prices are slightly down from what they have been. With Trout, local Carolina Mountain is still having a short fall on local Trout but we have supplemented it with Trout coming in from other areas. All of these items will make great Valentine’s specials.

In the Northeast…

Prices are high and we expect them to stay high on Cod, Haddock, and other species from that area. We did get in a short trip East Coast Halibut shipment that is beautiful today.

There are plenty of Oysters from New England and we need to know by Thursday mid-day what you are going to need for the holiday because they arrive to us on Sunday. From New England we will have Blue Points, Wellfleet’s, and Big Rocks and out of Maritime Canada we will have Malpeques, Deep Cove, Lady Chatterley, Rigby Island, French Kiss, Peacock Cove and Alpines. Please let us know at the same cutoff time what you are going to need. We will have another shipment of Beausoleils come in Sunday night, we hope in time to make deliveries on Valentine’s Day, so let us know your needs there too.

Scallops are high but prices are about steady. We managed to get a small shipment form Viking Village, which we think is the USA’s best scallop, in by Wednesday and to get another on Sunday if the boat makes it back in time.

We will have a good selection on Lobsters swimming in the South’s largest lobster pool. Lobsters are cheaper this year than they were last year, probably the only shellfish that is that way. We will have a small amount or Peekytoe Crab Meat in our building for the weekend.

In addition to our live Lobsters we have a good inventory of Maine Lobster Tails that we have priced very aggressively. Frozen Lobster Meat is climbing almost daily; you need to secure your inventory today. Our prediction is it will break $23.50 by the time the season starts in May.

We have a good variety of Mussels on hand but again, please let us know what your needs will be for all shellfish. Check on the availability of Razor Clams, Periwinkles and Steamers (both in shell & shucked) with your sales associate and let them know your needs.

In the mid-Atlantic…

As we predicted, this is becoming the bread basket for fish to feature at good price points.

We have a big shipment of Flounder on its way at prices that are truly remarkable for this time of year. Large Striped Bass are starting to show in strength and at bargain prices compared to what they have been. Our prices have fallen dramatically. It’s a great fish to feature along with Flounder for the entire month.

We are also seeing some catches of Black Bass. Although these are not as reasonable priced as the Striped Bass, they are still available at a good price along with Monkfish and some wild Redfish in the area.

Moving South…

In the Carolinas, we are seeing some small catches of Triggers and B-liners coming in daily from the Carolina coast.

In addition, we are getting a couple of Local Oysters from the mid-Atlantic and the South. From the mid-Atlantic you have your choice of Chincoteague, Misty points, Milford Haven, James River, and Watch Houses. And again, we will need pre-orders on these and there are some local North Carolina Oysters available through our Charlotte warehouse.

Moving down the coast…

We see Amberjack and Spanish mackerel being landed in Southern Georgia and the Northern Florida area with good catches there along with Tilefish as we head down towards St. Augustine. We are dealing with a couple of boats in the area that are landing gorgeous short trip Tilefish.

The Southern Atlantic is also the area where there is Swordfish coming in we hope. Swordfish is extremely tight and extremely expensive and it’s real iffy as to whether the boats will be in after the full moon. The moon was officially full on the 7^th of February. Hopefully boats will be in to make the Valentine holiday. But Swordfish is extremely, extremely tight and expensive.

Moving down into the Keys…

There is a little bit of Yellowtail. We are seeing Stone Crabs coming out of the Everglades along with some Pompano. Pompano is another great feature to look at for this week. Please let your salesperson know if you are featuring Stone Crabs so that we can make every effort to get them because they are sure to be in high demand.

On the West Coast of Florida we are getting some beautiful day boat Grouper, both Reds and Blacks.

And as we move to the panhandle of Florida we are starting to see some short-trip domestic Gulf Red Snapper that are exceptional quality. They are expensive but there are no fish better than Gulf Red Snapper, especially when caught by U.S. fishermen.

From the Northern Gulf… to Columbia on Crabmeat

We are getting a little bit of domestic Crab Meat but prices are very, very high.

Speaking of Crab Meat, we are now bringing in Crab Meat out of Colombia. We were just visiting their plant last week and the plant is immaculate. It meets all FDA requirements. We are getting exceptional pricing on Jumbo Lump, Regular Lump, Claw Meat, and limited amounts of Claw Fingers in here fresh twice a week. We have also contracted with them to produce a pasteurized product that we have on hand now.

The great news about this crab meat is that:

1) It is Blue Crab Meat, the same Crab Meat that we have in the Southern United States.
2) The prices are cheaper, by far, than Asia’s swimmer crab.
3) The product is all natural and contains no added preservatives like SAPP (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate). Look at your cans of Asian Crabmeat to see what we mean.
4) The workmanship is just as good. The shell content is minimal just like it is from the Far East but the prices are much, much better.

You owe it to yourself to try the fresh Crab Meat or look into our convenient pasteurized version of the same product. We feel this will give imported Crab Meat from the Far East a run for its money as far as quality and it definitely will in price.

Moving into Louisiana…

Local Tuna should be plentiful by the end of the week. Prices are still astronomical but we should still have plenty of fish for the holiday. Hopefully they will catch Swordfish in addition to Tuna.

We are receiving plenty of medium sized Lake Pontchartrain Drum at an outstanding price today and it will be another low priced alternative to look at featuring this week and the whole month.

We are seeing the first Crawfish and Crawfish Tail Meat show up in Louisiana, but it will be expensive.

Oysters out of Louisiana are plentiful right now and the prices are very good and the quality is exceptional at this time of year.

We don’t expect to see any fresh Shrimp from any areas right now, but we do have a small supply of Laughing Bird Shrimp in stock right now.

In the Northwest…

We are beginning to see some signs of life. We have a shipment of Dover Sole coming in by the end of the week. In addition, we are getting in Alaskan True Cod and maybe some Rockfish coming in by the end of the week.

We are still a ways away from Wild Salmon but we have a good supply of Wild King and Wild Sockeye and Ketas frozen inventory.

For imports…

We are getting a lot of great quality Grouper in from Mexico as well as Mexican Gulf Red Snapper at outstanding prices.

Mahi is going up in price because of the full moon. We have a good inventory and expect to have more for the holiday. Prices are still up but it is a great value in a fish that has really caught on with the public.

We also have a lot of Corvina and Agria for the holiday coming in over the week. Both of those are beginning to show up in quantity.

Imported Snappers are a little high; we hope that they will fall by the end of the week. We do have some Mutton Snappers at a very, very good price that just landed in from Mexico. The price is shockingly low, probably the cheapest Snapper that we will have.

In addition, from Central and South America, we are getting spotty deliveries of Swordfish and Tuna but they are, of course, very, very expensive.

From the Land and Ground…

We are fully stocked up on just about every cut of Painted Hills Beef and Strube Ranch all-natural Kobe beef as well as a full range of Domestic All Natural Colorado Lamb, Milk Fed-Marcho Farms Veal, Le Quebecois Pasture-Raised Veal; Magret breasts, Duck Legs, and Foie Gras from Sonoma Artisan Foods as well as Jurgielewicz Natural Pekin Ducks from Pennsylvania.

We also have a great inventory of 100% Berkshire Pork cuts from Eden Farms as well a complete line of our portioned choice, prime, and dry-aged beef from the Meats by Linz in Chicago as well as Premium Choice Angus portioned beef from A.Thomas in Kentucky.

There are now over 40 types of cheese in stock and well as all sorts of olive and nut oils from throughout the world. We have top of the line Frozen Porcini Mushrooms both whole and pieces plus a complete line of da Rosario Truffle Oils and Butters.

In addition to fresh Wild Black Trumpets and Hedgehog mushrooms, we have 4.4 pounds of the freshest most aromatic Perigord Truffles that were in the ground on Tuesday Morning for the most romantic holiday of the year!

Market Report February 3, 2012

February 3, 2012

Beginning of February means different quotas as the beginning of every month does. We waited to publish this report so we had a clear idea of what this meant. We will have further updates at the beginning of next week to give everybody a preview of the Valentine week situation on seafood and other items. But for now let’s give you a quick rundown.

In the Northeast…

Weather is up and down and basically boats are not able to get out on extended trips. Prices on Atlantic fish are pretty high so New England Cod, Haddock, and Pollack are not outrageous but they are not cheap either.

Basically, Scallop boats are not fishing right now. We are expecting to maybe get some short trip Viking Village Scallops in over the weekend.

There will be plenty of New England Shellfish like Razor Clams, Steamers, and Oysters. Mussels are plentiful and in their peak of their season in Maine and Prince Edward Island. Please get with your salesperson to preorder Shellfish for this week as we are not going to speculate too much on many specialty Oysters.

The Lobster market is going up, especially on bigger Lobsters. Fresh Lobster meat is very few and far between and whatever will be produced will be expensive. We do have a good selection of frozen Lobster meat although the prices are climbing. Prices on Maine Lobster Tail look to be climbing as well and will probably continue to increase until after Easter. It is a good idea to stock up on these items right now. We do have some good prices but our prices are inching up also.

In the mid-Atlantic…

This is really the bright spot for seafood for this next week. The price of Wild Striped Bass has fallen tremendously as fisherman get there tags and the large fish are easily caught. Prices have fallen by around 30% so this would be a great item to feature for the next two weeks. We expect good availability and the quality is exceptional. Please get with your salesperson this afternoon for initial indications on prices. This is probably the best deal for the upcoming weeks.

Flounder prices are going to be moderating also, despite the weather and closures. It looks like an extended period of decent weather will bring lower prices on Flounder.

The lower mid-Atlantic to the Florida coast is where we are landing some Swordfish right now. Swordfish will be extremely expensive for the next few days until after the full moon. The prices are very expensive and this is also reflected in the Tuna market.

Tuna is up there but not as high as it was two weeks ago with the Chinese New Year. We do expect it to stay this way for the next 5-7 days.

Into the Gulf…

We are seeing some good landings of Grouper and Amberjack.

We are getting some Pompano as this is the season that we usually do see it. Prices are good and they will continue to drop.

We are also getting some Black Grouper and some Scamp Grouper; these are also good menu choices.

Stone Crabs seem to be more available as the currents have brought more crabs into the traps. We have a good price on medium Stone Crab which is as reasonable as they have been in the last 3-5 years.

Crabmeat is still hard to get out of the Gulf but we have a Fresh Crabmeat coming out of Venezuela and Peru at very attractive prices.

Gulf Red Snapper is coming in but prices are very high but we are seeing good supply of short-trip Red Snapper and Grouper from Mexico at really good prices.

The big thing out of Mexico right now is abundant supplies of Speckled Trout. We are getting 1-2’s and 2-4’s at really outstanding prices. This is whole quality fish from a day-boat fishery that is actually gutted. Prices are as cheap as we have seen in years for fillets and whole fish, and the quality is exceptional. This used to be a southerner’s favorite everyday fish to eat.

Other Imports…

Dotted Snapper from Central America is still high; it has come down a bit and availability is increasing but prices remain high especially compared to the Gulf Red Snapper out of Mexico that we are getting.

Mahi is on an uptick as people begin to realize that there is not as much around as they had hoped. The prices on the frozen market are being bid up everywhere. We expect Mahi prices to climb over the next 7-10 days because of the full moon and the shortage in the frozen market.

We would like to bring your attention to the Blue Crabmeat that we are getting out of Columbia. This product is terrific and much less expensive than the Far Eastern product that is from a different crab called the swimmer crab. The Columbian product is not just 2-3 dollars cheaper than Fresh Domestic Gulf product it is from the same blue crab from the east coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The great news is that we carry it now Fresh and Pasteurized. They also have cocktail claws in both fresh and pasteurized that are what we are used to seeing out of the Gulf.

On the Farm Raised Front…

Salmon is steady with good supplies coming in from Scotland, Canada and the US with Farm-Raised Atlantics. In addition, Chilean Salmon is coming in daily. Farmed Atlantic prices are down around 30% from last year at this time.

We are expecting 2 shipments next week of Norwegian Salmon Trout for the Valentine Holiday. Everyone who tries this fish is blown away.

We have another shipment in of Farm Raised Spanish Turbot and we intend to bring in another shipment next week. Please let your sales person know if you are planning to feature this great flatfish for the Valentine weekend as we are taking pre-orders up until Monday. It will be harvested Tuesday morning and shipped to Atlanta for Thursday delivery.

In addition, we are also bringing in limited supplies of Indonesian Barramundi Fillet.

Don’t forget that we are still bringing in great Greek Loup de Mer and Dorade, pre-orders are encouraged because we are only bringing in amounts that have been sold in normal weeks. If you have any other needs than 400-600 Loup de Mer, please let us know. Any Dorade orders need to be a pre-order.

Please also give us any pre-orders that you may need on Arctic Char and Barramundi.

We are bringing in Sustainably Farm Raised Lantern Scallops which are a 30-40 count. The prices are reasonable, quality excellent and the flavor is exceptional.

We are also bringing in Blue Tilapia from Peru. This is an All-Natural, Cleanfish type product.

From the Northwest…

The bad weather in the US seems to be hitting the Northwest badly. This is the area that we are seeing a problem with supply.

We are limited on species like Dover Sole and Rockfish.

We are getting almost daily deliveries of Alaskan Cod which is as good as Northeastern Cod around 2-3 dollars cheaper.

Other news…

The Southern Fresh Shrimp season is over for all intents and purposes.

Oysters are going to be a pre-order item. We have divided our Oysters into West Coast, Mid-Atlantic, New England and Maritime Canada. Speak with your salespeople for pre-orders. We have a 2-3 day window for orders.

Market Report January 26, 2012

January 26, 2012

Things are beginning to open up with seafood as boats are starting to come in. We’re going to start with a quick look….

From the South…

Bad weather has kept Flounder boats from landing. In the mid-Atlantic and South, Flounder boats are just getting back out. Prices are up a bit on Flounder; hopefully they will drop by the weekend but it is still a great value in fresh seafood.

Striped Bass is very, very tight. The large fish have gone out to sea and what is left is small and the prices, unfortunately, are not small.

We are getting various by-catches of Wild Redfish out of the mid-Atlantic and some other by-catches of Triggers. The season is now open in Mississippi and some good catches of Redfish are starting to show up.

In the South we are starting to see some Snappers show up. We should have Gulf Red Snapper in here on Friday. We do have Yellowtails in from the Keys. We also have Mutton Snapper from the west coast of Florida as well as Pink Snapper from the Carolinas and domestic, local Carolina B-liners landing today.

We have a South Carolina Swordfish trip in our dock right now. The product is exceptional; the price is high but really not too bad compared to where it has been but it is a local short trip fish.

Yesterday we landed a boat in Louisiana for Tuna and we have a great supply right now. Prices are very expensive but the quality and freshness is superb. We also have a bit of Escolar in from this boat.

Off of the south-Atlantic coast we are getting some Amberjack which is coming in almost daily.

From the northern Atlantic Coast of Florida we also have some Golden Tile coming into our building. Golden Tile is a very reasonably priced fish and a wonderful treat. The season is short so you ought to feature it while you can.

We are also getting in good landings of Red Grouper out of the Gulf and we expect to have a little bit of Scamp and Black Grouper in for the weekend as a small by-catch from these boats as they come in to shore.

We also landed some Pompano in the Everglades and we also have a good supply of Speckled Trout coming in our plant.

From the Northeast…

We landed a couple of short trip East Coast Halibut; they are extremely fresh. We have these fish in stock and prices have been reduced because we made a good buy and the quality is exceptional.

We also have a good supply of Cod, Monktail, Skate, and Haddock from the mid-Atlantic as well as whole Hake which is a great fish.

Also, if you haven’t tried our frozen-at-sea Wolffish you need to give it a look.

We have some Squid coming in from Rhode Island this afternoon.

On the Farm-raised front…

Our Spanish Farm-Raised European Turbot is being met with great customer approval. The price is much lower than the product out of Chile, the freshness is much better, and the fish seem to be thicker for the size than what we have been getting out of Chile. Prices are 15% less than Chilean which makes this a great special for what is considered the king of European Flat fish.

We also have a small shipment of farm-raised Cobia coming in from Peru as well as a good supply of Loup de Mer and Dorade arriving from Greece.

There is plenty of Norwegian Salmon Trout (Steelhead) that is arriving today. People who are trying this fish tell us that it is the tastiest farm-raised Salmon type fish going right now.

We have a good supply of Scottish Salmon hitting the doors this weekend; prices are very good.

We also have Chilean Salmon in good quantities at great prices especially if you buy a full 35 pound case.

We also have Loch Duart All-Natural Salmon from Scotland and All-Natural Blue Tilapia from Clean Fish in the building; excellent quality on both these seafood items.

Farmed Raised Catfish prices are coming down a little bit. It is the first sign of what we hope becomes a downward trend.

From the Southern Hemisphere…

We are getting some Speckled Trout in from Mexico. We are also expecting some imported Grouper and Grouper filet. But the big news is Speckled Trout. We are starting to see good landings of Speckled Trout from the Yucatan/ Progresso area. Prices are outstanding and the quality is superb.

We found a guy who actually insists that the boats take ice and eviscerate the fish before he receives it and this has made a great difference in the quality. We think you ought to try this fish so we are featuring it this weekend for $5.99/lb for skin-on filets and for 1-2 & 2-4 pound at $3.29/lb for whole fish.

From the West Coast…

Fish are very scarce as storms keep battering that area. We’re having trouble getting any traction to get fish out of there at the present time.

One exception to Pacific product that we are getting almost daily this week in good quantities is Alaskan Cod at great prices.

Shellfish is plentiful but we are limiting our selection because of date issues and we are trying to make sure that people use what we have. Pre-orders on specialty Oysters are definitely encouraged because we are not going to speculate too much on any Oysters anymore.

We just got in another two kilos (4.4lbs) of Fresh Perigord Truffles from Europe; the quality is exceptional and the price is really superb. These truffles will go great with the Northeastern Halibut, Pompano, Flounder, and Lobster that are coming into our plant this week.

Market Report January 18, 2012

January 18, 2012

There a lot of items that are in really tight supply this week and are at really high prices. We are facing our typical post New Year’s and Three King’s Day shortage of landings as boats cycle out to sea again depending on weather. This year seems because of the Lunar New Year this weekend. This means a lot of boats, especially those staffed by Asian fishers that catch Swordfish and Tuna, landed after the full moon of last week and did not go back out before their New Year. This means Swordfish and Tuna are extremely tight and very, very expensive.

We expect that to be the case for the next two to three weeks. We hope to have plenty of Itsumo Sushi Grade Tuna that we get out of the Philippines. We just made an agreement with those fishermen to keep on fishing so we should have that supply of Tuna but Swordfish will be even more problematic. What little that is coming in is from as far away as Australia, South Africa and Fiji because even Tuna and Swordfish from Central and South America are scarce. A little known fact is that a lot of the boats in Central and South America have Asian captains and crewmembers and they will also be in for the Chinese/Lunar New Year.

Mahi will be stable over the next week and other imported items like Corvina and hopefully Snapper will begin to show as boats come into port in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the Northeast…

The weather is pretty bad but boats were able to get out this last week so prices have moderated a bit on Cod and Haddock. In Canada, boats were able to go out and fish so there was also some Canadian Cod and Haddock coming in as well as the first trips of the new year of East Coast Atlantic Halibut. We expect these primo short trip Halibut into our plant tomorrow morning; prices are high but they are at the same level as farm-raised fish and we’d rather support wild-caught fish wherever possible.

Fresh Scallops are tight. The Maine Scallop season is off to a slow start so we don’t think that will provide any relief for high quality Scallops. But we were fortunate enough to get a short trip Scallop boat in from Viking Village. These are truly the best Scallops in the United States; you need to try them and see the difference between that and very good dry pack Scallops that we carry out of the Northeast. If you want the best money can buy, these are it!

On the Lobster front, fishing has come to a halt in Maine for new caught as it seems as winter begun. In addition, Canadian fishermen have started to pull their traps so all new-caught are quickly disappearing from the market and by the end of the month they would have completely disappeared. Prices on Lobsters are rising. Fresh Jumbo Lobster Lump will be a hit and miss thing but we do have a good inventory of frozen Jumbo Lobster Lump as well as this season’s Claw and Knuckle Meat produced in Maine and nitrogen-frozen within minutes of cooking. Tender Maine Lobster Tails remain plentiful and we have a special running on these for the rest of the month. When buying North American Lobster tails insist on the World’s most tender and flavorful nitrogen frozen tails only from the State of Maine.

Moving down the Atlantic seaboard…

Because of a couple of storms, Striped Bass is becoming more expensive as they are being pushed out to sea. We have a little bit, and we mean a little bit, coming in the morning. Prices are going to be up then. There is still some Black Bass around and the prices for these have also moved up.

The success story is that now we are seeing a good bit of Flounder and some Monk as boats are making very short trips and quickly filling their quota coming back with good catches of excellent quality Fluke Flounder. They are also catching some Monk Fish as a by catch and in addition they are also getting some Black Bass out of this area too.

Shrimp is almost over and it will officially be over at the end of the month in South Carolina and Georgia. We are still getting a little bit of East Coast Whites and we’re now looking toward Florida for Key West Pinks. Speaking of Shrimp, we are also bringing in Laughing Bird Shrimp from Central and South America and peeled all-natural Shrimp from Costa Rica.

Moving into Florida…

On the Southern East Coast we are getting our last shipment of Wreckfish for a while as the quota has been filled. There are good catches of Amberjack, Spanish and King Mackerel as well as Pompano being landed.

Stone Crabs are tight but we do have some availability coming to us.

Grouper boats are coming in with good supplies but the price is rising a little bit as the weather cuts trips short. Yellowtails from the Keys are also very expensive.

Moving around Florida into the Panhandle…

Gulf Red Snapper fishermen are just getting out and hopefully coming in with some fish but the prices are really, really high because of the New York market is paying huge prices.

Crab Meat is tight because of colder weather as is normal for this time of year. We do have good supplies of pasteurized Crab Meat and we expect fresh shipments by the end of the week of pasteurized Blue Crab Meat from Colombia which we think is probably the finest pasteurized Crab Meat in the world and the prices will actually be less expensive than Far East Swimmer Crab. That should be in our building by Friday.

In addition, we are getting imports of fresh crabmeat out of Venezuela as well as Colombia to supplement the sparse catches of freshly picked Crab Meat from the Gulf.

In Louisiana, we are still getting some Drum and hopefully we will be getting some Sheepshead.

In Mississippi, Speckled Trout and Redfish are open so we are starting to see some good supplies of those fish. Prices are fair compared to everything else and the quality is superb.

Oyster Information and Opportunities

Also in the Gulf, this is the peak of Oyster season and Oysters are very plentiful and although the prices haven’t come down as much as we would like the quality is excellent all the way around the Gulf. Most people don’t understand that an Oyster is good as long as the shell is closed and therefore only want to see Oysters that are 3-7 days out of water.

This is virtually impossible to do with Northeastern, Maritime Canadian, and West Coast Oysters because of the travel time just to get them to Boston or Seattle. The local ones, harvested around Massachusetts, are quite spendy because the local restaurants there are willing to pay big money for them.

If you have to have the 3-5 days from harvest we suggest you either look at southern Gulf oysters or Mid-Atlantic Virginia and Maryland oysters because we get them a couple of days out of the water. We have decided to limit the number of Northeastern and Maritime Canadian Oysters we carry because it is a crime to throw away these Oysters away when the shells are tight and they are 8-10 days from harvest. We are now going to be taking pre-orders on these specialty Oysters. We have three deliveries a week from the Northeast but we are asking you to let us know in advance to get these Oysters.

As a point of interest we know a number of chefs who buy our 10-18 dated oysters at a special price and use them raw; many are seeing the value and then baking and roasting them with their special toppings for a great appetizer.

We will be publishing a schedule and putting it in our database and issuing to you. The schedule will show the different Oysters with each of the cut-offs days and when they arrive in our plant. We will also offer you a $5.00 off per bushel for any pre-order on Northeastern, Maritime Canadian, or Pacific Oyster that is preordered and shipped on the next available truck after arrival to our plant.

On the West Coast…

Fishing is pretty much nil because of the bad weather. The Pacific Northwest is expecting a massive snowstorm so Dover Sole, Petrale and Rockfish, which are the fish we hope to start using with some frequency soon because of the attractive price, have kept these boats in. Hopefully they will get out next week.

We are seeing almost daily shipments of Alaskan Cod which is probably the most reasonably priced fish in the marketplace at this point.

Wild Salmon is basically over except for some spotty catches of Kings out of Alaska that are in the neighborhood of $15/lb. There is some Wild Steelhead but we have chosen not to support that fishery at this point and leave that for the sports fishermen. We really think that the Fresh Norwegian Salmon Trout (Steelhead) is as good as the upriver steelhead that is caught commercially on its spawning journey.

On the farmed-fish front…

Salmon is about steady at where it has been. We are expecting a good supply of Scottish Salmon in this week as well as next along with a good load of Chilean Salmon and some Canadian Salmon by the weekend. We mentioned the huge Norwegian Salmon Trout (Steelhead) we are carrying and will have more on Friday.

Loup de Mer is coming in steady from Greece and the big news is that we are now importing Farm Raised European Turbot directly from Spain from the best farmer in all of Europe. They supply most of the top restaurants in France. We will be publishing special prices to introduce them; hopefully by tomorrow; so please mark that in your calendar and we expect these in by the weekend. That should be a good addition to the farm-raised, high-quality fish that we carry.

On the all-natural protein front…

We have a good selection of Painted Hills All Natural Beef in stock as of today with more on the way. We think that we will be well-supplied on most cuts going forward. We have a good inventory of Strips, Tenders, and Ribeyes along with Hanger Steaks at the present time. Our program with Meat by Linz and A. Thomas on Portioned Beef seems to be going well. Get with your salesman for the details. Everybody who tries the Beef are saying that they can’t believe how good it is, how reasonably priced it is, and are blown away by the marbling content and the trim that they are getting from our portioned Beef.

We’ve had such good success with Eden Farms Pork and they have upped our allocation for the upcoming weeks as more Berkshire pigs are coming online.

The Veal market is still pretty tight and will probably continue that way until late in the spring when calves are born.

On Wild Mushrooms, we are seeing a little bit of Hedgehogs, the last of the season’s Chanterelles, and the big news is that we brought in a great supply of European Black Truffles to have on hand because of the demand created by the 60 Minutes Show a week ago Sunday. If you haven’t seen this special, check it out: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7394364n. It is a very interesting story about Truffles and everybody that bought last week’s Truffles is amazed by the great quality that we are buying direct from the diggers.

Market Report January 12, 2012

January 12, 2012

Normally at this time of year fish is very scarce but what we are seeing this year is different. Because fish prices are very high, it is to the fisherman’s advantage to actually go out now and fish. Therefore we are seeing more fish in the marketplace than we normally do.

North Atlantic

From the North Atlantic boats are going out and coming in with sparse catches as trips are being cut short by bad weather. Cod is very expensive, especially large Cod. Haddock is also quite high but Pollack is a good value at this time of year. Market Cod is not quite as expensive as large Cod and there are Skatewings around as well as Rhode Island Squid. The good news is that the weather outlook is good for the rest of the week; we could see prices moderate by the middle of next week.

Scallops are still very tight and what we are seeing is the same product that we have been getting. We actually reduced our margins on these scallops this week in order to help you with your costs on what is becoming another luxury item. We are finally getting a small shipment of the ultra-fresh Viking Village Scallops that should be here today. Prices are expensive but this is truly the best Scallop in the United States. Less than 12 hours out of the water and into a can and on its way to our docks. This is a really, truly great Scallop.

Mid-Atlantic

In the mid-Atlantic we are seeing good catches of Flounder. Prices are beginning to moderate and also the beginning of January meant a new season of Black Bass. We are seeing good prices on 1-2 Black Bass and even some Jumbos at great prices. These are a great fish to feature whole and provide one of the tastiest filets in the world.

In addition, we are seeing sporadic catches of Redfish, Speckled Trout, and out of Maryland we are seeing some Wild Striped Bass, 3-5 pounders and some larger ones. Prices are still very high on those but we are expecting that will possibly moderate later in the month when more tags are available.

Southern Atlantic

Along the Southern Atlantic coast and into Florida we are seeing almost no catches of Fresh Shrimp anymore since the season is winding down. On the Atlantic side of Florida we are seeing good catches of sushi-quality Spanish Mackerel and Amberjack, as well as the first return trips of Tilefish. In fact, we bought one shipment of Tilefish this week and we’ll see this fish into our dock in Atlanta tomorrow at pretty reasonable prices.

Moving down the state of Florida to the Keys we are also seeing some Amberjack as well as sporadic catches of Barrelfish. We may be seeing one last trip or two of Wreckfish before the season closure in February. Around Florida and up into the Gulf we are seeing good catches of Grouper, specifically Red Grouper and some shallow water Black Grouper.

There will not be a closure for Gulf Grouper this year; there is only a closure at 40-fathom mark to shore which is shallow water. So there will be Grouper in deeper waters. This allows the Grouper to come close to the shore and spawn. This will last for three months. This is the de facto way of insuring a good spawning season for Grouper but also allowing the industry to stay open for catches. So Grouper will not disappear from menus; they will be available, although they will probably be a lot more expensive.

We should also see additional catches of Shark and Snapper as well as some Yellowtails in the Keys and some Gulf Red Snappers in the Gulf and a mix of Yelloweye and Ball Bat Onagas from the Gulf during this time period.

Also we are seeing some Pompano starting to be landed around Everglade City from the day boats there and we should have Pompano in on Friday.

Northern Gulf & Louisiana

Going around the panhandle into the Northern Gulf and Louisiana, we’re seeing the first boats come in with Gulf Red Snapper. As always prices right now are very, very high. Excellent quality fish on these Gulf Reds but the New York market is driving this price to astronomical levels.

Mississippi has opened for Speckled Trout and Redfish and we’re seeing good catches of those when the boats have the weather to get out. Yesterday we unloaded a boat in Louisiana for Swordfish and Tuna, that should be in first thing in the morning and we should see the beginning of Swordfish and Tuna season out of the Gulf.

In addition, we should see some short-trip Escolar and Wahoo along with these boats. So, all in all, seafood looks to be very plentiful from the Gulf.

Northwest

In the Northwest, we are seeing hardly any landings of Flatfish because of weather. And in fact, the weather is so bad that it is making national news from the California coast all the way to Alaska where the home city of the Copper River, Cordova, has snowed for 20 days straight and left the city buried under 6 feet of snow. We are managing to get small shipments of Alaskan day boat Pacific Cod and prices are much less than Cod out of the Northeast and the quality is exceptional but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of this to go around at this point.

Imports

On an import basis, we are seeing good supplies of Loup de Mer and Dourade. Dourade is a pre-order item coming in from Greece.

Next week we are planning on bringing in Fresh Spanish raised European Turbot. Stay tuned as we will send out a blast e-mail with sizes and prices a couple of days before we receive our shipment.

Scottish Salmon is a little bit higher than it has been but we expect that to moderate over the next week to ten days. There is a little bit of Norwegian Salmon that we are thinking about bringing in as well as good imports of Salmon out of Canada and Chile, so the Salmon situation is about stabilized. It may slightly increase over the next week but we are still crossing our fingers and hoping it does not.

Farm-raised Halibut out of Norway has been problematic in getting larger sizes; 10 lbs. and up. There are plenty of 6.6-11 pounders available at pretty reasonable prices but we have a good program in place on FAS Halibut that we are continuing.

Central and South America

In Central and South America we are seeing good imports of Mahi Mahi. Snapper has been spotty because it takes the boats longer to go out and fish. A lot of boats are not back in after going out after Three Kings Day. This is also affecting Grouper from Mexico and prices are up a good deal on that.

We are getting some good catches of Corvina out of Ecuador to go along with Mahi. Mahi is becoming more and more available and we think the prices will fall in the next two weeks. It will not fall to the prices that we are used to for this time of the year because in the frozen market demand is so strong so prices are staying high.

Fresh Shellfish is almost non-existent. We have a good supply of Gulf Shrimp as well as Mexican Brown and White Shrimp. They are basically the same species that we get out of the Gulf.

Crabmeat from the Gulf and imports on a fresh basis is problematic and will probably stay that way.

Lobster Jumbo Lump, we’re having a little bit produced but again we want to tell you that we have some Lobster Jumbo Lump frozen as well as Claw and Knuckle Meat and a great supply of nitrogen-frozen Maine Lobster Tails. The advantage of Maine Lobster Tails over Canadian is that A) they are easier for the customer to take out of the shell B) they are sweeter and C) they are frozen within three minutes of going through the tunnel instead of being immersed in cold saltwater which the modus operandi of brine-frozen Canadian Lobster Tails.

On the wild side…

On a wild, non-seafood front we are seeing the last of the Chanterelles come in for the season.

After the new report on Truffles we have received a number of requests for Truffles. After the 60 minutes story, we were able to make a great buy out of Europe this week we should have fresh Truffles that were dug on Monday afternoon in our building. Prices are down considerably from where they were on New Year’s Eve and you need to check with your sales rep about availability. We have good amount of availability for tomorrow but there seems to be a high demand, especially at the price we have now which is probably the lowest that we have had in a couple of years.

Land Lovers’ notes…

We have a good inventory now of Painted Hills Beef and they have assured us that their supply glitches are over so you should be good to go for the foreseeable future for Painted Hills as well as our other great protein lines.

Market Report January 4, 2012

January 4, 2012

The first of January begins new seasons and new quotas on different species. In Alaska, we will see the beginning of the Pacific Cod season which should last until April. The positive is that the quota has been increased; there’s plenty of Cod and prices on a worldwide basis are relatively stable. On a negative note, air freight out of Alaska is through the roof and we are going to be paying up to a dollar and a half per pound to fly fish out of Alaska into the Southeast at times this year. All in all, it should be a good season. While the fish will not be cheap it most certainly will be reasonably priced. We are exploring alternative methods of getting fish out of there but as of yet there is nothing to report.

New season quotas begin on Fluke Flounder in the mid-Atlantic this week. New quotas have been issued and boats will start fishing. Of course this is like Alaska, all subject to weather. We don’t think the prices will be as inexpensive as they were in mid-December but we do think that they will certainly be more reasonable than they are this week as quota gets established and boats go out with decent catch limits. We will see.

In the mid-Atlantic Striped Bass will become harder and harder to get until new tags are issued at the end of the month and prices will stay very strong.

There are new quotas now for Black Bass, Tilefish, and certain species of Redfish and Tautog so we could see some of these fish make its way into the marketplace though not enough to bring the market down on those fish.

Scallop quotas begin on April 1^st so there is not a lot of relief expected in that market until then.

In the South, there has been an increase of quota for Grouper and Snapper. We are still unclear as to whether there will be a moratorium for fishing on February 15, 2012. We are still trying to get a definitive answer on that. But there should be some Grouper, domestic at least, in the marketplace. Snapper has been plentiful but very expensive and we expect it to stay that way.

Traditionally, imports on all species like Grouper, all Snapper, and Mahi Mahi are limited for the first 2-3 weeks of the year as fishermen come in to spend time with their family to celebrate Three Kings Day in Central and South America. We think this will hold true this year and fish will get tight and more expensive until around the end of the third week of January when they will loosen up.

Of course traditionally, this is a slow time of year for people eating out in restaurants but it’s a good time for retailers to try to emphasize seafood’s healthy and caloric benefits for New Year’s resolution dieters.

We expect to start seeing more fish come in from New England as the last two and a half to three weeks fish has been very tight. They also have some new restrictions that they are dealing with and we are trying to figure out what those will do to species like Cod, Haddock and Sole from that area. The Gulf of Maine had their Cod quota severely decreased after 5 years of gradual increases in the quota. The government scientists say that this stock of cod was not rebuilding but actually decreasing. Fisherman and other marine scientists say the test were done in waters that the cod were not in because of colder water temperatures when the testing was done. It is a fact that last winter’s extremely cold weather affected the water temperature and the fish were in different areas. This also is true of Maine Shrimp and their seasonal quota was drastically cut.

Fish to feature for the next couple of weeks are species like Amberjack, farm-raised Cobia and farm-raised Atlantic Salmon from Scotland, Chile and Canada as well as new shipments of Norwegian Salmon Trout which has proven to be a very popular fish among all of our customers due to its high-fat content.

Another farm-raised fish that will be plentiful and good to feature is Farmed Halibut from Norway. We will be getting in weekly shipments from Norway starting this week and will continue for the next 2-3 months.

In addition, we have a good supply of previously frozen Alaskan Halibut for those who do not want to spend the money that farm-raised Halibut commands at this point.

Market Report December 22, 2011

December 22, 2011 – Holiday Special Report – The Land Lover’s Market Report…

We have good information for this weekend and New Year’s Eve weekend on our specialty products and fabulous protein selections at Inland Seafood. Exciting things are coming up for this year and we will keep you informed of all the new developments.

SHOW US THE BEEF AT INLAND

If you haven’t tried our amazing Portioned Beef cuts from A. Thomas Meats in Kentucky or Meats by Linz of Calumet City, Illinois (which we think is at least as good as those Famous Brothers from Chicago), we think you need to start looking at these programs for your menu.

Our A. Thomas portioned meat are only cut from upper two-thirds choice Angus cattle from some of the highest quality brands in the industry. We are running a special on A. Thomas Portioned Center-Cut Strips so please give us a call and get your latest price on that cut. A. Thomas is grinding daily fresh Choice Beef, primarily Creekstone, into patties for us so we now stock 10, 8, 7 and 4-ounce patties.

Meats by Linz founded in 1963 in Chicago, custom cuts beef portions in both Prime and Upper 2/3^rdChoice grades. They also offer one of the most impressive dry-aged programs in the country. The craftsmen who hand cut for Linz are the best in the industry. Their trim specs are so tight in fact that they exceed USDA standards. The only complaint we ever get is that they DO NOT LEAVE ENOUGH FAT ON THEIR CUTS. We are a little biased, but we think these are the best steaks that money can buy…period.

Check with your sales rep as we do have inventory on-hand in portioned beef. If you need special orders or special cuts, please let us know. We will be glad to stock at least a week’s worth of inventory in your favorite portions. We are also carrying primal cuts from both of these excellent companies, encompassing a selection of Angus products from high quality farms and processors. This is our first foray into a conventional Angus program that features the best of the best in branded beef, names that you know and trust and you will see them on the side of the box.

Speaking of Beef, Painted Hills seems to have gotten over the hurdles in terms of production. Unfortunately, their prices are up a good bit, but of course the whole beef market is up. In order to compete with the Chipotles and the Whole Foods of the world, Painted Hills was forced to raise their prices to their own partner growers in their program who were being romanced with large premiums on pricing for live cattle by those chains for their natural food programs. We could go on and on about the complexities of the current beef market but we won’t subject you to that. Anyway, we have Tenders, Strips, Ribeyes, a limited amount of Bone-in Standing Rib Roast, as well as all the traditional cuts that you have grown to love. We also have their All-natural, Fresh Ground Beef and their All-natural, Grass-fed Ground Beef which we introduced last week.

To kick off the program we are running a special on the All-natural, Grass-fed Ground Beef from Painted Hills at $3.99/lb. in a 20 lbs. case. In addition, we are featuring Hanging Tenders for $6.99/lb., which is a tremendous price for Painted Hills. We are also offering steak-ready Top Sirloin for $5.49/lb. for this week and next just to spur your interest and get you to try Painted Hills. Please order ahead on Ribeyes, and Export Ribs because we are sure to run out over the next ten days even though we brought in over a hundred cases of each.

For Kobe Style Wagyu Beef we have the All-natural, 100% American-grown Wagyu from Strube Ranch in Texas. We have limited amounts this week and more next week. We have a good selection of cuts but primarily what we have next week will be some Tenderloins, Strips and possibly Ribeyes on a pre-order basis along with steak-ready Sirloin and a good selection of Skirt Steaks and Briskets on-hand.

As far as Australian Beef we have a lot of Strips and Tenderloins on-hand with more expected next week.

VEAL FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The Veal market, which always spikes around Christmas and New Year’s, is even higher this year due to the same issues affecting the beef market which is high export demand coupled with reduced herd sizes and high grain prices. That said we do have a good selection of Marcho Farms Domestic, Amish-raised, milk-fed All-natural Veal as well as Grain-fed, Free-range Le Quebecois Canadian Veal. We have a good selection of all cuts from both companies with a lot of Osso Bucco in both options. We have a good supply of Grain Fed, Canadian 6-bone Veal Racks that produce beautiful loin chops. These would be a great special for your holiday menus. In addition, we are expecting Veal Hanging Tenders from Marcho Farms and we have a good selection of Sweetbreads on hand for New Year’s dinners.

For Le Quebecois, we have a great price on their Veal Top Round which is perfect for medallions and cutlets. We are also running a special on their Boneless Veal Breasts for a $1.99/lb. As you know, boneless veal breasts are a great item to slow-roasting and stuffing and we have a great price on this for the holiday.

WE HAVE A LITTLE LAMB

For Lamb we are now stocking a wide selection of Fresh Domestic Colorado Lamb as well as frozen New Zealand Lamb. We have the all the cuts including Frenched Racks, EZ Cut Shortloins,Tenders and a huge amount of Lamb Shanks coming in for the holidays at really good prices. Please check with your salesperson and get your orders in advance because they are sure to fly out of here.

LITTLE PIGGIES GO TO MARKET

For Eden Farms 100% Berkshire All –Natural Pork we have a big order coming in on Monday. We are very limited on Black Forest and Honey-glazed Hams so order all you can as soon as possible because we will probably be sold out by next week. Please let your salesperson know about your needs for the very popular 10-bone racks and other cuts like tenderloin and the pork sirloin from the Eden Farms All-natural, 100% Berkshire pigs from Iowa. We should have a good supply of pork butts. We are afraid that pork bellies may be a little limited due to high seasonal demand and increased bacon production. We will get some next week so customers who always use this product will get preference. Please call and try to reserve some. We also have a very convenient and value priced product for those of you who love the amazing apple-wood smoked bacon from Eden Farms. Everybody we know goes nuts for this bacon and we now are able to offer some special frozen end-cuts and value-cuts. These are the end trim slices that are the by-product of squaring off the slab bacon for foodservice and retail sliced product. They are fifteen pound cases and sell for only $3.99lb.

Not many people know that we carry a lot of other items including Italian Prosciutto di Parma, American Prosciutto by La Quercia and Spanish Serrano Hams. We also carry Harpers Hams out of Kentucky which make great Southern treats.

ALL SORTS OF BIRDS

In Fowl, we have a great selection of Sonoma Artisan Fresh Magret Breast which is a great holiday item. Seared and sliced magret breast is a great entrée item for this weekend and next. We have a good selection of Foie Gras coming in this week and next as well as a great supply of Smoked Duck Breasts and a limited supply of Pekin Leg Quarters and Drake Legs for confit and we also have rendered duck fat for that. We also carry Bell and Evans Pekin Ducks, Grimauld Farms Muscovy Duck and Jurgielewicz’s Pekin whole ducks and breasts.

South Carolina Squab and Poussin are pre-order items. Please let us know by Friday your needs for next week. They will come into us on Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week.

In addition, we are planning on bringing in a lot of Quail for the holidays so let us know your needs on all of our different Quail selections or any others items you may need in Georgia Grown quail.

Don’t forget about Springer Mountain Farms all-natural Georgia Grown chicken. There’s a reason why sales for this product line have grown at the rate they have. Springer produces the most flavorful, tender and juicy chicken that we have ever tasted. We are now receiving product 3 days a week to offer you optimum freshness and steady supply. It never hurts to pre-order quantity for your upcoming events so that we can assure that we have ample product available. This especially true for their sized 10-12 oz. Split Chicken Breasts and Springer Mountain Airline Breasts.

LOCAL RABBITS

We have a great selection of All-natural Rabbits this weekend, including a good selection of Louisiana frozen Rabbits from the same producer in Louisiana; Rabbit Man Farms.

SPECIALTY PRODUCTS AND OILS, MUSHROOMS, CHEESE, AND TRUFFLES

We always seem to sell out of holiday dips and spreads, so ask your salesperson for the different varieties that we will have.

Wild Mushrooms seem to be disappearing but we will have a good selection of domestically cultivated exotic Mushrooms as well as some last-of-the-season Chanterelles and Hedgehogs.

The big news is that we have our first shipment of Truffles! These black beauties are the first of the season and as always the price is high for New Years’ week. Call and reserve a few ounces of these amazing Truffles for this week or next; we are taking pre-orders.

We also want to remind you that we have a great selection of Black and White Truffle Oil from da Rosario as well as black and white Truffle Butter, black and white Truffle Mayonnaise, and even Truffle Honey to go along with our seven different kinds of Olive Oil from all over the world as well as some of our Nut Oils from France.

We have a superior White Balsamic Vinegar to make a wonderful salad or a syrupy reduction to drizzle over seared foie gras. We even have fresh Greek Olives on hand to make a wonderful New Year’s or Christmas salad.

We have a terrific selection with our 28 different kinds of Domestic and Imported Cheeses and we even have Plugra Butter now. Give your salesperson a call and tell them what you are looking for.

Thanks so much and we wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and a Joyous New Year.

Market Report December 21, 2011

December 21, 2011

We seem to have a fair idea about what will happen with seafood and other proteins for this week and next leading into the New Year so we will give you a rundown.

Florida and Gulf of Mexico Fish and Seafood

There should be some Amberjack showing up from the South Atlantic and the Keys. Because of the influx of tourists in the Keys we think Local Yellow Tail Snapper as well as Stone Crabs will be expensive. Stones are always tight for New Year’s Eve.

There will be a good supply of Fresh Florida Red Grouper coming in before the Holiday and right after Christmas for delivery next week. Prices will probably remain constant. Along with this, there will be some small amounts of Day-boat Black Grouper as well as a limited amount of Scamp landed but we expect to be forced to pay strong prices on these fish.

Gulf Red Snapper will be coming in along with the Grouper as boats finish out the quota. We do not expect these to be less expensive than they have been running because this is the most popular fish from the south in the Northeast and end of the year demand will keep prices where they are if not cause a slight increase. The good news is that it appears that we will be able to get some here for New Year’s celebrations.

We are expecting some good landings of domestic Tuna and Swordfish out of Leeville, Louisiana this weekend and early next week. The prices will be competitive with imports and the quality will be A plus and you will be supporting our local Gulf fisherman.

In addition, we will also have some domestically caught by-catch like Escolar, Wahoo, Dolphin, Mako Shark and perhaps the first Gulf Bluefin of the season. Please ask your salesperson about this every day as these fish are very limited. As a backup Inland carries Frozen Sashimi Grade Escolar, Wahoo portions (at great prices) as well as Saku Blocks of Bluefin Toro for you.

We hope to have more Lake Pontchartrain Black Drum as well as the first of the season Giant Sheephead in this weekend from the Bayous of Louisiana.

Mid Coast Atlantic Seafood

From the mid-Atlantic, we will have some Wild Chesapeake Striped Bass; it will still be expensive in every size because the price never dropped this season. It is a wonderful fish and we should have a good shipment in this week and probably next. Please let your sales person know now so we can set it aside for you upon arrival.

We may also see a little bit of Triggerfish, but that too will be very expensive. We have a decent inventory of frozen Triggerfish fillet to insure you of availability and the prices are about half what fresh is running.

Mid Atlantic Fluke/Flounder is going to be very plentiful and should be a great feature for everyone’s menu; prices should be moderate. We believe this is the perfect seafood item to feature for the next 6-10 weeks. It is a great local day-boat fishery as well as a sustainable well managed fish that has made a remarkable recovery in the Mid –Atlantic and now all can share in this success story. They come in Medium(1-2 lbs) Large(2-4 lbs)and Jumbo (4-8lbs). Prices increase depending on size with the jumbos being a great sub for Halibut.

North Atlantic Seafood

North Atlantic fish will probably go up in price. We do have a little bit of Gooseberry Cod coming in from Cleanfish. It is a great item. We will also have a little bit of Wild Atlantic Cod but prices will be high. (Please remember that Fresh Alaskan Cod will start the first week of January at good prices).

Skatewing and Haddock should be plentiful but prices will stay strong at about where they are now. It is important to pre-order Skate because we are sure to run out and we like to sell it within a day of arrival to give you the best quality!

We will have a good supply of FAS Wolfish as well.

Please let us know what your needs are for North Atlantic Scallops. We should be able to supply what you need as long as we have pre-orders. Nantucket Bays may be available depending on weather but we are sure these prices will be higher than this week. Check with your salesperson and let us know what you will need because we do not want to speculate on these jewels.

Squid is very scarce. Please give us your pre-orders for Rhode Island Squid so you won’t be disappointed. Most of the boats are not catching a lot at this point and are coming in for the holiday.

Imported Farmed Fish from the World

We are expecting a shipment this week from Norway of Farmed Halibut and some beautiful FAS (frozen at sea) Alaskan Halibut.

Farmed Salmon from across the world looks to be more plentiful this week and next if the planes fly. We had some delays due to storms in Scotland and full airplanes this past week but those issues are now behind us. Chilean flights have been full with produce and there was a jet fuel scare as well. These issues have subsided and we now have some shipments coming in.

We also have another shipment this week and next of Norwegian Salmon Trout which is the nicest Farmed Salmonoid available. The meat is so full of fat that clever restaurants are taking the bellies and making bacon out of them!

We will have Farmed Atlantics from the Pacific NW, Chile and Scotland as well as some Norwegian Salmon fillets.

In addition, if want to walk on the wild side, we recommend that you look at our frozen IVP Wild Sockeye and King Salmon which were pin boned within hours of being caught!

There should be plenty of Farmed Redfish for the Holidays from Texas next week.

From Panama, we have ordered a lot of Farmed Cobia that is sushi grade. Because of our buying power, we will be offering special deals on this through the first of the year beginning Thursday at a price that is too low to publish so call your Inland Sales rep. This is an item to look at for a reasonable menu choice and we will be dropping our prices this week and next for the Holidays so call and find out about the most reasonably priced new farmed fish coming into the marketplace!

For other imported Farmed Fish, please let us know your needs for Farmed Turbot from Chile and Loup de Mer from Greece. We need to place orders by Thursday this week for next week delivery. Product is more reasonable than last year because of the strength of the dollar but we must have pre-orders to make sure you have the product as these places will close for the holidays.

For freshwater items, Catfish is plentiful although the price is astronomical.

Rainbow Trout which has also gone up in price is tight from our local sources in the Carolinas but imports seem to be more available. Please let us know what you are going to need on imported Rainbows because supply seems to be a little dicey during the Holidays because of a reduced harvest schedule.

South and Central American Wild Fish

From Central and South America we should be fine with Grouper fillet from Mexico with stable prices through the New Year.

We could see some Yellowtail Snapper coming from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. Prices look to be very strong.

Mahi will not be dropping in price but there should be a decent supply coming in from Central and South America. World-wide demand is huge and the frozen market is keeping the price higher and maybe even pushing it up.

From overseas, we should see some Tuna as well as a shipment of Itsumo Tuna from the Philippines. Itsumo is always a good consistent natural super red color product to consider.

Dotted and Mutton Snapper are questionable coming out of Central and South America and the price is way high.

In addition, items from Central and South America, like Corvina and Agria, seem more scarce than usual.

Wahoo, Trippletail and Kingclip seem harder and harder to get.

Shellfish of all kinds

We think Lobster will inch up a little but they are pretty stable in price. It is still a lot cheaper than it was last year. A great bargain this year is our own cold water nitrogen frozen Maine Lobster Tails. We have every size from 3-4 ozs. to 12-14ozs. at super prices and we are MAKING DEALS ON QUANTITY PURCHASES!

Our tails are vastly superior and taste better as well as easier to use than the Canadian product that is full of salty brine. Plus you get more weight without the saltwater inside the tails.

Imported and Domestic Crabmeat is going through the roof. Pasteurized is also very high this year. Actually, our Maine Jumbo Lobster Lump is now cheaper than Blue Crab Jumbo Lump! We also have a good inventory of the Jumbo Lobster Lump as a back-up in stock now.

We are bringing in as much Fresh Lobster Jumbo Lump as we can. We are also bringing in Fresh Picked Lobster Meat this week and next.

We should have all sizes of Lobsters but please let us know your pre-orders so we can order correctly.

Other shellfish like Clams and Mussels should be available but we will need to know what you will need in advance.

Another Christmas and New Year’s favorite is Florida Stone Crabs. We will have some limited amounts but they will be expensive.

We will be in good supply for Oysters, both Southern Gallons and Shell Stock. Again, you need to let us know what you will need, especially for West Coast Oysters. Thursday will be an absolute cut-off for West Coast Oyster as well as Manilla Clams and Med Mussels.

We should have some Laughing Bird and Rock Shrimp if you let us know far in advance.

We have lots of Woodsmoke Provisions Smoked Seafood in stock now. Please let us know if you will need some of the specialty flavors they produce.

In addition, we have some Acme/Florida Smoked Salmon for $10.49 that is on special this week. We also have some Ducktrap Smoked Salmon, smoked trout, smoked mussels, shrimp, and scallops, in stock for your parties and buffets. We also have smoked marlin, as well as, smoked sturgeon; which is a Holiday favorite.

Caviar is in good supply. We have many different types including the locally raised and Sustainably Farmed UGA Caviar. Caviar is even down in price this year. Check with your sales rep for the types and availability as soon as possible on all our caviars.

Everyone at Inland Seafood wishes you a Healthy, Happy and Successful Holiday season!

Market Report December 7, 2011

December 7, 2011

This week is when holiday parties really begin in earnest and we have a great selection of fish. Everything seems to be going according to our predictions from last week.

We are seeing a good run of Grouper in right now, so that is something to look at for the next 10 days

We are also having moderate amounts of Tuna and Swordfish coming into our plant this week as boats fish during the full moon (Dec.10th). Swordfish is expensive but the quality is still superb and Tuna is climbing a bit.

Imported Red Snapper is expensive this week but we hope to see prices moderate towards the end of the week as well as availability picking up on Dotted Lane Snapper. Genuine American Reds are actually more plentiful than imports at this point and prices are about where they have been.

Mahi Mahi, because of the full moon in 3 days, will become more expensive. It will probably go up in price but we expect it to fall right after the boats come in from fishing the full moon. Cold water off the coast of Peru and Ecuador is limiting catches to only the boats that are large enough to go out to sea 75 miles offshore.

We are seeing some Wild Striped Bass coming in out of Virginia and North Carolina and it is expensive. We don’t think prices will moderate.

Flounder is starting to come in but it is slightly more expensive than we had predicted. We have a good charge coming in today as we bought a whole trip and the trip limit now is 5,000 lbs. per boat. We do not know the breakdown between medium, large, and jumbo but there will be some for everybody. We know the quality will be superb but prices will be slightly up from what we predicted.

Good news on the Salmon front. We have a good supply of larger whole Atlantic Salmon from the U.S. and Canada, as well as new Scottish Salmon coming in at the end of the week. Because of bad storms in Scotland we have only a limited amount of Scottish fillets and whole fish in house. By next week things should straighten out and there should be plenty of availability. To make up for this we have decided to bring in a lot of Norwegian pre-rigor fillets and we pin-bone it in-house. The quality is superb and the size is very large. We think you will be very pleased with this item and it is the same price as Scottish. We also think we’ll see a lot of Atlantic fillets out of Chile for the next few weeks and they should remain steady, or may even fall, depending on what demand is like.

Another good thing is that we have a good variety of small amounts of fish for holiday specials and special dinners for your customers including small amounts of Domestic Florida Pompano, Red and Black Day Boat Grouper, South Carolina Wreckfish, Haddock, Cod, Skate, Pollock, and Lake Pontchartrian Drum. We also have plenty of North Georgia-farmed Sturgeon, Redfish, Cobia, Loup de Mer, and Norwegian 10/15 Farmed Halibut.

In addition, we have wonderful quality FAS Halibut.

For this upcoming week we have a good supply of fresh East Coast White Shrimp; it may be the end of the season depending on the weather. We also have Nantucket Bay Scallops, Stones Crabs, and Domestic Crab Meat coming in as well as Down East Maine Peekytoe Crab meat and Lobster Jumbo Lump for the entire week.

We have a good variety of Shellfish including West Coast Oysters and Manila Clams as well as Mediterranean Mussels. In addition, we have a great selection of Oysters from everywhere. Oysters are plentiful and the quality is exceptional coming in and we should see more production out of the East Coast and the Gulf with very good prices.

Now is the time to stock up on Caviar and Smoked Salmon. The great news is that Woodsmoke is back into full production and we have our famous Woodsmoke Provisions Smoked Salmon and Pecan-Smoked Trout back in and you should be able to get all that you want for the holidays.

Another great thing that is happening this week is that we have a good supply of Painted Hills All-Natural Beef coming in today. We have every cut of Beef in good supply with the exception of Boneless Ribeyes. In addition, we ordered forty cases of Standing Rib Roast for the holidays but we were only able to get 10 and those will be first come, first serve for the famous Painted Hills All-Natural, Hormone-free Beef.

We are also excited to announce that we are carrying Painted Hill Grass-fed Ground Beef in a 20 lb. case. They are packed 4x5 at a price that is about a dollar less than any of the local grass-fed Beef. It’s the same structure/format as Painted Hills All-Natural Beef except that this is 100% grass-fed. We’ve been a long time user of Painted Hills and they have come to the plate and told us to let them know what we need and they would do everything to fulfill your needs.

In addition, we have wonderful Meats by Linz, which is a first-line, Allen Brothers’ type of Chicago beef house with quality that is as good as, if not superior to, theirs. They do a dry-aged Prime and their portioned Beef is trimmed better than anyone else in the business. When you open the box you can see the grade, and what you see on the side of the box will definitely be what you see when you open the box. It is truly an extraordinary program.

We also have the Portioned Beef from A. Thomas out of northern Kentucky which takes an upper 2/3rd cut and portions it for us to order using Creekstone and other great brands of beef to make a great portion beef.

We will have a good supply of Veal for this season with Marcho Farms and Le Quebecois as well as a great supply of All-Natural, Domestic Lamb, Montana Ranch All-Natural Piedmontese Beef and Strube Ranch Kobe Beef in good numbers for the holidays.

For Fowl, we have the Jurgielewicz Pekin Duck products as well as Springer Mountain Chicken, Palmetto Squab and Poussin and of course a great selection of Magret Duck Breast, Foie Gras, Duck Legs, Duck Fat, and Smoked Duck Breast by the good folks at Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras from Sonoma County, California.

Market Report December 01, 2011

December 1, 2011

Hopefully this is the quiet before the storm of business for the holidays. The celebration of Christmas and New Year’s/holiday season is what everyone is looking forward to with hope at this time. We think we have a somewhat more clear understanding of what is happening in seafood and other proteins. Let Inland give you our best guess views.

For fresh fish the Halibut season is over in Alaska and in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll see some shots of very expensive East Coast Halibut come into the marketplace as well as some spendy farm raised Halibut from Norway and Scotland.

This year we have decided to revive our frozen-at-sea (FAS) refreshed Halibut program from years past. We are re-introducing this product at really attractive prices for the month of December. It will be at $14.99/lb for skin-on, $15.99/lb for skin-off, and $18.59/lb for portions. These prices are well under where the fresh Pacific Halibut season closed and the quality is excellent.

In addition, in the marketplace this week we are seeing more Striped Bass. For some reason demand in New York City is keeping that price up even though there is more fish. We have some big, gorgeous sushi product here and on the way. We think we should see fish for most of the month, or at least until the fishermen’s tags run out, which should be between the 20th and Christmas. Each licensed fisherman gets a certain number of tags to fill his quota and every fish we receive has these tags so we know these are legally and sustainably caught. Some people still have a good amount of tags and there are plenty of fish in the water.

Black Bass is also available but will be expensive and supply will be spotty. Also in the mid-Atlantic we are seeing a huge run of Flounder that should last almost all of the month. Prices are down and this would be a great fish to feature for the entire month of December as we think, barring major weather incidents, there should be great landings. We are receiving 3-5 deliveries per week from up and down the mid-Atlantic seaboard from various ports.

As a by-catch to the flounder fishing, we are getting excellent quality Monkfish at good prices. As long as Flounder is being caught we should see a good supply of Monkfish ,aka poor man’s lobster or Lotte in French, at more reasonable prices than they have been.

The Mahi Mahi market is still in a state of flux because the demand for frozen has made the beach price very high. Although Mahi should be lower than it is now, it is staying more expensive than it should be. We anticipate the price will drop somewhat over the next 10 days until we see the full moon on the 10th and then after that it will hopefully drop more around the 17th of December. Prices are still more reasonable now than during the summer and early fall for this versatile fish.

There are landings all over the world now on Corvina. We were informed that Baja Redfish, which is a relative of the Corvina, is no longer an acceptable name according to the FDA. We are told we can now call it Baja Sea trout and are going to market and bring it in the coming weeks at attractive prices.

We’ve had some interest in Kona Kampachi. We had test shipments for a couple of weeks in November and now the fish are larger, but so is the price. It will probably be $2-3 more per pound and we would like your input on whether this would be a fish to bring in for the holiday season. It is excellent for both sushi and barely-cooked entrees and is comparable to Hamachi that is going for over $12.00/lb on a frozen product so this is really a deal.

Another fish to look at for the upcoming month would be farmed Cobia from Panama. The product is exceptionally fresh and is very versatile in all sorts of applications from sushi to grilling and has a sweet taste reminiscent of a cross between Grouper and Swordfish.

We were able to get a good trip of Wreckfish off of the South Carolina coast in this week. Wreckfish has often been sold as Grouper in the past but we think it is an entirely different meaty, flaky fish that is great by itself under its own name and is a sustainable limited fishery.

The good news on Grouper is that we are starting to see some easing in pricing as boats start switching gears in Mexico from Octopus to Grouper. The recent cold front that brought the boats in from Mexico and in the Gulf has put a lot of fish in the market and therefore the price is down considerably. We don’t know what will happen for the rest of the month but for the next 10 days prices are going down.

There will be good supplies of both Puppy Drum and Large Lake Pontchartrain Drum at reasonable prices coming in as the weather cools down out of Louisiana. It also will start the beginning of the Jumbo Sheephead season. Sheephead makes an excellent fillet, and a lot of people in other markets have used this as a substitute for Speckled Trout and Snapper, but it’s a great fish in its own right.

Along with Grouper, Snapper is beginning to ease somewhat and we hope that trend continues. It will at least be more reasonable for the next ten days and we hope that continues through the entire month but we are not certain of that. We are getting shipments almost daily of Dotted Lanes and we do have some Gulf Reds from short-trip boats out of the Gulf of Mexico and Yelloweye Snapper that landed in the US from boats that are fishing in Caribbean waters off of the East Coast. All are beautiful quality fish.

Swordfish is an item that will be more expensive as we get into the winter months unless we see an increase of landings out in the Pacific, especially Hawaii, which used to be a good resource for Swordfish until environmentalists put a lawsuit against Swordfish fleets because of a by-catch of turtles. We all love turtles but we all love Swordfish too. Now the boats are required to take an observer aboard the ship to monitor the turtle by-catch. Hopefully we will have a good season this year.

Fish in the Northeast will remain very tight as weather begins to play a more important role in determining the supply and availability of species there. For example, Haddock and Cod will become scarcer and probably more expensive; and the Alaskan Cod season which is a beautiful, great value won’t begin until January 1st in any strength so Cod will be an item that will be more expensive. We are starting to bring in, this upcoming week, some of Clean Fish’s Gooseberry Cove Cod which is a wild-caught and then ranched Cod from Newfoundland. The quality is just exceptional but it will not be inexpensive. It is a very top-shelf fish.

Another issue is a worldwide shortage of not only Octopus, which we have talked about, but now Squid. Squid inventories are at a world low point and Squid demand is at a world high point. With the burgeoning middle class in Asia, who have as great affinity for Squid, prices have gone up 15% over the last two weeks and our indications are that they will continue to go up in the upcoming weeks. There is a worldwide shortage and unfortunately we are forced to pass the price increase along for squid from just about all areas.

Another thing that will probably go up in price and we would like to warn you about (you should make some purchases now) is Shrimp, especially all your larger sizes of Cooked and Raw-Peeled, De-veined Tail-on and Tail-off Shrimp that come from Asia. Due to flooding, increased demand and diseases in some of the shrimp farms where the larger Shrimp grow they will be bringing a higher premium than they have in years past. It is wise to stock up now for the holidays, buy all you can because the prices are sure to go up.

Shell-on Headless Shrimp from the US and Mexico will go up as well but not quite as dramatically, we don’t feel, until January and February. We do have some good buys on domestic Louisiana Shrimp in 16/20’s, 21/25’s, and 26/30’s as well as the all-natural Clean Fish’s Costa Rican 16/20 and 21/25 farmed product.

For Farmed Salmon, we’ll see some slight increases for Atlantic Fillets due to the holidays and increased demand. With the possibility of weather affecting supplies of fish out of Scotland and Norway, those countries' products will probably get more expensive. For example, the price to us raised almost $0.40 per pound due to what they call a hurricane that affected Northern Scotland and Norway and cancelled harvest for four days. The storm did damage to the boats that harvest the pens in the northern waters where Scotland and Norway farm their fish.

Scallops remain expensive and will get more so as the holidays approach. With colder weather we will see Nantuckets drying up. It is a rule that they cannot harvest the Nantucket Scallop when the atmospheric temperature is below 25 degrees.

Crab Meat will begin to go up slightly and it is our opinion that Pasteurized Crab Meat will continue to rise in price. We should see a good supply coming in from Central and South America on Blue Crab Meat, as well as from local production, both of which will increase in price. The good news is that we have found another source for locally picked and hand-harvested Peekytoe Crab Meat right next to our lobster facility in Millbridge, ME and weather permitting we will be getting deliveries 2-3 times per week. The good news here is that we were able to buy this product and not raise prices whatsoever.

Stone Crabs always become more popular as the holidays approach but this year looks like a bad year. Hopefully we will see an increase in Crabs in the traps as the holidays get closer and the weather fronts make the Crabs start moving around a little bit more.

On the exotic farm-raised front, we should have good supplies of Loup de mer during most of the holiday. We will also start to bring in farm-raised Turbot from Chili beginning next week that is not going to be a pre-order item. We are going to have 1-2 whole and 3-4 whole fish along with some fillets. Please check with your sales people for new prices for next week, they will be more reasonable than they have been.

Oysters should remain very constant and steady in price and the quality of Oysters always improves as cold weather hits, especially Southern Oysters. These become a real value at this time. This also is a really good time to look at Mussels. We are now carrying three types of Mussels. We carry a Maine Mussel, of course we carry our PEI and we are starting to bring in the Mediterranean Mussels out of Washington State which are very similar to the Mussels which are grown in Europe. This is why people always thought the European Mussels were superior to ours. It is a slightly different species. We think it’s a matter of taste and preference.

Clams should be plentiful. We will start bringing more and more West Coast product as the season develops and it’s an item that we should become more competitive with as we are trying to figure out unique transportation and ways to get the product into the Southeast.

The Land Lovers’ Protein Report

Painted Hills Natural Beef has had some production issues over the last four weeks. It seems that Whole Foods and Chipotles Mexican Restaurant have driven the price of all-natural, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, birthed-to-box Beef up and a couple of the ranchers who are in the Painted Hills program have decided to temporarily leave for greener pastures; the green meaning more money.

So Whole Foods is now affecting Painted Hills Beef. Painted Hills has assured us that they have had to increase the prices that they are paying their ranchers and have gotten everybody back. This is the first week that we will see a good harvest from them and we will have good supplies in stock by the middle of next week on all items except for boneless ribeyes which will probably be the following week.

It is really a testament to the Painted Hills brand and quality that Whole Foods and Chipotles have targeted their beef and ranchers in particular as opposed to going into the marketplace and trying to find their own product.

We do have some other all-natural, birth-to-box product from Creekstone in hand as well as Montana Ranch Piedmontese Beef. For those who are wondering we are now carrying a upper ⅔ Angus program on Premium Choice Angus Beef of conventionally raised beef.

We also have portions to match at very, very comparative prices. When you look in the box we think you will see that the quality and grade is exceptional, especially compared to what you may be getting locally. In addition, Inland Seafood is now representing what we consider to be the finest Chicago Beef House in the United States, Meats By Linz. It is a family operation run by the Linz family and is a third generation meat company that, in four tests over the last two weeks, has beaten the Famous Brothers meat company from Chicago.

Meat by Linz is an artisan meat company. They hand cut by skilled butchers and also do dry-aged prime product that is second to none. Very expensive but when only the best will do this is what you want to look at for sure.

We have a good inventory of all natural domestic Lamb as well as Le Quebecois and Marcho Farms all-natural Veal for the holiday season. The folks at Eden Farms All-natural Berkshire Pork have given us an extra allocation of Pork since we have done such a good job of moving their product. They have doubled the amount of product that they have made available to us.

For all the Land Lover Protein products that we carry, if you would like some insight into them please contact Phil Fortson, our specialty protein director for information Phil.Fortson@Inlandseafood.com or call him at the office to ask him about our programs. He can answer any questions that you may have as well as walk you through all the special characteristics that you may want on any of the all-natural and conventional top-end proteins. He’ll help expedite any special cuts that you may need.

Market Report November 22, 2011

November 22, 2011

*We have special hours for Thanksgiving and special cut-offs are scheduled for this week. We will be open Friday and Saturday for deliveries; please contact your sales representative for the special cut-off times.

WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKEND SPECIALS FOR THIS SHORT WEEK

FRESH NANTUCKET BAY SCALLOPS @ $21.99/lb

Skin/on Corvina Fillets @ $8.59/lb | skin/off @ $9.45 | portions @ $10.95/lb

We want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully things will get back to normal as far as seafood for the end of November and the month of December.

Our forecasts, which are subject to change depending on the latest government regulations and weather incidents, are that Swordfish will be tight due to seasonal closures and poor catches from the South and Central America. Maybe it will change as the weeks go on. There is hope for a Hawaiian Swordfish season in the Western Pacific that would give us a good source of high-quality Swordfish but it remains to be seen whether the government agencies and the NGO partners are going to allow the boats to fish.

There seems to be a lot of Tuna in Central and South America close to shore. So Tuna, at least number 2 quality Tuna, will be down for the month of December from the highs of the last couple of months. High-quality Tuna will probably go to the highest bidder and the bidding for high-quality Tuna is now up dramatically because of demand in Asia for sushi-grade fish. There will be plenty of good number 2 which is perfect for all sorts of recipes that require any type of cooking.

Flounder is finally starting to be landed in Virginia and North Carolina and there are decent quotas at least for the first part of December. Prices are coming down and if the weather will hold, will stay down and possibly even fall.

The same is true for Striped Bass. The fish are there and it’s just a matter of fishermen getting out and whether they have enough tags to go out and actualize the fish that are now abundant in the water.

Grouper will be tight for most of the month. In Mexico record high Octopus prices mean that they will be fishing for Octopus instead of Grouper. In the U.S. a lot of boats are out of Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) even though the total catch limit has not been reached on Red Grouper. So the guess here is that Grouper will be tight most of the month and expensive.

We’re seeing a good run of Corvina which interestingly enough comes closer to shore during wetter weather in Central and South America. The forecast has changed recently and now there looks like there is another La Nina developing in Central America which means that we will have a repeat of last year where you will see some Tuna, Corvina and very little Snapper, Grouper and Mahi Mahi. Mahi will not be as plentiful as usual but there will be some good landings and prices will come down over time. But the frozen market is so strong in the U.S. and overseas that we won’t see the lows that we have in the past for Mahi.

Quotas are almost over for Scallops and prices are going up. The initial forecasts on Lobster are good and the prices are very reasonable. We expect them to stay reasonable for the first couple of weeks of December and then go up as Christmas and New Year’s approach. A lot depends on the European economy and the dollar/euro valuation as things in Europe, as the headlines are noting, are not robust. That may put a damper on overseas demand for Live Lobsters so that could lead to a more moderate price through Christmas and New Year. Time will tell about that.

We have good inventories of Lobster Tails and are very competitive on Maine-produced, nitrogen-frozen Lobster Tails. We stress this because with nitrogen-frozen Lobster Tails the meat is whiter, you have less sticking to the shell, and in addition the meat is cleaner and sweeter tasting and is not nearly as chewy as a brine-frozen Canadian Lobster Tail.

Also, because of the brine freezing process, around 4-6% water is incorporated into the Lobster Tail. If you take a 4-5oz Maine tail that is produced with nitrogen freezing and compare it to one that is done in Canada under brine freezing you will probably get 1-2 more Tails per 10 lb case. So really if the price is slightly higher on a nitrogen-frozen product you are getting:

1) a better, more flavorful lobster tail
2) a more usable weight in the tail

We should have some availability of Fresh Lobster Jumbo Lump through December; prices may go back up it just depends on the catch. We do have an inventory of Frozen Jumbo Lobster Lump for those who have become addicted to this great item.

Crab Meat in general usually goes up at this time of year. This will probably be the case for Imported Pasteurized Crab Meat. Snow Crab prices remain steady while King Crab is actually through the roof and at record highs.

We are still getting some Shrimp and if the weather stays moderate we should have Fresh Shrimp from the Gulf and the East Coast of the United States, for at least the first two weeks of December and hopefully beyond. Frozen prices are inching up on Domestically-produced White Shrimp and also those coming out of Mexico. If you can, now is the time to make some buys as we have some features for the next week or so.

The All-Natural and Commodity Beef, Pork, and Veal market prices are skyrocketing. We anticipate the strongest prices that we have ever seen. One piece of good news is that we have locked in prices with the good folks at Eden Farms until the end of the year so those prices will not change. Therefore, the Eden Farm All-Natural Pork may be a great item to use in the month of December to shift attention away from the higher Beef and Veal prices.

We are officially out of Turkeys now but we have good deals on Eden Farms Honey-glazed Spiral-sliced & Black Forest Hams for those who want to do an unusual Thanksgiving.

We’re back in stock with the famous Jurgielewicz Farms for their Fresh All-natural Ducks and we’ll have plenty of supply this season.

In addition, we have a good selection of Frozen Wild Game on hand as well as Fresh Lamb and Frozen New Zealand Lamb for the holidays.

We have lots of Appetizers in stock and we are actually making deals for the holidays to move some inventory. Please check with your salesperson about these items.

All of us at Inland Seafood would like to wish you a Healthy, Successful and Happy Thanksgiving!

Market Report November 17, 2011

Thanksgiving is a week away from today and while everybody’s mind is on the great feast ,and any turkey still walking on the earth is very nervous, we have a couple of great features for the weekend that revolve around seafood.

First and foremost we have a good buy on Tuna this weekend. We are featuring number 2 bread-loaf loins from Louisiana and Central America @ Skin/on Tuna Loins for 7.39 lb.; Tuna Breadloaf Loins for $9.39/lb.; and Steaks for $10.99/lb.

We also received some of the last of the season Alaskan King Crab Clusters that weigh almost 2 pounds each for $21.95 per pound. This is about the same price as big frozen legs but they are fresh!

By the way we would like to mention, for those of you who are not aware, nobody does portioning better that Inland Seafood. We may charge a little bit more but we give you a usable, beautiful portioned fish that is what you would want for a plate presentation if you cut it yourself. We probably cut more off than anybody else in the industry to give you a good plate presentation and that’s why we charge a little bit more for the product than our competitors, but the workmanship and the quality will be so much better and this we guarantee or your money back.

The other feature that we have for this weekend is 3-4 oz. Mahi Mahi value portions at $3.99/lb. This is a by-product of our portioning program and this just goes to show you that we cut a lot off of the fish when we portion your product. It is sort of like buying a center cut strip steak versus a vein-in strip steak. You always get what you pay for; especially with fresh portioned seafood.

We just received a shipment of Eden Farms Spiral-Sliced Berkshire Pork Smoked Hams today right out of the Eden Farms smoker. Normally we do a pre-sale on these but we did not do that this year. They have become so popular we brought in a lot of hams for Thanksgiving and it is first come, first serve.

But if you did not pre-order your Turkeys from Bell & Evans, all we really have left are larger Turkeys, 16 lbs and up at this point. Please tell your sales rep what you would need of these as we have very few available. We are talking to Bell and Evans, as well as Koch All-Natural, about additional birds so if you did not pre-order and want the very best give us your wish list. We will see what we can find.

Another piece of great news we want to share with you is that after a remodeling of the smoker, Woodsmoke Provisions is back in business with their wonderful Smoked Salmon. We now have a great inventory of their Pre-Sliced Blue Label Salmon sides, flavored smoked sides as well as their world famous, at least Southern famous, Pecan-Smoked North Carolina Trout. Call and stock up for the holidays. We know it is fresh as it actually came out of the smoker yesterday. It couldn’t be any better for the holidays .We carry other labels and brands but the outcry from customers made us realize how special this Handcrafted product truly is in this industrial world.

We are also running specials on various Appetizers which would be good for any buffet or banquet that you are going to hold for the holidays. In addition we will be running some close outs on some items that may be good for your buffet. Check with your Inland sales rep and see what we are offering because we have limited quantities for the couple of items that would be great on a holiday buffet if you feed a lot of people.

Again we ask you to let us know about Shucked Oysters, Clams, Fresh and Pasteurized Crabmeat and Oysters on the Half-Shell for the holiday because they are sure to go very, very quickly and we want to make sure that you are covered.

On the Fresh Fish front we have never seen prices this high going into to week of Thanksgiving. Normally we see prices really come way down before Thanksgiving but this year it doesn’t appear that is going to happen.

Grouper is still astronomical. Grouper and Snapper are very high due to poor weather in the fishing areas in the United States and in Central America but we did get some Caribbean Red Snapper and Mexican Grouper this morning.

We are expecting a boatload of Domestic Red Grouper this evening as well.

Swordfish is very high because the catch is over in New England.

Even Mahi Mahi, which should be very plentiful right now, is up in price because of poor weather and what appears to be the beginning of another La Nina in Central America. We are sending a member of our staff into the field in Guatemala and Honduras, where the Mahi shows up first in the season, over the weekend to get measurements of the water temperature and see what the boats are saying directly. We hope to have this report by Monday or Tuesday to let you know if it is indeed another La Nina in the making. It would be very unusual if this happens but it is not unheard of.

Scallops are expensive but we did get some Nantucket Bays. We hope to have some more for the weekend but we are not positive. We will get a little for the beginning of the week but traditionally luxury seafood is on the back burner as the turkey is in the oven.

Flounder and Striped Bass from Virginia, which is normally very plentiful at this time, have really not begun, largely due to weather and rough seas. We’re just not sure why there is not more product in the marketplace at this point but there definitely is not enough to moderate prices. Everything seems to be very tight in seafood, we hope the situation gets better over the next couple of days.

On Farm-Raised Salmon, we will have a good supply of whole, gorgeous Scottish Salmon, as well as Scottish and Norwegian Filets and regular Atlantic Filets. We are bringing in a big shipment this weekend, due to special orders, of Norwegian Salmon Trout/Steelhead. To compare this Norwegian Salmon Trout/Steelhead to the Salmon Trout/Steelhead that comes out of Chili or Canada is like comparing dry aged prime beef with select no-grade beef although they are the same genetic species. The difference is night and day and your customer will appreciate the difference. The marbling is unbelievable; this is a beautiful fish for you to consider using.

Please give us all of your pre-orders for Wild Mushrooms, especially Chanterelles, because there is a high demand for Mushrooms during the holiday next week.

Market Report November 11, 2011

November 11, 2011

In preparation for the big day, our Bell & Evans’ Turkeys are arriving next week; if you have not placed your pre-order we will have some extras so ask your sales representative for details.

The great news this week is that after a needed plant refurbishing, Woodsmoke Provisions is back in full production for the holidays. We will have some of their Famous Smoked Pecan Trout and Smoked Salmon (along with all of the other wonderful preparations they create) and hope to be in full swing just in time by Monday. We are receiving product almost daily so check with your sales representative for a list of the current Woodsmoke smoked seafood inventory.

As we move into the holidays, Stone Crabs look good for next week. Traditionally, everyone thinks about turkeys so the market usually comes down on these delicious crabs from Florida. We hope this is true for the coming week. It would be a good time to feature them on your menu. In addition, we are receiving what is probably our last shipment of Fresh Alaskan King Crab for this year.

We are also starting to see some Wild Striped Bass and Fluke/Flounder out of Virginia; at better prices.

The Grouper market is still very, very tight and expensive. It will probably continue to be this way until the 1st of December when octopus fishing ends in Mexico.

The Salmon market is about steady for the holidays. We will have a good supply of Whole Scottish Salmon as well as the seafood hit of the year; Norwegian Salmon Trout (Steelhead). The fish are averaging 13 pounds and are as fat as Bluefin Tuna!

These fish eat better than any farm raised Salmon, ever. It is an all-natural product with a sustainable feed program. We have their feed profile available for you if you ask your salesperson. This is a great item at a great price and an Inland Seafood exclusive. It is probably the best Salmon type on the market now that the wild season is, for all intents and purposes, over.

Speaking of wild, at the height of the season we put up some good inventories of vac-packed, pin bone out, Sockeye Salmon and King Salmon Fillets. Ask your salesperson for these prices. We are selling them by the side as well as 30 pound cases which are selling at a discount over single side purchases.

Swordfish is tight, but that is typical as we head into the full moon. We expect supplies to increase next week as boats return from fishing the full moon.

In addition, Tuna is more reasonable on number 2’s this week and we have some good prices. Sushi-grade Tuna, and Sushi-grade Itsumo Tuna, are also available but very, very expensive.

Cod out of the Northeast is tight because of the storm last week and we are not getting any Alaskan Cod because of a huge storm in that region; Pacific product is very tight because of that.

We are still having good supplies of Fresh Shrimp come in from the Georgia Coast, as well as, the Carolinas.

Please let us know what you are going to need in the way of Oysters (both shucked and in shell) for next two weeks. Supply in the Gulf and mid-Atlantic is tight but because of our relationships and paying our bills on time we should have the ability to bring in whatever you need for your Oyster dressing and shellfish platters for the holidays; if we know early.

All Shellfish should be in good supply for the holidays for in-shell product for Lobsters, Stone Crabs, Crabmeat, and all type of clams, and mussels. Any pre-orders will have priority so please tell your sales rep.

Lobsters, especially big Lobsters, are coming down in price. There are major price decreases on large Lobsters starting this weekend. They are on our weekend specials.

Market Report November 2, 2011

It is beginning to sound like a broken record; bad weather across the world causing shortages of seafood.

The good news is that boats came to port in Central and South America on All Saints day yesterday. We were able to get some good amounts of Mahi Mahi at good prices. We were also able to get some Tuna, Caribbean Red Snapper from Surinam, as well as a small amount of Dotted Lane Snapper and B-liners from Central America.

Grouper is still tight in Mexico because the Octopus season is in full swing, the holiday and another new tropical storm possibly on the way. We do not expect prices or availability to improve much over the next couple of days.

The holiday affects a lot of boats in Central and South America as well as Farm Fisheries so you might see some tightening of supply on Tilapia and Chilean Salmon Fillets. We do have a nice supply this week but prices may inch up a bit, although it is not a given as of yet.

For domestic fish, we were able to get a fair shot of Gulf Red Snapper and Red Grouper. We were able to get some Domestic Swordfish and Tuna, as well as, some Drum out of Louisiana and Amberjack out of the Florida Keys and the Gulf.

We are starting to see some Flounder show up in the mid-Atlantic and prices are down.

We also have sourced a little bit of Wild Striped Bass coming in today.

It seems that Stone Crab season is off to a slow start and the fishermen are reporting catches being down but are optimistic that they will improve.

For exotic farmed species, we have managed to secure a good amount of Imported Loup de Mer from Greece in between strikes. We also have some Farmed Turbot coming this week from Chile on a pre-order basis.

Some additional special farmed fish we have arriving this week are the Norwegian Salmon Trout, which are huge and very fatty, and some Kona Kampachi^â from off of the Kona coast of Hawaii.

Another wild special fish we have today is Escolar, which is the proper name for the fish that is all over the news. The Boston Globe and Consumer Reports have reported that this fish is being sold at restaurants and sushi bars as ‘White Tuna’. Escolar is really the only name this fish can be legally called.

This brings us to something we believe in, and want to share with our customers, which is “you get what you pay for” here in everything we sell. Inland Seafood is proud to be a member of the National Fisheries Institute and was one of the organizational committee members who founded the ‘Better Seafood Business Bureau’ of the National Fisheries Institute to protect our customers, and all consumers, from seafood
fraud and misrepresentation.

Species substitution is a major seafood fraud story as you may have seen in the news. It is very important that product is sold as the correct species name. All of our invoices are marked with correct species information so you may correctly inform the consumer. It is not just ‘Buyer Beware’ anymore. We at Inland as well as your establishment are obligated to inform the consumer of the correct name of the seafood sold.

We stand behind this and if you should have any questions please ask your Inland Sales Representative. If we do not have the answers, we will get them. We also refer you to the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/regulatoryfishencyclopediarfe/default.htm for a list of acceptable names for certain fish.

For example, Escolar should not be called a White Tuna; it is not even close to the Tuna family. Gulf Red Snapper can only be from one fish which is Campeche Lutjanus (the latin name). This fish only originates from the USA and Mexico. It does exist in Cuba but we do not have trade relations there yet. No other fish can be called a Gulf Red Snapper which is why we have always identified the correct specie on our invoices.

Another one of the most widespread seafood frauds is short weight (i.e. glazing with 10-30% water added to the product). This is done on everything from Lobster tails, Shrimp, Tilapia, and Squid, Whiting, and Swai and many other items. We have seen offerings, especially coming out of China and other Asian countries, and we will not knowingly procure any of these products. When we find that producers are glazing and short weighing product, we return the product and demand a refund. This does not mean that all frozen products from Asia or other countries are glazed but when a price is “too good to be true”, there is probably a reason.

Market Report October 25, 2011

It seems that just about wherever we look right now there is bad weather and therefore higher prices on seafood.

We were able to get some Grouper and Snapper but the prices are very high and the supply is very limited. There has been one cold front after another along the Eastern seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico so the local domestic Grouper and Snapper boats are not fishing. In Central America it seems there is one tropical storm after another in the fishing areas of the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Panama, and Honduras.

Mahi is starting to show up but the already mentioned bad weather in Honduras, Guatemala and Western parts of Panama is causing spotty supply. The positive news is we will see a little bit of Dotted Snapper coming to us in the morning.

This weather is affecting Tuna and Swordfish from these areas as well as from the North Atlantic fishing grounds. Tuna is very high, especially for premium quality fish. Of course we have Itsumo, sushi-grade Tuna from the Philippines available.

We received a good supply of Wild Salmon from the lower 48’s. We have nice red meated, Keta Salmon at outstanding prices; $3.99 for skin-on and 4.59 for skin-off. (add 20 cents for pin boning)

In addition, we have some Troll Alaskan Kings as well as Washington Coast, Native-American Caught, King Salmon. From the Northern Puget Sound area, we have some gorgeous Coho Salmon. We may have this for the next few weeks and then it will be the end of Wild Salmon for the season.

We would like to let you know that we put up a nice supply of pin-bone out Sockeye Salmon at good prices; averaging 1 ½ to 2 ½ pounds; as well as some King Salmon and Keta Salmon. Each fillet is individually pin-boned and frozen.

For Atlantic Salmon, the outlook is much better now and in the near future. We have a good supply of Whole Scottish Salmon, and more coming during the week. We also have Norwegian Salmon Fillets on hand and a good supply of Chilean Salmon at very reasonable prices.

A great success has been the Norwegian Salmon Trout/Steelhead that is super fat and super large; averaging 13 pounds this week. The price is excellent and this fish probably has better fat; and therefore flavor; than any Farmed Salmon that we have ever seen. You owe it to yourself to try it!

We received another shipment of Kona Kampachi^â(http://www.kona-blue.com/aboutus.php) from the big island of Hawaii. This is a terrific fish and a favorite among those who have tried it.

We also have a good supply of Farmed Cobia on hand, with more arriving almost daily. Prices are still outstanding and we are featuring this fish so you can see how versatile it is.

Flounder and Striped Bass still have not showed up with any strength because the boats in the Mid Atlantic have not been able to get out. With better weather, we should see a greater supply in the coming weeks.

Trout prices are going to be going up dramatically for next week. This is caused by this summer’s heat and drought which affected the growth rate and that means a lack of product; especially on our Carolina Mountain Trout. We would like you to look at red meat Trout and Premium white meat Trout from Columbia; excellent quality and price as an alternative.

Farm Raised Catfish prices seem to be shooting up. The land is being used for cotton, corn and soybean production and this does not look like it is going to change. We are bringing in a product from Florida’s Lake Okeechobee that we are able to get in a 5-7 oz size which we will be selling for $4.29/lb. This is around a dollar and half savings over farmed catfish.

Tilapia seems steady in pricing lately but certain larger sizes are scarcer than we would like and this situation will remain in effect until the first of the year.

We are starting to see increased demand for Farmed Turbot and we will begin to bring that in more regularly.

Supply problems are prevalent with Loup de Mer. The financial problems and transportation strikes in Greece have caused some issues but we should see our next shipment on Friday. Thanks for being patient.

We are so upset about this fish situation that we are getting a little crabby about it so we are going to run some Crab Specials!

Fresh Jumbo Lump (Domestic and Imported) for $18.99/lb
Regular Lump/Backfin from Venezuela for $12.99/lb
Medium Stone Crabs for $10.95/lb

We also have Wild Alaskan Golden King Crab (2 lb and up clusters) coming in this week. Most of these are pre-sold but we do have some extra. Call your representative for prices.

With the price of King Crab soaring, we have sourced this wonderful new Turkayi Crab from the Southern Atlantic. It looks and tastes like King Crab, at a better price. Ask your Inland Representative for details and pricing.

It’s not Crab, but we are also featuring our Jumbo Lobster Meat at $21.50/lb for 5 bags or more (10 pounds). A nice savings over our normal price.

We also have 4-5 oz Maine Lobster Tails for $17.66/lb if you buy 5 cases (50 pounds) or more. Live prices may actually come down over the next 2-3 weeks if we have good weather in Maine.

Scallops seem to being inching up because of lack of quota and it will probably go up even more over the coming months.

Frozen Shrimp prices are going up so now is the time to buy as much as your freezer can hold for the next couple of months. There is going to be some Fresh Shrimp from Georgia and Carolina this week and sizes are getting larger as we get to end of the season.

Please let us know what your needs will be for shucked Oyster orders early this year so we can let our suppliers know what to open for us when the time comes. Letting us know in advance what you need for your traditional Southern Oyster Turkey Stuffing will prevent any disappointment for Thanksgiving!

Remember Thanksgiving is less than a month away so if you haven’t thought about your Holiday buffet dinner or even Turkey pre-orders, please let us know. We will be bringing in pre-orders on Bell & Evans and All–Natural Koch Farm Turkeys this year.

Market Report October 11, 2011

We are working with 3 great new fish which are all sustainably farm raised and will be for the foreseeable future. These should be great items through the end of the year. They provide great taste, versatility and hopefully stable pricing.

First, we are introducing Norwegian Sea Farmed Raised Salmon Trout/Steelhead from Norway. This is not your everyday Steelhead! These are raised for the Japanese market on a special diet. It is also the rage of all of Western Europe’s growing Sushi trade because it has a much higher fat content than Scottish or Norwegian Salmon. It has great firmness and a superbly flavorful texture and marbled appearance.

These deep ocean pen-raised fish are fed an all-natural diet in low density cages that enhances the fat content. Although they are the same species as the farmed raised steelhead that we know from Chile, these are super-fat fish that are hand fed like Bluefin Tuna, with almost as much marbling! These are perfect for any sushi application, light searing or tartar.

This week, the fish are running 13-15 pounds and will range from 10-17 pounds over the next 10 weeks. We are bringing in a small amount of fish to start and hope to increase the frequency of arrival as demand increases. They will be sold as whole, skin-on fillets, skin-off fillets or portioned. You should look at this fish; you will be impressed. It is an ultra-premium fish at a not so premium price. About the same as Atlantic salmon were priced 4 weeks ago.

Kona Kampachi®, from the island of Kona in Hawaii, which has the coldest waters and the deepest shelf, is our next special item. These are ocean-caged and grown deep below the surface and are basically the same as Japanese frozen farm Raised Hamachi/Yellowtail but are sent to us extremely fresh. The fish grow rapidly and right now they need to thin their cages and we are getting whole fish that are 4-6 pounds and 2-4 H&G fish. We are also selling fillets both sk/on and off at excellent prices, especially compared to what frozen Hamachi/Yellowtail is selling at now.

The product is extremely fat and it is the same genus and species as farm-raised yellowtail from Japan and can be used in the same applications. We need your support in keeping this great company going with this superior sustainably USA grown seafood.

Farm Raised Cobia is our third great farmed raised item. We finally found a professionally run operation without the stopping and starting that some of our past producers were famous for doing. The last year has been very good to the farm and they have produced a lot of fish. They too are thinning their cages because Cobia grows rapidly. In fact, Cobia is one of the most rapidly growing fish in the ocean and can reach 30 pounds in 12 -15 months. The fish we are receiving are weighing between 7 and 14 pounds. We are selling them whole or skin-on or skin-off fillets (big enough for you to portion). We have lowered the price drastically to get it moving. This is a wonderful item that is good for any cooking technique that would call for Swordfish, Grouper or Snapper; a meaty, flakey fish that holds up well under any preparation.

In other seafood news, Scallops look like they are going up in price, but we have secured a good inventory of frozen scallops from Chesapeake Bay Packing. They have put up a good amount of U/10 and U/12 frozen dry packs. In order to protect their product from freezer burn the only thing added to the product is a saltwater rinse before they are put on the IQF belt and then nitrogen frozen and then bagged.

Fresh Crab Meat is starting to come in from overseas. We are most likely going to receive some additional production from Venezuela and possibly Columbia. We have been getting some decent amounts of Domestic Crab Meat every week as well. Did you know that the price of fresh crabmeat is now lower than pasteurized crabmeat from Southeast Asia?

Shrimp is also coming in steadily. We received some good Day-boat Shrimp out of Louisiana yesterday; 16/20’s and 21/25’s; which were just diamonds.

A couple of fish to keep your eye on over the next few weeks which are good deals are:

Yellow Eye Snapper and Onaga Snapper– caught off the Florida Keys and superb quality. Less than the price of Genuine American Snapper!

Flounder from Virginia; prices are a bit high but should decrease over the next weeks; Grouper seems to be slowly falling as demand has slackened.

By the beginning of November, we should see Mahi come into its own with cheaper prices, as well as Wild Striped Bass.

We think Gulf Red Snapper and Tuna will remain very, very tight and expensive.

The Salmon market is steady. We did get a good shipment of Norwegian Salmon which we are actually selling at the same price as most people are selling Chilean. This fish is far superior and you really need to give it a look.

We will also have plenty of Scottish Whole Salmon and fillets. The season is winding down on Wild Cohos and we are expecting a few Wild Head-on Kings from the Columbia River on Wednesday afternoon.

We are expecting another King Crab boat in over the weekend and we should have some Fresh King Crab next Monday afternoon. Pre-orders will be cut off on Thursday, so please let your sales person know.

The Lobster Market will continue to be tight but prices are steady because demand is weak. Word yesterday was that landings did improve over the weekend as they finally got decent weather. The Lobster quality is very good and we are getting almost daily shipments of our Fresh Lobster Jumbo Lump.

We are hoping for more Viking Village Day-boat Scallops on Thursday all they have now 10/20’s and we are hoping the boat gets in to get us some U/12 and U/10.

We should have a good variety of 20 different Oysters on hand. Call your sales representative for delivery schedules and details.

We have finally gotten situated with the Jurgielewicz Family and their Pekin Duck; just in time for the cooler weather. We now have all-natural Pekin Duck Breasts, Legs and Whole Ducks in stock and should have a good supply until the end of the year. Prices are reasonable, the product is super-fresh and we will be getting deliveries once to twice a week. Those of you that tried this product earlier in the year know that this is truly a superior quacker!

Speaking of fowl, we have been working with the people at Springer Mountain Farms on a more uniformed size, split chicken breast. They have agreed with us and we will be stocking an All-Natural, Bone-in, Split, Springer Mountain Chicken Breast (10-12 oz.) on a consistent basis.

We will be selling this in a 20 pound box and stock a limited amounted initially. We are featuring this for the next six weeks for $2.59/lb. For anyone who does Buttermilk Southern fried chicken or wants to use any other recipe using whole chicken breast, this is perfect for a quick 7-10 minute cook time in most instances. This is an item that will most likely be here permanently and allows you to place a good all-natural, local menu item at a great price point with superb food costs.

Another great item, that has been well received, is our Creekstone Fresh Burger Patties. This is produced by a Certified USDA plant, using Creekstone Beef, and every batch of ground beef is tested before it shipped.

We are also featuring Portioned Beef in primal cuts and dry-aged (including Prime) from Meats By Linz; a third generation Chicago Meat Family Butcher. The company is now run by Fred Linz, who grew up in the meat business and has won cuttings and tastings against every other high-end meat company from the famous brothers to anyone else! Their product is unlike anything that you have ever seen. Their USDA Choice and Prime is certifiable and traceable. You can compare it to others in the market and see the difference as well as taste it.They also have great dry aged product as well. To arrange a cutting, please contact your Inland Seafood Representative.

Due to the recent droughts and tightening supplies, the whole Beef Market is going to be upside down over the next 4-6 months. Prices for live cattle are at record highs as the feed lots are emptying out of cattle and coming to market sooner, making them smaller.

This is also affecting the Veal Market because they are not processing the young cattle. In order to compete, the Veal producers are paying higher prices which, in turn, will mean higher prices to you. This future looks like it is going to be much more expensive on veal and beef.

These high prices makes it a great time to look at some of the other proteins that we offer like our Fresh Seafood, Springer Mountain Chicken, Jurgielewicz Duck.

In addition, we are featuring our Southern grown Rabbits from the Louisiana/Mississippi border. We have a great inventory of Fresh and Frozen, All-natural Rabbit from Rabbitman Farms. We are putting them on special at 6.59 lb. for fresh dressed rabbits and 6.39 lb. for frozen rabbits in a 30 pound case.

In addition, we have had numerous meetings with Eden Farms about their 100% Certified Berkshire Pork. Their production is down and pigs have become so valuable that they have actually had some pigs stolen off of their farm. (Can you imagine the pick-up truck speeding down the road in Iowa with a black Berkshire pig in the back?) They have agreed to hold their line on prices until the end of the year. We really need you to look at their 10-rib Racks because that part of the animal drives the whole program. The more racks they have orders for, the more the other cuts become available. This means better availability of pork butts, tenders, and bellies.

Chanterelles are very inexpensive right now and they are a great fall mushroom to feature for at least the next 3-4 weeks. We are 11.59 this week.

For those of you who feel like splurging, we also have White Alba Truffles on a pre-order basis. They are very expensive but the season seems like it will be a good one. We hope that with the strengthening dollar that prices will be better than they have been. They still won’t be cheap, but how often do you get white truffles from Italy?

Market Report October 4, 2011

The month of October should present a lot of opportunities in the mid-Atlantic. We should see a lot of Flounder with extremely attractive prices coming. In addition, we should see increased availability of Wild Striped Bass as the month continues. There is still plenty of quota remaining and prices should trickle down on the Striped Bass as the month progresses. We’re also hoping to see other fish in the mid-Atlantic become available as a by-catch of these openings including Redfish, Black Bass and other like items.

Swordfish should remain at a decent availability for the month with the exception of the full moon. Towards the end of the month availability will taper off as the weather in the North Atlantic (out to sea) becomes rougher. If you have seen and remember the movie “The Perfect Storm”, that was a late October hurricane in the Atlantic that caused all of the problems.

There is one long-line caught species that is scarce, and will probably remain scarce for the rest of the year; Tuna. Tuna swim in more tropical waters. In the western Pacific there is a dearth of supply, probably because of over fishing by the net fleet that supplies the canned tuna industry. In addition, there is a lot of net-fishing for Tuna in Central and South America that supplies the canned Tuna industry in that part of the world. That resource is also seeing a drastic reduction in availability.

Personally, we think this is also caused by indiscriminate net fishing from boats supplying the canned tuna industry. Tuna, which is a very prolific species, has never been judged to be endangered or in short supply but it is starting to look more and more like it may be because of the net catching of Tuna which targets all sizes of Tuna including the juveniles which does not allow the fish to reproduce.

One industry that is most likely fully recovered and is probably being artificially held back from commercial fishing and therefore the public’s use by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which governs our waters is Snapper and Grouper off of the Florida and Gulf Coast. According to reports from fisherman and scientists there are plenty of Snapper and Grouper in the Gulf and off of the Atlantic Seaboard but we are not allowed to fish them except at very low levels. Therefore the price of USA harvested fish are remaining high and will continue for the foreseeable future. What is needed, as with all limited catch species, is a scientifically based assessment of the resource. This will tell us how much fish can truly be harvested with enough fish remaining for the fish population to sustain itself. This is called Maximum Sustainable Yield.

Mexico, which shares the Gulf of Mexico with the United States, is busy fishing for Octopus and they are receiving record-breaking prices on Octopus at this time. Because of this, Grouper will be expensive as long as supply is curtailed from Mexico.

On a positive note, we are seeing more availability of Snapper out the Pacific coasts of Central and South America, especially Dotted Lane and Caribbean Snapper, as the waters are becoming more normal after the severe La Nina of last year.

With the change in waters we will be seeing more and more Mahi Mahi showing up and prices will come down, especially around the middle of the month. Ecuador has been on conservation for forty-five days, which is the period that they prohibit fishing for Mahi; this ends on October 7, 2011. Within a week of that date we should be seeing good landings on Mahi and fresh prices should be trickling down.

Because of the severe La Nina of last year there was a tremendous shortage of Frozen Mahi so prices may not fall as quickly as we would like while the frozen pipeline is refilled but it is just a matter of time before the prices come down on fresh and, in the not-so-distant future, frozen Mahi.

Speaking of prices coming down, it is only a matter of time before prices come down even further on Atlantic Salmon as there seems to be ample supply coming out of Chile, as well as, Scotland and Norway. Because the dollar has recently gained strength we’re starting to see some very reasonable prices on Scottish Salmon and Norwegian Fillets. Canadian product is also coming into the marketplace and their availability is expected to increase as the month continues. Wild Salmon, for all intents and purposes, will be over by the end of this month. The last Cohos will be in the marketplace until probably the third week of October and after that we could see some Chums/Ketas from Puget Sound that will last until November. However, this is not considered a high-quality fishery and we will probably not stock this for fresh sales.

There is a shortage of Rainbow Trout in North Carolina, which is our main source of Trout, because of the severe heat this summer and limited rainfall. Because of these droughts and the hot summer, the Trout did not grow well so we’re seeing a little bit of a shortfall in Carolina Mountain Premium Trout. We are also getting Trout out of South America and they are at their limit in production for white-meat Trout. There is plenty of red-pigmented Trout because that is what the rest of the world wants. We are looking into bringing that in because the prices are better and the availability is there for red-pigmented Rainbow Trout.

Farmed-fish is becoming more and more prevalent, as everyone knows. We have made two exciting discoveries over the last thirty days and are beginning to actualize the importation of Farmed Cobia out of Panama which will be sushi-quality and the price will be way down from where it has been. The fish will yield between 1.25-3.0 lb filets and they should be selling skin-on for under ten dollars and skinless-boneless filets in the twelve dollar range. Portions will also be available. For those of you who have never tried Cobia, it is a very wonderful-tasting fish.

In addition, many of you may remember that we were getting Kona Kampachi® out of the Big Island in Hawaii. This is a species of Yellowtail/Pacific Amberjack that is farm-raised in deep ocean cages in a very sustainable and ecologically pure manner. Kona Kampachi® is the same basic fish as the Yellowtail that you see in the sushi bar except that this is fresh quality. It can be called Yellowtail because it is the same basic species but the fish is a little bit smaller. They average 2-4 pounds H&G and 5-6 pounds head-on. They are wonderful for any application that calls for Hamachi or Yellowtail as well as being a great safe, flavorful, high-fat fish to use in any recipe from tartar to sushi applications to grilled and sautéed.

http://www.kona-blue.com/aboutus.php

Because the dollar has strengthened, Loup de mer from Greece, Italy, and Spain along with Dorade will be readily available and prices should be coming down over the next thirty days; if the dollar continues to strengthen.

One farmed-fish that is problematic is Catfish from the South. The catfish growing land of the Mississippi Delta has now become more valuable for the planting of cotton, soy beans, corn and grains than to raise Catfish. The world market is super-high on these items and a lot of farmers have converted their farms back to these crops and cotton. This means prices are at an all-time high for domestically raised Catfish. To help alleviate this we have a number of alternative items to offer you. One is a Wild Catfish Filet which is from Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Boats net this fish and it is brought in every night so it is extremely fresh and processed from freshly caught fish. The only down side to this is that the product is not sized and is basically a lake-run size on the Wild Catfish. The good news is that it is two to three dollars cheaper than the farm-raised Catfish and many people think the flavor is a lot better. We also have this in dressed 4-7 and 8-12 sizes and can get larger sized Catfish if the demand is there.

We also have another species we can’t call Catfish according to the USDA, but is actually a similar species grown in Southeast Asia. We carry Swai as well as Pangasius from Asia. These are a type of Catfish that is grown in those countries and is also a good substitute so you may want to look at these.

Many people predict that Pangasius will be the new Tilapia of the world because of its rapid growth rate and good feed conversion. We have located some good sources in the Far East and we’re concentrating on a 100% net weight product that is not off-tasting because of mud or algae.

Wild Halibut will be winding down at the end of the month and by the middle of November it will be completely over. We will be bringing in Fresh Farmed Halibut over the next 30-60 days to replace this as well as having some Frozen-At-Sea product to get us through the winter until the season starts again in March.

North Atlantic fish will be available but prices will be determined by the weather; a string of bad weather could make items like Cod and Haddock go through the roof.

In the mid-Atlantic, with the close availability of natural resources in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland we should be in good shape for Flounder.

Scallops will probably rise in price as days at sea dwindle for the Scallop fleet.

Lobster will probably increase slightly in price over the coming month but we will still have good availability. The Lobsters will be getting harder and Fresh Jumbo Lobster Lump will be an almost daily occurrence for us. It is a great item and will supplement or replace Jumbo Crab Meat in any recipe.

Speaking of Crab Meat, as winter comes the availability of domestic Crab Meat usually falters and the price goes up. The good news is that this year we will also have some fresh Imports from different areas because this season looks like it is going to be a good one in Central and South America because of the diminishing effects of the La Nina.

Clams and Mussels should be fairly steady. In addition, we should have lots of Oysters coming on stream although Southern Oysters are always tight and availability is suspect until after November. We will have a good variety and a lot of good choices between West Coast and East Coast and especially well-priced Oysters form the mid-Atlantic this year.

We will have good supplies of Fresh Shrimp but overall the frozen large Shrimp market looks to be problematic so we suggest that you stock up on Shrimp now, especially U/10’s, U/12’s and 16/20’s which we are getting with some regularity out of the Gulf. Hopefully we will be getting more and more out of Mexico as their Wild Shrimp season kicks in.

Market Report September 28, 2011

Since business seems to be slow all across the country our buyers have been working diligently to get a lot of fish in the house and they have succeeded; probably beyond their expectations. Because of this we have one of the largest varieties of fresh seafood that has hit our door in quite a while beginning with a whole bunch of exotic seafood items from across the world.

We have good selections of Hamachi, Wahoo (Ono) from Fiji and Ecuador, Escolar from Ecuador, Cobia from Panama which is perfect for sushi applications, Columbia River White Sturgeon from this weekend’s opening of the Columbia River at a great price we may add, Redfish from the coast of Carolina, Barrellfish from the Keys and Mahi Mahi from Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama.

Mahi prices are up a little bit and we have a good selection on hand. We expect prices to drop much lower in the next two weeks. Now is a good time to look at Mahi Mahi for a menu feature as prices are trending down and will drop considerably by mid October.

Also from the Southern hemisphere, Grouper is starting to come in from local fisherman and we are starting to see some expensive Mexican Grouper Fillets come ashore. The price of Grouper is still high and we expect it to remain high for the month of October.

We have Hog Snapper, Mutton Snapper, and Yellowtail from Mexico along with genuine Gulf Red Snapper from Panama City, Florida. We have a few day-boat Blacks from Tarpon Springs, Florida along with day-boat Red Grouper. We have great quantities Black-tipped Shark from Florida as well as Tautog, and Flounder from the New Jersey and Virginia coast. From Long Island we have HUGE Striped Bass.

Amberjack is also being caught off the Georgia coast and in the Panhandle of Florida.

We have Dorade and Loup de Mer from Greece finally arriving after numerous strikes in that country. There is fish from virtually all over the world and all varieties and of course everything is on sale because, let’s face it, business is not that great. So call and find out what’s on sale today because all the fish is pristine and we want it coming to your door that way.

As October approaches we expect to see the mid-Atlantic open up for Flounder and Striped Bass in the coming days and expect the prices to fall. They just announced the increase in quotas for Monktails, Cod, and Skatewings out of the Northeast and we think the prices will be coming down on those species. In addition, we will have large beautiful day-boat trap Cod from Alaska from the fall season coming in Wednesday night or Thursday which will be exquisite quality as the boat is just landing in Homer, Alaska and is being trucked up to Anchorage right now.

Haddock remains a good value as well as some quantities of Cusk and Hake that we have on hand from the Northeast.

On the Salmon front, Wild Salmon is still going fairly strong. The season is just about to get strong for Cohos in the lower 48 states and continues pretty strong for Kings. The King and Coho Salmon fishery in the Columbia River is from where we received the Sturgeon and we hope to see some more deliveries over the next 10-14 days. Depending on what happens with fall Ketas out of Puget Sound, this Columbia River run will probably be the end of fall Salmon for 2011 for us at Inland and will be in stock for about the next 3 weeks. When the season ends we have vacuum-packed King Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, and probably Coho Salmon to get you through the winter for those of you who wish to continue featuring wild American-caught Salmon.

We have great prices on Scottish Whole Salmon, anywhere from 10-18 lbs each, in-house or coming in. In fact, we decided to curtail our purchases from Chile and concentrate on buying the Norwegian and Scottish Salmon because the price difference between Norway, Scotland, and Chile is less than twenty cents per pound on fillets. We would rather offer you a better product which we feel the Norwegian and Scottish Salmon are, compared to Chilean. Even though it will cost us a little bit more, you will be paying the same as if you were buying just normal Chilean Salmon. We are using this period to get you to try the difference of our hand-cut Norwegian and Scottish Salmon and see what we are talking about if you want to have a farmed Salmon.

We are getting a variety of seafood offered to us and we’re trying to bring in a good mix of fish for daily specials, but it is almost one of those things where one day it’s there and one day it isn’t. Because business has been slow across the country for the last week we were able to find a lot of different things so help us keep the variety moving by opening up your menu and your cases to different fish with different flavor profiles.

From Louisiana we are getting the large Drum at good prices again. Also out of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast we are starting to see increased quantities of Crab as the water gets back to normal after the couple of tropical storms and heavy rains. Prices on Crab Meat have finally settled down and although they are up from mid-summer they are still not too bad and the increases have stopped, at least for the next week to ten days, and quantities are more readily available.

Speaking of Crab, we are seeing an influx of Soft Shell Crab in the mid-Atlantic and it does look like, barring a cold spell, that there will be a fall season for Soft Shell Crab, which will be the first in many years. This shows that the Crab population has really rebounded between North Carolina and Maryland.
Scallops have remained stable with good quantities on hand. In addition, we have ample supplies of all Shellfish from the mid-Atlantic north including some bargains from the Chesapeake area on Oysters. Ask your salesman for this week’s special.

Fresh Shrimp is coming in from Georgia and South Carolina daily now. Whites are getting bigger now and we’re starting to see a good supply of 26’s and 21’s with occasional 16/20’s.

On the Lobster front we’re seeing a lot of smaller Chick and Quarters as bigger Lobsters are getting scarcer and scarcer. Halves have been bringing a premium in the marketplace as well as 2-3 and 3-4 pound Lobsters. The good news is that we are processing heavily up in Maine and prices for Lobster Tails are slowly coming down so please check with us before you make a buy on Lobster Tails. And we won’t be surprised to see some October Seafood Month specials on Lobster Tails appearing out of Inland Seafood shortly.

In addition, due to demand, we have finally raised our par on Jumbo Lobster Lump and we will be getting 100 bags today and another 100 bags on Friday. We are aiming to have 100 bags brought in three times a week because we keep running out and we are tired of seeing salespeople try to kill other salespeople in order to keep their customers covered!

Market Report September 20, 2011

Grouper is very tight this week and will probably remain so for at least the remainder of the month as boats in Mexico remain out fishing for Octopus. In fact, more boats than ever are fishing for Octopus because there is a real shortage in Octopus and prices are at an astronomical level. Octopus is a staple in Mediterranean countries and especially in Southeast Asia and China, which is becoming the new world leader in consumption of seafood. Over the next years we expect imports in seafood to China rise drastically as they really don’t have enough local resources in farmed or wild seafood to meet the demand of 1.4 billion Chinese who have a tradition of eating and enjoying seafood as they become wealthier middle class consumers.

Snapper is also very tight this week and expensive. We don’t know if it will ease up towards the end of the week but we are trying to find out.

Halibut is going to probably fall towards the end of this week as boats cycle back in from the bad weather last week in Alaska.

Speaking of Alaska, the fall season on Cod has begun. We are starting to get shipments in; prices are not as attractive as they were in the winter months but it is still a bargain and the quality is just exceptional. We suggest that you look at that for an everyday versatile fish.

For good availability with items at good prices this week you also need to look at Amberjack, Barrelfish, and Mahi Mahi, which has fallen and is a great deal. We are now back to getting Lake Pontchartrain Drum and the price is extremely attractive.

Another great purchase this week is on Wild Columbia River Kings and Columbia River Coho Salmon, which came in our door this morning. They are of beautiful quality and an exceptional value in Wild Salmon. We also have the last of this season’s Sockeye Salmon from Northern Puget Sound in, and we have been assured that this is the last of the Wild Sockeye Salmon that we will see this year.

Atlantic Salmon is actually higher from Chile because of a succession of four holidays, including their Independence Day. Prices for Chilean Salmon have risen and prices for other Farmed Atlantic Salmon are following suit but we were able to get good prices on shipments of Whole Scottish Salmon and maintain good price levels and good quantities.

We are hoping that Flounder from the mid-Atlantic will be more prevalent towards the end of the week. Right now the prices are very, very high but we expect those to drop towards the weekend.

One of the hits of our show last week was our Frozen Porcini Mushrooms. We have both Whole Small Buttons and Diced Cubed Porcinis, perfect for all pasta dishes and all wild mushroom medleys. In addition, Fresh Oregon Chanterelles have come way down in price as the season has progressed in the Northwest. They had some rain over the weekend so we are getting A-grade Chanterelles in this weekend.

We are upping our quantities of Jumbo Lobster Lump so that we can continue to have plenty on hand. At these prices, it is a good bargain; especially when compared to fresh Blue Crab Meat, which is getting more expensive. Check with your sales representative for details.

We do have some Viking Village Day Boat Scallops coming in, as well as Fresh Shrimp, basically 21/25’s through 36/40’s.

We have a good supply of Chesapeake, Virginia-side, Oysters coming in as the prices and availability have improved after the rains.

Market Report September 16, 2011

First of all, we want to thank everybody who came to the 2011 Inland Seafood Experience this past Monday. For those who attended, they saw some great new product, ate some great food, and probably drank some nice wine and other spirits and they definitely saved a lot of money on the items that we were featuring. For those who did not, we look forward to seeing you next year. We also apologize for being tardy in getting the weekend specials out but due to the massive turn out at the show, we had a lot of tired people and run-down suppliers. It was all good and all fun!

We are running….

Wonderful Weekend Specials

Fresh Mahi Mahi at $8.99/lb for skin-on and $9.99/lb for skin-off with a special portion price

Frozen 3-4 ounce skinless, boneless, bloodline-out Mahi portions for $5.99/lb this weekend.
*new item in a frozen, 10 pound box

We also have great prices this weekend on Columbia River King fillets at $8.99/lb for skin-on filets and first of the fall season Alaskan pin bone-out Cod at $7.69/lb for fresh Cod fillets averaging 14-20 ounces

With the Atlantic Salmon market, there seems to be collusion on the part of Chilean processors to raise the prices; and prices are indeed up a slight bit. Whole fish from the West Coast and the Northeastern parts of Canada are also slightly higher. We do have some good buys on Scottish Atlantic Salmon, both whole and fillets for this week and next. We will most probably be bringing in Norwegian Filets beginning next week again.

The Wild Salmon season is all but toast in Alaska. We have our last shipment of Sockeyes and some Cohos coming in from Southeast Alaska along with Kings and Cohos from the Columbia River area. In addition, we have a good shot of Columbia River King Salmon coming in this week and next week as the main stem of the river is scheduled for openings this weekend and next week. This will be the time to really jump in on Columbia River Kings.

The Halibut season is drawing to a close with prices remaining at astronomical levels. We think it will remain that way for the rest of the season. But we are looking at Farmed Raised Halibut to bring in; starting in November.

There are good deals coming up this fall on Farm-Raised Cobia and also a good supply of wild Corvina showing up in Central America.

The entire Mahi Mahi market should be trending down as weeks go on into the fall. Initial reports indicate a strong season.

Snapper and Grouper are both very tight and will be expensive because Mexico is fishing in earnest for Octopus and also because of storms in Central and South America as well as in the United States. Imported Snapper is expensive as well as Gulf Red Snapper right now.

We feel that Swordfish will start falling by the middle of next week.

Tuna has been tight and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future with prices going up. Additionally, Itsumo was a great hit at our show; everyone loved the taste, flavor and color of this great product.

North-Atlantic Fish should start trending down after this weekend as boats come back from fishing. It should be readily available so Haddock and Cod should be more reasonable by mid- week.

We are looking forward to the beginning of October for more availability on Fluke and Wild Striped Bass.

Shellfish is also a problem because of a lot of fresh water runoff from tropical storms in the Gulf. Oysters are expensive and scarce and not very good quality. In addition, the run-off from the floods in Pennsylvania/New Jersey area has made a lot of the areas in the Chesapeake suspect for Shellfish. We do have areas that are open and we are getting good product out of it, but we will monitor this closely. Northern product, Massachusetts through Eastern Canada, seems to be a good source but, of course, those Oysters are more expensive.

Crab Meat is still tight but the moratorium on Venezuelan product should be over by October 1st and they should be back into production on October 5th. Meanwhile, we are trying to get as much domestically produced Crab Meat and if the weather cooperates we should have a good fall season.

We are having a good fall season on Fresh Shrimp and we expect to get deliveries daily. The Shrimp are medium-sized and very few 16/20 Shrimp or larger are available at this point in the season.

Lobster seems to be steady right now and we are getting a lot of Jumbo Lobster Lump, as well as featuring our Raw Claws and Freshly Cooked Claws. Ask your salesperson for today’s availability.

Have a great weekend!

Market Report September 9, 2011

Alaskan Halibut dried up towards the end of the week due to bad weather in Alaska and will be much more expensive going into next week.

With the full moon, Swordfish and Tuna will also be scarce and expensive but we expect it to drop by the end of next week as boats come in from fishing the full moon.

We are getting a little bit more pot caught Pacific Cod flown in from South West Alaska. Hopefully the weather will straighten itself out in the Northeast and we’ll see their Ground fish prices moderate but right now they are still high.

Out of the South, we are seeing some Gulf Snappers at high prices, along with Grouper. Grouper is also inching up because the Octopus season in Mexico is in full swing which affects availability from that area which really drives the market prices of Grouper. This means domestic Grouper, which is higher quality, is going up in price. The good thing is that domestic USA flagged boats should start coming back from fishing shallower waters that opened September 1st with more Grouper over the next 30-60 days. Because of this, hopefully prices may stay where they are on domestically caught Red Grouper.

On the Wild Salmon front, we were surprised to get a good shipment of Sockeyes in from the upper area of Puget Sound near the Canadian border. These fish were probably destined for the Frazier River but this will almost definitely be the last Sockeye that we will see for the year. The Coho season has gotten off to a bumpy start with prices almost as high as Sockeyes in most cases.

The real surprise of the recent Wild Salmon season is the amount of Wild Columbia River Kings that we are seeing. We will have those next week at extraordinary prices for this great fish. These are Lower River bright fish caught within fifteen miles of the ocean so they are still in salt water. The fish is bright and the meat is very red and full of natural fat making these fish taste wonderful.

If the weather holds we will see good amounts of Fresh Local Shrimp from the Southeast and South Atlantic Coast.

Crab Meat is still problematic, as are Gulf Oysters because of Tropical Storm Lee. Oysters from the South are very, very scarce and a lot of the areas are closed due to the amount of fresh water entering the Gulf. The same is true for mid-Atlantic and New England waters, a lot of the shellfish areas have been closed because of fresh water run-offs. Hopefully they will open by the end of this upcoming week. Imported Crab Meat remains a problem especially coming out of Venezuela as they remain on conservation. Hopefully we will see an improvement over the next 2-3 weeks.

We are waiting for the season to begin on Wild Striped Bass and Mid Atlantic Flounder; that should be towards the end of the month.

We have a number of All-Natural, Hormone-Free Proteins on feature this week. But the best way to see the complete line of products at Inland Seafood, including our seafood and non-seafood proteins, is to come to our food show, The 2011 Inland Seafood Experience (www.inlandseafood.com/experience) on Monday, September 12, 2011 at the AmericasMart from 1:30pm-7pm. We will be featuring Sonoma Foie Gras and Magret, Creekstone 100 % Angus Beef, Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Pork, Springer Mountain Chicken, Marcho Farms Amish Veal and many more…

In addition, some new products like the highest quality fresh Frozen Porcini Mushrooms we’ve seen along with 100% Organic Truffle Oils and Butters by Da Rosario.

We will be featuring, from Icicle Seafood, a South Atlantic Artic Crab that resembles, in taste and appearance, and is the same size as King Crab; this is called South American Centolla Crab and is much lower priced than we are seeing for Alaskan King Crab whose season has just been cut short because quota has been cut again.

We have a number of different Scallop suppliers at the show, as well as, Carlos Camerone, an All-Natural Farmed Shrimp out of Costa Rica that we will be exhibited.

BUT THE REAL REASON TO COME TO OUR SHOW IS THAT IT GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO COME SEE US AND YOUR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SALES PEOPLE.

RELAX - EAT SOME GREAT FOOD - ENJOY SOME GOOD VINO WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF QUALITY WINES & SPIRITS!

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY IT IS A CHANCE TO SAVE MONEY ON OUR SHOW SPECIALS. BUT YOU HAVE TO BE THERE TO SIGN UP & SAVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLENTY OF $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$’s.

Have a great weekend and we will see you at the Show!

Market Report September 6, 2011

Now that vacations are over and we are into September the forecast for the next month is still a little cloudy, much like the weather has been.

We expect prices to continue slowly downward on Atlantic Salmon. As the Wild Salmon season winds down prices will continue to rise for this month. We expect to see Cohos for most of September, and also Kings, at least through the first three weeks. There will be some Ketas, although the Arctic Keta run is just about over as cold weather sets in above the Arctic Circle.

Sockeyes are just about completely finished and will probably be finished by mid-September everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Scottish Salmon should be plentiful and prices reasonable for the next thirty days for these ultra-premium Atlantic Salmon.

Swordfish looks like a true bargain* for the next thirty days and should have good availability. Tuna* also looks to be plentiful with good availability for the next thirty days. Of course this forecast is subject to weather with these two species. (*Prices will be higher the week before the full moon.)

We are beginning to see signs of more Mahi coming in from Central and South America. Prices are now down slightly, but not yet down to the level they should be in two to three months. It is time to start looking at this very versatile fish as a menu item for the next 6-8 months. This season promises to be very good, if history is any teacher, after the shortage last year caused by the La Nina cold weather pattern off of Central and South America. The season on Mahi usually winds down in April or May.

We did make a special purchase of 3-4 ounce frozen Mahi portions, packed in 10-pound cases. We will be featuring that on our Wonderful Wednesday Weekend Specials. These skinless and bloodline off portions will be very reasonably priced. They could be something perfect for two piece entrees, lunch portions, sandwiches, or even to use as the basis for seafood tacos or fajitas.

Grouper will probably go up this month as fishing for Octopus is in full swing in Mexico. There is a worldwide shortage, so more boats than ever are fishing for Octopus out of Mexico and the price is now at an all-time high.

We expect some Scallops on Thursday from Viking Village as well as Scallops from Sea Trade and Ocean Alive. Prices should remain steady this month but if the North Atlantic areas that are now opened close suddenly, prices could spike again.

Shrimp, barring weather difficulties in the Gulf and the East Coast, should be readily available both frozen and fresh. It is looking like it is going to be a good, but not great, year for White Shrimp off of the East Coast. It seems like some of the previous generation of White Shrimp that would have spawned over the winter were killed by the very cold water that we had from last year’s frigid weather in the southern United States.

Snapper should become more available from Central and South America as the water temperature changes from La Nina’s cold water, close to shore, back to the more normal water temperatures. This helps the Snapper fisheries close to shore in these areas.

In addition, we are beginning to see, and hope to get, quantities of Kingclip and Tripletail from these areas over the next thirty days produced by the these same water conditions.

Flounder should become more available in the mid-Atlantic toward the end of the month.

Striped Bass will be very scarce and Black Bass has been closed by the Federal government for reaching its quota in most areas. These will be an issue for the next thirty days and we will see many of them.

Halibut catches are fair and prices are still high, but they should be available at the same prices they have been for the next thirty days.

One species to look at, that is surprisingly still open, is Black-tipped Shark, and those should be very reasonable. Believe it or not, nothing is a better for fish and chips, fried fish or grilled fish, than Black-tipped Shark which is what we get off of our local Georgia, North Florida, and South Carolina Coasts.

Amberjack will be scarce most of the month with what little is being caught coming from the Southern to mid-Atlantic.

Lobster will normally stay moderate in price for the entire month of September. It is a good opportunity to put Lobster on the menu. This is also a good month to use our Fresh Jumbo Lobster Lump as we are producing this product every day in Maine. New-Shell Lobsters seem to be of really good quality this year and we’re having great success with them and the price is very, very reasonable. Contact your salesperson for the current price.

One thing that is not available in great quantities is Crab Meat from the U.S. because of the rains this last week, as well as, Imported Crab Meat, for which production is closed for conservation in the biggest producing country; Venezuela. Pasteurized Crab Meat continues to climb as they go into conservation at this time of year in Southeast Asia.

The worldwide demand for Crab Meat from Southeast Asia, particularly among the emerging middle class in Southeast Asia, has driven the price up of Crabs and therefore the crabmeat. There could be some local Soft Shell Crabs available this month but they are sure to be expensive.

We are getting spotty catches of Cod out of the Northeast, depending on quotas and weather, as well as Haddock. Prices are up on both species out of the North Atlantic. There is a possibility that we could see additional areas open up which will alleviate the pressure.

One piece of good news on the horizon is that the quota for Skatewing has been expanded for the rest of the year. So Skatewing, which almost doubled in price, should be coming back down. Please call for our latest quote on that. It is an under-utilized resource that is a good value. The Federal government is also reviewing the draconian quota that was put on Monk Fish and maybe Monk Fish will become more available and more reasonable priced.

**Don’t forget to pre-register for the 2011 Inland Seafood Experience!**
www.inlandseafood.com/experience
Monday September 12th, from 1:30-7:00pm at the AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta

Market Report September 2, 2011

Over the weekend and the first part of next week, we are going to be receiving some East Coast Halibut out of Yarmouth Nova Scotia, Canada. Look for some good quantities and some lower prices.

Another great item that we haven’t seen in some time is Wahoo from Fiji. We have a good shipment arriving and it makes a great grilling item for this weekend.

Tuna and Swordfish have been in great supply. The quality is terrific and we expect it to stay that way into next week including our beautiful Bluefin Tuna and Harpoon Swordfish arriving from Canada. The quality is superb.

We were a little skeptical about the Wild Salmon market. It seems that we will see limited amounts of Kings coming in over the weekend but we have plenty of Sockeye, Keta and Coho.

We were able to secure some Scamp Grouper. These are headshot fish out of South Carolina. We order some graded above 5 pounds so if you are looking for some sushi quality Scamp Grouper we have some good supply.

Pompano is in good supply and we have another shipment arriving today.

Due to the after effects of Irene, we will not see many Bluepoint Oysters. The grounds in the Northeast were closed and have not been re-opened for harvesting.

We do expect good supply of Clams out of Virginia but some of the Oyster harvesting could be an issue.

As this report is being written, North Carolina remains closed until the testing results return. We have been able to supplement with West Coast Shellfish out of Washington State as well as Gulf production. Please get your orders in while quantities last.

Scallop boats are getting back out so we can expect some good quantities by the middle of next week. Prices will probably remain high but supply should be abundant.

As the Labor Day Weekend approaches, be sure to consider our extensive line of All Natural, Hormone Free Beef, Pork and Poultry. These are the perfect grilling items for the ultimate grilling weekend!

Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend!

Market Report August 30, 2011

Although Hurricane Irene hit this weekend, the affects are sure to be felt over the coming days.

As far as we can tell at this point, damage to fishing fleets has been minimal. There has been a lot of flooding but most vessels have been able to get out in the past 2 days and waters are primed to fish after turbulent weather.

The Gulf of Mexico, unaffected by the storm, has been producing some absolutely gorgeous Tuna, Swordfish, American Red Snapper and Pompano. We have sold all of the Pompano that arrived yesterday but we are expecting more in shortly.

This week is the beginning of the end of grilling season! As Labor Day approaches, make sure that you consider Tuna and Swordfish for the grill. Supply is great and the prices are some of the best of the year.

Flounder and Grouper remain steady, even with Octopus season in full swing in Mexico.

It is also your last opportunity to get some species of Wild Salmon.
We will see limited amounts of Kings and Sockeyes. We will however see Cohos and Ketas for a little bit longer.

The supply shortage of Squid has been rectified and we should see some fresh product by Thursday.

The only information about after-effects of the storm that we know for sure is that North Carolina has halted Shellfish production until precautionary testing is done. This is standard protocol after flooding waters. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

We took some strong positions in anticipation and our shellfish supply is good. We have the relationships to fill in some gaps in supply but please order shellfish early to ensure that your orders are filled.

We have some terrific quality of Firm Shell Lobsters at great prices for this time of year.

Viking Village Scallops are expected in tomorrow. We will not be receiving a late week shipment. If you are one of the people who has started using this item and you must have it, make sure that you get your order in early!

We are starting to see the transition from Brown Shrimp to White Shrimp. Florida and Georgia were not impacted by the weather and they are starting to produce. We are not seeing bigger than 21/25’s, but the quality and supply are great. For those of you holding out for Beautiful East Coast White Shrimp, this is the product. As the season goes on, it should get even better.

Market Report August 26, 2011

We’re anxiously awaiting what is going to happen this weekend with Hurricane Irene. It is sure to affect lives and fishing from South Carolina through Maine and may wreak havoc on all availability of seafood for next week and Labor Day weekend. We are trying to stockpile some seafood in anticipation, wherever it is prudent, but in order to have pristine, fresh fish and shellfish there is only so much you can do in advance of a big storm like Irene. We are feverishly trying to bring in fish and shellfish from all Coasts to supplement supplies for next week.

It certainly looks like a lot of areas for shellfish, especially Oysters, maybe even Clams and perhaps even Mussels, as far away as Prince Edward Island will be affected by high winds, torrential rains and possibly closures due to a huge fresh water influx coming into streams and bays causing a temporary polluting of the shellfish beds and closing production next week.

What this means specifically is that Cod, Haddock, Flounder, Striped Bass, Tilefish, Skatewing and items of this ilk will be in short supply come mid-week next week and it will probably be after the Labor Day holiday before things get settled enough for boats to go back out to sea.

Other than that, we should see good availability from Central and South America and Southern States on Swordfish and Tuna, as well as, Grouper and Snapper from our local and Caribbean waters with occasional Amberjack and bi-catch of Cobia, Wahoo and things like that. Imports from Central and South America should pick up for the weekend as far as Snapper and Grouper.

Mahi seems to be trending slightly up but the big bargains would be in Swordfish and Tuna.

Fresh Shrimp will probably be okay from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina by mid-week next week but areas north will definitely be affected.

We are getting some southern Oysters right now; quality is so-so. Gallons, of course, are not a problem since they are still shucking Oysters, which will be cooked but the yield in the hot weather is way down. That means the only problem is that prices will be going up on gallons of southern select Oysters.

Lobsters have come down and we have started shipping New-Shell Lobsters effective this week and prices are quite good. We hope to be able to have an uninterrupted supply through next week as our facilities in the state of Maine are full of Lobsters and hopefully they will not lose power and be able to continue shipping Lobsters throughout the week. We have a good supply of Lobster Jumbo Lump coming in, as well as, Fresh local Blue Crab Meat but Crab Meat is going up almost every other day.

We have good availability for this upcoming week of Atlantic Salmon, specifically Scottish Salmon of all sizes, as well as fillets, at very reasonable prices. The Wild Salmon front is very spotty. The only thing we have in any abundance are Wild Net Kings from Northern Puget Sound and the Columbia River; and of course the Arctic Ketas that look like a combination of Cohos and Sockeyes at very, very reasonable prices; the meat is so red. We expect to have these for the next one or two weeks and then that season will be over as the northern part of Alaska starts to get cold again very shortly.

On the all-natural protein front for this upcoming week we will be featuring specials on Veal and Painted Hills product along with some Creek Stone All-Natural Beef. At the beginning of the week we will make those specials known.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

Market Report August 23, 2011

We’re trying to figure out what effect Hurricane Irene is going to have on fishing in what appears to be the Atlantic Coast of the US. If it does follow the projected path then it will affect fisheries along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States which would mean that it would definitely affect Shrimping. Initially all boats would be blown in and Shrimp will be tight for the end of this week and most probably next week. But with the water being stirred up and the coastal creeks and rivers flooding from the rain associated with the storm, shrimping will greatly improve the next couple of weeks. That is of course if boats, harbors and shrimp plants are not damaged.

Other East Coast fish that it could affect are Amberjack, Wild Striped Bass, and most likely Flounder, Tilefish and some short-trip day boat Grouper and Triggerfish. The good news is that after the hurricane passes, and if it doesn’t do a lot of damage, then the water will be stirred up and we should also see increased production the week after next on all these items. But again that depends on the level of damage done to the infrastructure in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Depending on the course of Irene, Swordfish boats in the North Atlantic and as far away as Nova Scotia may decide to head inside with catches this weekend; along with some Bluefin and Big-eye Tuna from those areas. So we could see a lot of Swordfish and Tuna prematurely this weekend but we’ll keep you posted.

In addition, it would affect Northeastern ground fish catches later in the week and early next week as boats come in fishing for Cod, Haddock, Skatewing and other Northeastern Groundfish, as well as, Scallops out in the Atlantic.

On the Salmon front, Wild Salmon is petering out. We are just getting some beautiful Kings from the northern part of Puget Sound and the Columbia River. Sockeyes are near impossible to get as the season is almost closed and the Canadian government is being very protective of their Sockeyes and reserving them for escapement to spawn for future generations and allowing very little fishing.

Coho Salmon, which should start to be plentiful at this time of year, are not and they are very tight. The good news is that we are still getting tremendous amounts of Arctic Keta with great color that is as red as the Coho’s we did receive and they remain a real bargain. We have plenty of Atlantic Salmon and these prices are down as they are for high-quality Scottish Salmon in all sizes. Shipments are coming in through our doors almost daily.

In the Gulf we’re getting some Grouper and Snapper. Snapper is unbelievable quality but it is very, very expensive. We’re also seeing a little bit of Red Grouper, Black Grouper, and Yellowfin Grouper coming in but prices on Grouper, as is normal in August, are going up and will probably continue that way through the month of October.

Swordfish is a great deal right now and should remain that way.

Tuna is very reasonable at this point, especially if you can use a number two grade which is great for normal cooking applications.

We should have a good supply of Fresh East Coast Shrimp in the beginning of this week and hopefully that will continue into the weekend but the storm may impact that happening.

We’ve received a good supply of Flounder Filets 4-6 oz. from the Pacific Northwest as well as Dover Sole over the weekend and are probably putting that on special. It is a great item and it is firm and it actually grills great and doesn’t “mush-up” like a lot of other flat fish.

Some of the great specials to look for are Wild Catfish as well as the Flounder.

This week we are making the switch to Firm-shell Lobsters for the smaller sizes of chicks, quarters and halves. A Firm-Shell is a Lobster that have molted within the past two months and that we deem strong enough to be able to be shipped, not only to us here at the plant but to you, our customers.

Most people think a Firm-shell from Maine has sweeter meat and is tastier than Canadian Hard-shelled Lobsters. The down side of them is that because they have shed their shell in recent months, the meat fill is not quite as much, about 80% of a “hard Shell”, but what is there is oh-so-sweet and much more tender.

Another benefit of these is that the price is 2-3 dollars per pound less than the Hard-shell Lobsters that we are also stocking. We’re also going to going to have Raw and Cooked Lobster Claws over the next 3-4 months but you will have to check on availability daily. We have Jumbo Lobster Lump really rolling in and it seems like prices are falling each and every week so check this week for the latest price.

Crab Meat is going up in price, not only from the Gulf and the mid-Atlantic, but Imports are sky-rocketing because Venezuela is closed now.

Oysters may be a problem on the East Coast because of the storm. We’re trying to buy what we think is prudent before the storm hits but be cautious; you may want to buy a little extra for this weekend. We will probably bring in some extra West Coast Oysters to supplement our supply.

For those of you who have not tried the Viking Village Scallops you really need to taste what a true day boat, diver-type Scallop tastes like. We’re expecting a shipment in tomorrow and hopefully one more before the end of the week. After that, it just depends on boats. They will not thaw out Scallops and they will only take short-trip boats making it a truly superior product. We have been featuring these at a reduced price to get people used to it and we unfortunately will have to raise the price this week, but you really need to try this item.

Market Report August 19, 2011

The good news is that Swordfish is becoming more plentiful and prices are going to be way down for next week. It may be a good idea to stock up what you can because Swordfish traditionally is very popular for Labor Day grilling especially in the New England states.

Tuna will also probably be down slightly for the upcoming week.

Bi-catches are slim to none, so we’re not seeing a lot of Escolar or Wahoo on the boats right now. Hopefully that will rectify itself in the coming days.

Another thing beginning to show a little bit of a downward trend is Mahi Mahi which is coming out of Peru and beginning to be seen in Ecuador. Hopefully this portends a real big upcoming season.

In addition, we are seeing landings of Corvina and Snapper coming in from the middle Caribbean, especially Dotted Lanes and some Venezuelan Red Snapper. Gulf Reds are still fairly scarce and prices are up there on domestic fish.

We are seeing good landings in the mid-Atlantic of both Grey and Golden Tilefish with a little bit of expensive Wild Striped Bass. The good news is that they are very large sizes of Wild Striped Bass.

Pound Net Flounders are starting to show, but the hot weather on the East Coast is causing them to remain out at sea.

We are getting good landings of Scallops and prices on big Scallops, especially U-12’s and U-10’s, have moderated and will probably remain so for the next 4-5 weeks or until the season is closed due to reaching catch limits in the newly opened areas off the Atlantic.

For the upcoming week, Atlantic Salmon will remain fairly constant but Wild Kings are the go-to species for Wild Salmon, as well as the Arctic Ketas from Kotzebue which have the meat color of a good Coho Salmon. By the way, Cohos have been scarce and will probably remain so until the beginning of September. Sockeyes seem to be just about over for the season everywhere including Canada and Northern Puget Sound.

Grouper will probably be tight for the upcoming weeks as Mexican boats gear up for their Octopus season. We have a good supply of Domestic Grouper coming in this morning and also at the beginning of next week but we think prices will escalate.

One of the features that we have this week is Wild Lake Okeechobee Catfish. Chefs have been giving this native local Catfish rave reviews saying that it tastes like great Catfish used to taste; and that is very true. Great quality and the price is $2 under where the price of Farm-raised Catfish is now. You need to try this great item.

We may see some more Soft-Shell Crabs next week out of the mid-Atlantic.

There’s a lot more Coastal White Shrimp showing up each and every week and they grow to a little bit larger size.

Lobsters are steady and we should begin with some Firm New-Shells very shortly. We have a new lower price on Jumbo Lobster Lump; the best fresh Lobster product around! It is made with just the Knuckles that resemble giant pieces of crab but they are lobster. How good does that sound?

In addition, we’re seeing increases in prices on Blue Crab Meat out of the Gulf, and Venezuela is now officially on conservation. We’re hoping to get some Imported Crab Meat out of other areas, so stay tuned.

Oysters are still slightly problematic although we did get more selections of West Coast Oysters for this week. Watch House Oysters from the mid-Atlantic are still a daily special along with Chincoteagues and Misty Points. They are less expensive than the Northern Oysters from Canada, Massachusetts, and Maine.

On the Beef front, because of the price of corn, things have really escalated in price and we think that it will remain that way. We’re seeing a couple of bargains here and there and will be running specials on Veal, Beef, and our various Pork products through Labor Day Week.

Market Report August 15, 2011

It’s the middle of August, definitely the dog days of summer, and sometimes the fish bite and sometimes they don’t. It seems like a lot of fish aren’t biting and availability is a little bit tight on certain species, especially this week as boats are fishing the full moon for Swordfish and Tuna. Although we do have daily shipments coming in, prices are higher. We expect that by the end of the week prices will fall and the availability will be up. Please note that we have special pricing on Swordfish Chops for now and until the end of summer (September 21, 2011). Ask your sales representative for details.

Wild Striped Bass fishing closed this past weekend in Massachusetts. We were able to get a good quantity of these great sustainable fish, but unfortunately prices are also way up.

Because of the full moon, Amberjack, as always, is a little bit short in supply again this week. We expect to see more coming in by the end of the week but prices are up.

One thing we were able to get a good quantity of, and hope to get more of, are Hook & Line caught Day Boat Tilefish from the Carolinas; beautiful quality and the prices are very reasonable.

We are starting to see a little more Dotted Snapper come in from Central America on the Pacific side. We should be able to maintain prices for this week and hopefully by the end of the week boats will be back after the full moon and we’ll be able to get the prices down.

Something that is a huge bargain right now is Hook and Line caught Troll King Salmon out of the Queen Charlotte Islands off of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, as well as, net-caught Young’s Bay Columbia River Head-on King Salmon out of the lower portion of the river. Both are on feature this week with a special price on filets.

Atlantic Salmon is plentiful from Western Canada and the British Isles. We have a good amount of Scottish Salmon, even large 13 plus-pounds Sushi-grade Fish from Scotland.

We’re getting a good supply of Flounder from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The prices are high but the quality is exceptional. Word is that North Atlantic fish like Cod, Monk, and Haddock will be going up in price later this week because of bad weather in the Northeast this weekend.

We have good supplies of Day Boat Red Grouper on hand. But again boats are out fishing and we don’t expect a lot of additional deliveries before the weekend.

We have made arrangements to get three shipments per week of Loup de Mer (a.k.a. Branzini, a.k.a. Mediterranean Sea Bass) and Dorade (a.k.a. Sea Bream).

Therefore, we should have a good supply of Loup de Mer in 400-600 gram sizes.
*All other weights per fish will be a special pre-order item. We will need a 3 day notice, at a minimum, on these special order items for Dorade and any Loup de Mer that is other than a 400-600 gram size whole fish. You can save a significant amount of money by ordering a whole 10 kilo (22.04 lb) case of each item. This is especially true on the standard size of 400 -600 gram whole fish of Loup de Mer (Branzini/Sea Bass) which is far and away our most popular item.

We are starting to get Wild Catfish from the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia and Florida. For those of you who love the taste of Wild Blue Catfish, this is the thing. Most people who love catfish prefer Wild Catfish over the farm-raised item. The advantage right now is Wild Catfish at a dollar or two cheaper than Farm-raised Catfish.

We were fortunate enough to get a few Soft-Shell Crabs last week and some Fresh Shrimp. We think we’ll have plenty of Fresh Shrimp this week but during the full moon Crabs usually don’t shed as well as they do after the full moon. This week’s high tides will be over by Thursday so they may be a little bit sparse until the end of the week.

Blue Crab Meat is still a bargain and we don’t know how much longer that will last since Venezuela is officially closed today. We will have a good shot of domestic arriving today and Wednesday but prices are sure to go higher over the next 10 days, so stock up now.

In the Florida Keys, boats are rigging up to go fishing for what we southerners call Warm Water Crayfish, and northerners know as Florida Lobsters. Most fisher people with permits are doing that and letting the Amberjack and Yellowtail go by the wayside as they concentrate on Florida Lobsters. By the way, we can get all the Florida Lobsters you want with a 24-hour notice; we have a 1pm cutoff. We can bring them in on a pre-order basis only. Prices are expensive but of course they are local Florida Lobsters.

On the other hand, Jumbo Lump Lobster Meat is coming down in price and we have lowered our price yet again! This great item is the food critics' rave and far superior to Jumbo Lump Crabmeat but it is made of Lobster! So check with your salesperson for the latest price on Lobster Jumbo Lump. We will have a special promotional price for the weekend on this item…so stay tuned.

The Viking Village Scallops were such a hit last week that we sold out quickly over the weekend. We expect another shipment in here tomorrow. By mentioning this report you can get last week’s pricing even though the price has risen.

Our customers who have tried them really love the Watch House Oysters that are on special thru the end of August. We are also seeing some different Oysters from the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Ask your salesperson about the different Oysters that we may have on hand.

It seems the Beef market is steady. We just got in a new shipment of Strube Ranch All-Natural Wagyu Beef and have a great inventory of their steak-ready Sirloin and Eye of Round.

*The Strube Ranch Wagyu Eye of Round is perfect for steak Carpaccio, especially at this time of year. Put a chill on it, slice it thin, add some extra virgin olive oil (less than you would usually need because we are talking about Wagyu), some shaved parmesan and your favorite greens and you have a great appetizer!

For those of you who are not aware, we are now featuring Creekstone Beef and have a great inventory of their aged primal cuts as well as their portioned product. This is the Beef that has taken New York by storm! They are planning a big introduction at our Inland Seafood & Quality Wine Experience on September 12th at the AmericasMart. Please come to the debut there at the show!
*register at www.inlandseafood.com/experience

Creekstone Beef is the first conventional beef that we have sold. It’s the first one we could sink our teeth into and think it was better than anything that’s on the market. For those of you that don’t know, please refer to their website ( www.creekstonefarms.com ). We are also carrying their ground beef in 10 pound chubs as well as their portioned patties that are packed by the ounce per patty. We will stock and commit to your burger needs for your specification once you commit to their program which is ground daily. This is the most popular ground beef in New York, even though it is the most expensive. You may want to try and see why.

We are also running a special this week on Montana Ranch All-Natural Hormone-Free Piedmontese Strip Loins. Ask your salesperson for this week’s price; you’ll be shocked at how inexpensive it is; especially for the world’s lowest fat and healthiest natural beef; all natural and USDA choice to boot.

And we just got in a new shipment of Bone-In Lamb Ribs from Colorado. They are excellent quality and we’re sure you’ll love to try these on the barbecue grill this week!

Market Report August 12, 2011

By next week Swordfish and Tuna should become more plentiful as boats return back after the full moon.

Grouper and Snapper seem to be steady.

We are seeing good supplies of Corvina from Central and South America as well as another shipment of Large Drum from the Lake Pontchartrain area of Louisiana.

Wild Salmon is beginning to fade for Sockeyes; we will have plenty for next week but that could be it. We expect to have good inventories of Arctic Keta for all of next week, as well as King Salmon at very, very good prices.

Supplies are very good on Atlantic Salmon. At the present time, the overall outlook is good on Farm-raised Salmon for the coming weeks. We are getting all sizes of Canadian Whole fish, almost daily.

We have a good supply of unbelievable quality Scottish Salmon on hand, as well as, almost daily shipments of Scottish raised Salmon. At this point we are getting a few 13 plus Scottish Salmon that are very expensive but beautiful with lots of marbling.

Ground Fish in the mid-Atlantic is still very expensive and will probably be so until cooler weather comes and boats get into a better cycle with new quotas which will begin in October once catch share totals are added up. One needs to be a lawyer and accountant to understand the new catch share system in the Northeast. Perhaps they have figured out that this will eventually drive the true independent family commercial fisherman out of the fishing business.

One thing that has changed is the availability of Wild Striped Bass because Striped Bass has a limited opening in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the quota has been met. We will see prices go way up from where they are now and they will stay there until the fall season starts in the Chesapeake area around the beginning to middle of October.

Because of the new opening of formally closed areas for Scallop dredging we were able to get prices down on the bigger scallops that this area has in good quantities. Because this is a good opportunity for all, we are running a special next week on Viking Village Scallops to introduce this terrific product. This scallop producer is a small family operation that produces scallops the old fashion way. Their scallop is a never-ever frozen, never-ever stepped on product. Truly the most magnificent Scallops in the marketplace right now. We offer a money back refund on this scallop if you are not truly impressed.

In addition, we will feature lots of Oysters from the mid-Atlantic northward to Canada during the coming weeks and month. This includes us continuing our special for this month on Watch House Chesapeake Farmed-raised Oysters.

Mussels are in good shape from the north-Atlantic; that’s something to look at featuring. But we feel that Clams and Oysters from the south are problematic. As we continually point out, now is the time to look up North for Oysters in the shell.

We are starting to see some fresh Soft Shell Crabs come in from the mid-Atlantic. If the weather cooperates, prices should be down next week again. In any event, indications are that this will be a good late summer and fall for soft shell crabs. Do not be afraid to menu them and we have well priced frozen in stock for the days we may be between fresh shipments.

Domestic and Imported Crab Meat will probably be going up over the next couple of weeks because Venezuela, the largest exporter of fresh imported crab meat, is going on conservation for forty-five (45) days. That will mean the availability of crab meat in the market place is dropping so therefore the prices will go up.

Fresh Shrimp is plentiful and prices have come way down from their highs. We are getting shipments from Georgia all the way to Northern North Carolina, almost daily. Shrimp are always a very tasty, good menu item but until you try Fresh East Coast Shrimp you are only tasting a shell of the real deal…so to speak.

Next week is the week that we will probably start bringing in New-shell Lobsters; we will let you know.
If that happens and it is successful, prices will come down on smaller lobsters significantly. We’re going to try to experiment with some and see how they hold up.
One thing that we will have is Jumbo Lump Lobster Meat and the price is way down. *Check with your salesperson on the pricing.

Have a great, and busy, weekend!

Market Report August 9, 2011

Unfortunately, in the world of seafood, prices are not going to react like U.S. stocks and crash because there is still worldwide demand for our U.S. caught seafood as well as products from throughout the world….but there are some bright spots.

First and foremost, if you haven’t tried Viking Village Scallops from the Cape May Peninsula in New Jersey you need to try them. Boats are coming back from the newly opened area with lots of Scallops, especially U-10’s and U-12’s. The boats at Viking Village stay out less than 24 hours! The good news is that when we get our shipment on Wednesday night, we will be lowering prices to reflect the increased catch of bigger Scallops from the “closed areas” openings.

Another bright spot right now is Swordfish. Even though the market is up from where it was last week because of the impending full moon, prices are still very reasonable and the quality is excellent.

Tuna is also slightly up in price but the quality is also. Tuna is a very good buy right now and we have Albacore, Yellow Fin, Big Eye and one beautiful Blue Fin in stock.

Sockeye Salmon is going to be becoming more expensive as the days and weeks go on, unless we get good news out of the Fraser River for future openings from the Northern Puget Sound and Johnstone Straights in Canada.

Cohos have not developed anywhere in Alaska yet and prices are actually higher for Cohos than they are for Sockeyes, as ridiculous as that sounds.

There is good news here and that is that there are plenty of King Salmon available from the troll fisheries in Puget Sound, and Canada, and there will be availability this week at new lower prices. We think that this will be a good bet for the next ten to fourteen days.

The Arctic Ketas from Kotzebue are still going strong. These beautiful, high fat, wild salmon are the best priced wild salmon on the market and will be arriving, fresh, until about mid- September.

Grouper is steady and so is Imported Snapper.

Gulf Red Snapper has taken a spike up and will probably remain that way for the next week or two as people try to figure out which way the tropical storms are going.

We are seeing a lot of excellent quality Dotted Snapper and for a surprise we have a shipment of short-trip, Domestically-caught, Florida Yelloweye Snapper in our door today at a great price. The quality is superb and we think that Yelloweye Snapper is as close as any fish gets to the quality of genuine Gulf Red Snapper.

The Mahi market is down a little bit this week; it’s still very high but it is not in the stratosphere.

What is in the stratosphere is the price of Halibut. Although we have great day-boat Maine and Canadian Halibut landings, prices are way up.

On another seafood front, we expect to see good quantities of Alaskan Cod come in as the Salmon season winds down in Alaska.

Northeastern Groundfish remains very expensive as well as Northeastern Flatfish.

We are getting a good supply of Wild Striped Bass. Even though the price is up slightly, the quality is superb. We are expecting some day-boat Black Bass, as well. In addition, we think there should be some good landings of Stripers for the rest of the week.

We wrote briefly last Friday about the Shrimp market in the U.S. We are still getting great Fresh Shrimp into our plants daily. Now is the time to look for fresh shrimp coming in from the Georgia and Carolina coasts. Prices are very good and we lowered the fresh prices again this week. Also check out our frozen offerings, including our frozen domestic Shrimp as well as all-natural sustainable farm-raised Shrimp from Cleanfish and out of Costa Rica.

As for Oysters, there are still problems down in the Gulf and in parts of the Northwest. These areas are closed with Vibrio warnings and red tide but we are repeating our special on Virginia Watch House Oysters at $36. You have to try these Chesapeake beauties!

On the All-natural Protein front, we are running a special this week on Eden Farms' 100% Certified Berkshire All-Natural 10-Bone Rib Racks, as well as, Le Quebecois 6-Bone Rib Racks. We are also running specials on Painted Hills Ribeyes for one more week at $7.99/lb if you by

Market Report August 5, 2011

One of the things that we see happening in the world of seafood that is very strange, is that Imported Farm Raised Shrimp, especially Shrimp farm-raised from Central and South America, is actually much higher in price than our local domestically produced Wild-caught Shrimp. The reason is that our friends over in China, as they become wealthier, who have always had an appetite for shrimp are searching the world for shrimp to meet their local demand.

The type of Shrimp that they know is Farm-raised Shrimp, specifically the White Penaeus Vannamei Shrimp, which is what they have cultivated in China and Asia ,as well as Central and South America, over the last ten or fifteen years. This last year they had a very cold winter in Southern China which killed shrimp growing in the farm ponds and there is actually a shrimp shortage.

They are trying to buy product that is the same as what they grow in their own country. This has meant that Farm-Raised Shrimp from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and everywhere else that grows the Vannamei White Shrimp has sky-rocketed in price. Shrimp from the United States, specifically Wild-Caught Shrimp from the Gulf and through the Carolinas is actually a really good value.

You are really missing the boat (pardon the pun) if you don’t look at our Domestically Produced Wild-caught Shrimp and also our Wild-Caught Sail all-natural wild-caught Mexican Shrimp. In addition, we have a good inventory of All-Natural Farmed Clean Fish Brand shrimp in 16/20’s and 21/25’s. These are the best tasting all-naturally produced, farm-raised shrimp in the world. We would rather sell to you, our customers, than sell them to China.

In addition, Fresh Shrimp is coming in from all over the Eastern seaboard and we have some very good quality shrimp coming in daily from as far south as Brunswick, GA and the Golden Isles to as far North as Pamlico Sound in the Carolinas.

Again, we want to emphasize that the Fresh Crab Meat that we are getting out of the Gulf of Mexico and even imports from Venezuela are now lower in price than pasteurized crab meat from Asia.

This is the beginning of a trend that is only going to become more pronounced. We feel that the product that is closer to Asia will have a higher demand and price in Asia as their economies expand than we have seen in the past decades. This means that product produced in this part of the world will be more of a value for us in the United States or we will just have to pay more for the products produced in Asia.

The Wild Salmon market is in the midst of change. We are seeing a good supply of King Salmon coming in from Canada and the Columbia River at really decent prices. Some Sockeyes are coming from the Northern Puget Sound area, which are probably intercepted fish from the Fraser River, as well as the end of the Alaskan Cook Inlet Sockeyes. Cohos are few and far between and they are very expensive. The best value fish we have in the Salmon area is Arctic Keta Salmon and that’s something you really need to look at.

Atlantic Salmon continues at a moderate price compared to what it has been but we think maybe there’s some further reductions in the future.

Swordfish looks like it will inch up this week but it will still remain a great bargain and the same can be said for Tuna this coming week.

On the Shellfish front, with the weather being so hot Oysters in the Gulf are very problematic. We are running a special on Watch Hill Shell Oysters for $36 and we will continue that all next week and through the month of August.

Mussels remain a good value and they are plump and full. We get three or four deliveries a week out of P.E.I.

The market on Grouper and Snapper is still holding steady. We are seeing some signs of lower prices on Imported Snapper but we’ll have to see what happens in the coming days.

On another front, we are seeing a good resource of Wild Striped Bass out of Massachusetts and our prices are great. We do not know how much longer this will last. We are getting some Black Bass, both 1-2 pounds and Jumbos, which are a great local fish for whole fish presentations.

On the all-natural protein side, the Beef market continues to move up. To help your costs we’ve made some really good purchases of various items and next week we will have features on EVERY ONE of our branded protein lines from Painted Hills, to Montana Ranch Piedmontese, to Eden Farms Pork, and Springer Mountain Chicken.

Have a great weekend and stay tuned….

Market Report August 2, 2011

This week marks the beginning of August and new quotas for certain species of fish.

We have a great supply of hook-and-line Massachusetts Wild Striped Bass from Cape Cod ranging from 10-25 pounds and above. This is truly a sushi quality fish at prices that are incredibly cheap. Call for the price because it will surprise you how inexpensive these fish are right now. They are less expensive than Grouper and Snapper.

Speaking of Snapper, we blew through a lot of the Snapper last week that was on special. We have a new shipment that came in over the weekend. It's great quality, prices are still down and hopefully they will stay down for the rest of the week. Grouper and Snapper are reasonably priced and good items to look at for a menu choice mainly because they haven’t changed much week to week.

We are starting to get some new sources on Amberjack from the East Coast as well as a couple of hundred pounds of Cobia and small quantities of various local Carolina day boat fish. Please check every day to see what is coming in.

Swordfish, again this week, is a fish to focus on. We have good landings and excellent quality shipments arriving almost daily. In addition, we were able to get 2 Harpoon Swordfish from Nova Scotia that will be landing at our dock this morning.

We also received some incredible quality Bluefin Tuna. The limits on Bluefin had been curtailed for the North Atlantic run for the last four or five years and they are beginning to show a rebound in the resource. The quality is excellent. This is a highly controlled fishery. What we are seeing right now is some excellent fish; great color, some fat but super-fresh fish that arrived at our door this morning from the weekend catch.

On the Salmon front, we are getting Salmon from Scotland at good prices as well as from both Eastern and Western Canada. We are trying to boycott Chilean Salmon until those prices get in line with reality.

Sockeyes are slowing down in Cook Inlet. We think the season probably has two to three more weeks to go. Hopefully we will get some good test reports for Sockeyes out of Johnstone Straits and the Fraser River in Canada. If we have good reports of Sockeye returns in the Fraser River we may have a late Sockeye season bonanza similar to last year and Sockeyes may continue beyond August. We’ll know what the test fisheries from those areas show by the end of the week.

The forecast now is if for an excellent run of Coho Salmon for the late summer and early fall out of Alaska. Hopefully the prices will be reasonable. On another front, we’re getting almost daily shipments of Kotzebue Ketas.

Last week Western Canada landed a great supply of Troll Kings that are now coming into our building. We decided to only buy 11-pound and larger fish and will have both whites and reds available. These should be hitting our docks some time this afternoon and prices are very, very good. The quality is sure to be superb since these are hook-and-line fish.

Shellfish in August is always an issue. We are doing our best to get a good variety of Shellfish from all over the West Coast, as well as the East Coast. There is some coming out of the South, although quality is spotty and prices are creeping up on oysters in the shell.

Because the meats of the southern Oysters are thin and in-spawn we are seeing the price of gallons go up as the yield from the Sack Oysters goes down. Now is a good time to look at Pacific Northwest half gallons and we will be sending out pre-orders for next week at the end of business on Thursday. In addition, we are seeing new resources of in-shell oysters coming out the Chesapeake. The waters there are much colder than water in the Gulf South. We are now finding some reasonably priced shell stock coming out of there. We will probably be introducing them over the next couple of weeks and definitely at our Food Show come September.

The big news this week is that certain areas of the North Atlantic were opened for Scallop fishing for the first time in three years. We expect to see the price of U/10 scallops, and possibly U/12, fall. Because the scallops in this area are rumored to be huge, some people are predicting that 10/20’s and 20/30’s may be higher than the larger Scallops in the coming weeks. Make plans accordingly.

Lobsters are beginning to become more plentiful. The big shed is happening now but we are still dubious about bringing in many new shells at this point. To avoid massive losses with new shells we are still waiting for the end of the week until we see the shell quality firm up somewhat.

We are starting to see a lot of Ultra Fresh day boat Shrimp come in from all over the East Coast from Georgia to the Carolinas. We are now getting Shrimp that are 16/20’s all the way to 41/50’s in size. Check with your salesperson for the availability each day.

Crab Meat is still an incredible bargain. We don’t remember prices ever being this low at this time of year and there are rumors that the price is going to drop even more. It is incredible that people are still buying pasteurized Crab Meat when they could be buying Fresh, Locally Produced Crab Meat for much less money. We understand the convenience factor but the taste of fresh Crab Meat just can’t be beat, especially as compared to pasteurized Crab Meat.

Market Report July 29, 2011

The beginning of August is also referred to as ‘The dog days of summer’ due to the heat (as if it could be any hotter!). This is the time of year that we keep our eyes open for hurricanes developing on the east coast, south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico and their effect on seafood. August begins new quotas on certain species and fisheries and changes in open areas for others.

Look for Grouper to be available the first couple of weeks of August at roughly the same prices but imports start drying up as the Mexican fleet starts fitting their boats for octopus fishing. This will affect availability and therefore the price of grouper which will probably rise.

There is a strong Striped Bass fishery in New England and landings are very good this year. Prices are down tremendously for next week. It is a quota system so we should be able to see decent prices on Wild Striped Bass until approximately the 3rd week of August when the quota will probably be reached

Traditionally in August, fishermen in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska begin Halibut fishing since the money catch of King and Sockeye Salmon start to disappear in Alaska. The trouble with Alaskan Halibut during this time of year is that they tend to have a lot of chalk in them so good quality Halibut is always a struggle in August. We should have more fish from the maritime provinces of Canada during this time.

We are starting to see a good supply of Imported Snapper, depending on weather, in Central and South America.

There should be good supplies all month of Swordfish and Tuna from New England, Canada and the Caribbean. We should see good amounts of Tuna from all over with good landings of Bluefin Tuna as well from New England and Nova Scotia.

For King Salmon, the emphasis switches to the lower 48. There is a Columbia River opening scheduled for the end of next week. Troll Kings off of the Oregon and Washington coast should pick up, as well as Kings out of Puget Sound.

There is a possibility that we will see Frazier River Sockeyes again at the end of August. We should have Sockeyes for at least the first 3 weeks of August, regardless, and Cohos will become a stronger presence in the marketplace. A good season is predicted for Wild Coho out of Alaska this year.

Many areas of Scotland and Norway close for vacation during August so Atlantic Salmon from those areas should be tighter than normal.

As long as the weather stays good in the south Atlantic and the Gulf, August is the time of year that we receive an abundance of by-catch, in small quantities, like Tripletail, Cobia, Wahoo, Pink Snapper, Onagas and other various types of fish. It is wise to ask what is new and different each day for special fish.

Due to the weakening dollar, we are seeing increases in Loup de Mer and Dorade as the majority will be sold to Europe where the stronger Euro prevails.

The beginning of August also opens up a section of the North Atlantic that has been closed to Scallop fishing with increased quotas. This should mean a price reduction in U/10’s and possibly U/12’s, as fishing in the previously closed areas means that the scallops will be quite large. Unfortunately, this is the worst time of year for Scallops as they tend to be milky.

We should start to see New Shell Lobsters become more firm so we can start selling them at a reduced price next month. We should also see a reduction in price of Jumbo Lobster Meat, Frozen Lobster Meat and Frozen Lobster Tails.
*We will be featuring a 4-5 oz Maine Lobster Tails at a reduced price all month! This is the biggest bargain in the industry right now.

The Beef market is unstable and much of it depends on foreign export right now. Prices are fairly steady for the time being but, in our opinion, if the economy worsens we will see less of a demand on Rib Eyes, Tenderloins and Striploins so these items will be a better bargain for next month.

Market Report July 26, 2011

The big news for this week is Wild Striped Bass out of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Prices are down and we can expect a further price decrease as the week goes on. Fishermen are catching a large amount of stripers; they are beautiful, 20 lb average fish, true hook & line seafood.

We received a nice shipment of Gulf Red Snapper from the panhandle of Florida. The price is high but they are gorgeous and a great southern delicacy.

More big news for this week is that Swordfish is at a very good price and we are getting ample supply, almost daily, including some Harpoon Swords out of New England. We are also receiving some Prime North Atlantic Bluefin Tuna that are advertised as having some fat.

Mahi and Amberjack remain tight. Prices are way up on Mahi but almost reasonable on the amberjack (hamachi) in comparison. This is because we are getting some Yellowtail (wild Hamachi) from Southern California which is Pacific Amberjack out of the west coast.

We are also getting a shot of Wahoo out of Ecuador. Preliminary reports say that the Mahi season in Ecuador will be decent come October, but it remains to be seen.

There are some Gulf Tuna boats landing in Louisiana as we speak, as well as another shipment of Lake Pontchartrain Drum.

We are starting to see a lot of deep water Barrelfish coming out of the Keys which is comparable, in texture and taste, to Bluenose out of Australia and New Zealand with the advantage of being a domestic local fish for your menus.

Also from the Keys, we have a good supply of Yellowtail and Mutton Snapper.

Another good menu choice which we have in good supply is imported Dotted Snapper from El Salvador and Honduras.

On the Salmon front, things remain steady with the exception of the tight supply and therefore higher prices of Kings and we do not expect that to ease up this week. We are starting to see some Cohos coming in from Alaska. We have a good supply of Arctic Keta, which are a great deal, along with Sockeyes from Cook Inlet, Maine Bay and Prince William Sound. These will be at the lowest prices of the year.

On the Farmed Atlantic Salmon front we have an excellent supply of all sizes of Scottish Salmon and a good amount of Canadian Atlantics which came in last night. The Chilean Salmon producers are trying to raise their prices this week but many of the American Seafood Dealers have passed and decided to boycott them, at least for this week.

We have been able to secure some Fluke Flounder out of the Northeast. Prices are up but the quality is excellent.

Cod is also up in price out of the Northeast although we have a decent supply of Alaskan Cod due in momentarily.

Halibut has been a struggle, and very expensive, but we were able to source some out of Alaska from a short trip boat which is in our building now. We are expecting some day boat hook & line Halibut out of the North Atlantic from Maine and Nova Scotia.

There is plenty of Pompano, and its first cousin Permit, coming in right now. Check with your sales person for pricing details.

On the Shellfish front, we are seeing plenty of Crab Meat from the Gulf.

We are getting plenty of Lobster Jumbo Lump in for this weekend. Hopefully prices will start to fall now that production is in full swing. If you have never tried it, this is probably the greatest way to eat fresh lobster meat without any hassle. It is produced fresh daily in our facility in Maine.

Speaking of Fresh Lobsters, we are going to give the new shells one more week before we bring them in. We are only carrying Hard Shell Canadian and Maine as of now.

Scallops are steady. We hope to have another shipment of the Ultra Dry, Day Boat Scallops from Viking Village by the end of the week.

Shrimp is coming in from the east coast and the Gulf. We should have sizes ranging from 21/25 to 40/50 from the east coast and Georgia, and larger sizes from the Gulf by this weekend.

Still no word on Soft Shell Crabs as the weather is too hot and the crabs are dying in the tanks.

Oysters are still problematic from the south. We are trying to get a decent quantity and quality with Southern shell stock. We do encourage you to look at our Ameripure Oysters which will arrive tomorrow. These are a special Southern oyster, free of any illness from the Gulf. Watch Hill Oysters from the Chesapeake area are also a good option and they are on special this week as well. Make sure to ask your representative for details.

On the air breathing side…

We have a good inventory of Painted Hills Tenderloins hitting our door today. We are also continuing our special on Rib Eyes for one more week. Order now as this special will be discontinued soon!

We have a great inventory of Strube Ranch American Kobe, All Natural, Tenderloins, Striploins and Rib Eyes, as well as their Steak Ready Sirloin.

From the folks who raise the Piedmontese Beef, Montana Ranch, we just procured a new shipment of Rib Eyes, Striploins and Tenderloins at fabulous prices, along with a good supply of Oxtails.

Our Veal inventory is perfect today with our Marcho Amish Farms, All Natural, Milk Fed Veal in good supply, as well as our Le Quebecois, All Natural, Grass Fed Veal in stock in all cuts and sizes.

Market Report July 22, 2011

For this next week we are seeing great prices on Swordfish and Tuna as well as a better price for Striped Bass as the season kicks in Massachusetts. These Stripers are hook-and-line caught and weigh an average of fifteen (15) pounds and are very, very fresh; suitable for any sushi application or any sort of grilling or sautéing. Wild Striped Bass is a wonderful tasting fish and a great sustainable fish story whose population has made remarkable rebound.

Things that are tight for this upcoming week include Mahi which is at its low production point for the year in Central and South America as well as Halibut which has climbed again this week for new fish coming in from both Alaska and Canada. Prices are downright astronomical and it looks like halibut is going to stay expensive.

We have a bunch of specialty fish slated for this weekend and next including California White Sea Bass, Hamachi from the West Coast (which is the same species as our amberjack except from Pacific waters), Redfish and Pompano. We also have a good shot of Wahoo coming in as well as both Farmed and Wild Cobia and a nice catch of deep water, hook-and-line Barrelfish from the Keys. From Lake Pontchartrain we have another shipment of Drum and a small amount of Tilefish coming in from the mid-Atlantic.

Cod prices are still high as well as Haddock and other ground fish out of the Northeast. Hake is a relative bargain and is a good value alternative fish. We have a good shipment of Alaskan Cod on hand to help mitigate the high prices of North Atlantic Cod.

On the Snapper side we are seeing a little bit of expensive Gulf Red Snappers but we are starting to see an increased catch of Dotted Lanes out of Central and South America and hopefully the prices will start to inch down. We did land some Domestic Mutton Snapper off of Sanibel, Florida along with a good shot of short-trip Red Grouper.

On the Wild Salmon front, Cohos are beginning to appear and we should have a good price next week for the beginning of the season. King Salmon is on the way up. Prices are very high and we don’t expect them to fall until the beginning of August when the Columbia River opens up. We are still getting good shipments daily of Sockeyes from Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound along with Arctic Ketas, which are the best value of any wild salmon and are absolutely gorgeous. The Atlantic Salmon market is steady even though the Chileans are trying to push up the price of Chilean salmon fillets. We will have a good shot of Scottish next week as well as a couple of trucks of large Atlantics coming from the West Coast.

Loup de Mer from Greece and Spain seems to be rising in price both from a consolidation in the industry and the weakening of the U.S. dollar. We feel this will only get worse because if the deficit ceiling battle is not settled the dollar will continue to weaken.

On the Shellfish front we will probably bring in our first shipment of new shell Maine Lobsters at the end of next week. Right now we have a good supply of Canadian & Maine Hard-shells. We also received a good shot that arrived this morning of Maine Jumbo Lump Lobster. Supplies are still somewhat limited so please order as soon as you read this and reserve your quantities.

Oysters remain very tight and quality is getting worse and worse for shell oysters from the south. We are forced to raise our prices for next week but are promised by our suppliers a much better quality oyster in our door.

Our weekend specials that we posted last night were a huge success so we’re going to try this program every week during the summer except it’s going to be “Inland’s Wonderful Wednesday for the Weekend Specials”.

We are almost sold out of our Crab meat special. We will continue our Sockeye special and Swordfish special for the beginning of the next week; at $7.99/lb. We are getting shipments almost daily on both.

Market Report July 19, 2011

The seafood world is beginning to come alive with catches for the summer.

Shrimp seems to be coming in from all the Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana and the Panhandle of Florida. Prices are slowly falling and we have great prices on domestic shrimp, especially larger 16/20’s and 21/25’s if you buy a full case. In addition, we have received a great deal on all-natural, sustainable 21/25 and 16/20 shrimp at rock bottom prices if you buy a case and the good news is that their cases are either 30 lb or 24 lb cases. Check with your sales person for the cost update on these shrimp that are raised naturally in Costa Rica.

Speaking of Costa Rica, we have a shipment of Swordfish and Tuna coming in from a boat that landed yesterday and will be at our dock today. The boat was only out for four (4) days and the boat owner says this is the best trip of fish he has seen in a long while. The fish would have to be abundant for him to have a good enough catch to come in after just four days at sea. Our prices are really good on swordfish and tuna; please check them out with your salesperson.

In addition, we are starting to see California White Sea Bass out of, of all places, California! A great fish that is very popular on the West Coast. It is very similar to our redfish but it is a little bit larger so it is perfect for grilling, sautéing and makes a great fried fish sandwich.

Oysters are beginning to be problematic, as you may have read in the newspaper reports. It seems that the influx of fresh water from the floods this fall has changed the salinity of the waters where oysters are in the Mississippi River Basin. This has made the beds dry which means that the oysters died from too much fresh water. Oysters are a bi-valve and require a certain level of salt in order to grow, spawn, and prosper. It seems as though a whole generation of oysters is wiped out in this area. Hopefully this will not spread to western Louisiana and those oyster beds or we will be in for a very tough time with southern oysters. Oysters from the Northeast, particularly Blue Point and Virginia oysters, are a good bet for shell stock as are oysters out of Massachusetts, Maine and the Canadian provinces. Oysters on the West Coast are still affected by red tide and are going to be scarce again for one more week. We will keep you posted on availability. We are trying new oysters as we speak. We also would like you to take a look at the new Misty Points from Chesapeake which is a raised-bed cultivated oyster with a deep cup and a very salty, briny taste and these are very reasonably priced.

In addition, this freshwater influx has hurt the production of Blue Crabs in the South and we are now seeing Blue Crab meat rise in price and the availability down. We’ll keep you posted as things change.

In the Northeast we have landed a good trip of day boat Halibut as well as excellent Jumbo and Large Cod coming in over the next two days.

The Lobster catch is starting to show life as the new moon has increased the availability of new-shell lobsters. We still feel like it is too early to bring those in, but prices for processed lobsters are falling and we should have Jumbo lobster lump meat in later today.

The Atlantic Salmon market seems to be steady for the time being. Although there are rumblings that the prices may elevate slightly over the next couple of weeks; we think it should hold rather steady. The news for the Bristol Bay Wild Sockeye Salmon run was not good, with a 20-30% shortfall from the predicted catch. The news out of Cook Inlet is very positive with initial reports indicating that this could be a banner year. There is now a lot of sockeyes in the market because of that and we are running a one-week special on skin-on, pin bone-out sockeye salmon at $7.99/lb for a 20 lb case. Remember, this is pin bone-out, “D” trim, sockeye salmon just like Atlantic salmon, except you are getting the best fish known to man, Wild Pacific Salmon which is, as you know, all-natural.

We also have a good availability this week of head-on Troll Kings from Southeast Alaska as well as the first Arctic Ketas from way above the Arctic Circle in Kotzebue which is hundreds of miles northeast of Nome, Alaska. Arctic Keta has a very cold and very red meat with more flavor than almost any wild salmon. In fact, a couple of the salespeople today said they looked like kings. We have our first shipment of Coho Salmon in this week and prices are very reasonable, in addition to our other array of wild salmon.

Scallops seem moderated in price. We do have some of the great, ultra-dry, Viking Village Scallops landing today at our docks. In addition from that area we are seeing small quantities of sushi day boat Fluke Flounder, as well as a small amount of Bluefish and Whiting coming in.

Grouper seems to be expensive and hard to get with all of the storms in Central America, but we will have a trip of day boat reds in the morning.

We’re seeing good supplies of Dotted Snapper, prices are still higher than we would like but everything else is, too.

On the lamb front we have lots of new lamb for the season coming in. Prices have moderated a bit and it is an excellent, lighter fare for the summer.

**Don't forget to register for the 2011 Inland Seafood Experience!**

Market Report July 15, 2011

This weekend we have a super special on King Salmon from Alaska. P.B.O. filets are going for well under $10. *Please call your representative to see what our price is. In addition, we have a good supply of both Sockeyes and Ketas on hand as well as a fantastic price on farm-raised Atlantic Salmon. If you are able to buy a full case, this is probably the best price we’ve seen on Atlantics in a year so call to get details.

The outlook for next week on seafood is encouraging for Swordfish and Tuna. Boats will be starting to come back from their trips during the full moon. We also hope to see some Bluefin Tuna coming from the catches this weekend that will hopefully be here early next week. As a bi-catch, we will also have some Mako Shark, and possibly some Albacore from the North Atlantic.

Southern Amberjack is few and far between, but we are getting some Pacific Amberjack out of Southern California and Northern Mexico. Pacific Amberjack, which is also called Hamachi, should be coming in for this weekend and we expect to see more coming in as the season unfolds. It will be very reasonably priced and suitable for sushi application as well as for Amberjack.

Flounder has been tight this week and hopefully we will start to see some trips come in from the Northeast over the weekend as the weather gets a little bit better. The high tide this weekend should promote more catching of flounder in the pound nets along the Virginia, North Carolina, and Chesapeake coasts, as well as up to New Jersey and Massachusetts.

We should see some large Wild Striped Bass, as well as some medium striped bass at better prices.

As for Grouper, we are expecting a huge load of Domestic Red Grouper in this afternoon from boats we unloaded yesterday.

In addition, we have some Gulf Red Snapper and the first-of-the season high quantity Speckled Trout from the Florida Panhandle. Out of Mississippi and Louisiana, we are seeing some small catches of Pompano as well as some Lake Pontchartrain Drum and a little bit of Redfish coming.

We are starting to see more and more Farmed Cobia come in from Colombia. Prices are still high and availability is spotty. It will pick up as the weeks go by and more farms come online.

They started processing new-shell Lobsters in Maine and we should have good inventory of the famous Fresh Lobster Jumbo lump in stock for this week and next week. Prices are still high but we feel that over the next 3-4 weeks prices will come down as the season gets into full swing. We feel like it’s still not a good idea to bring new-shell lobsters into the market so we are sticking with hard-shell Maine and Atlantic Lobsters for the present time. They are still expensive but the quality is probably the best of the year.

We are starting to see Fresh Georgia and Carolina Shrimp come in from the coast daily. Word is that they are having a big brown shrimp season. From the Northern Gulf we are seeing short trips of U/15 and 16/20’s coming into the panhandle of Florida. In addition, you need to check the quality and pricing on our local freezer boat, Louisiana and Mississippi, white and brown shrimp. *Special deals are to be had on quantity purchases.

Prices of Beef are still real high. We have had to increase the price on almost all of the middle cuts of beef over the last couple of weeks but we still have a special purchase price going on Painted Hill Ribeyes, Montana Ranch Piedmontese Tenderloins and La Quebecois 6-bone veal racks.

We are expecting Jurgielewicz Farms’ famous Pekin Duck from Long Island back in our inventory early next week! Be ready to place your order as soon as it arrives.

**Register Now for the 2011 Inland Seafood Experience - Monday, September 12th**

Have a great weekend!

Market Report July 12, 2011

Obviously with the heat outside throughout the South, grilling is on everyone’s mind.
The market continues to be very favorable for grilling fish with our specials on Wild Alaskan and Oregon Salmon:

*Wild Alaskan Silver Bright Keta Salmon
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $5.79/lb

*Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (Bright Red Meat!)
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $8.99/lb

*Wild King Salmon; Columbia River & Alaskan
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $9.99/lb

*Note these are priced for 20 pound catch weight cases.

In addition, we also have a steady supply of Atlantics coming in from Canada and Scotland, as well as Norwegian Salmon Fillets on hand.

A bit of news about the Wild Salmon Market, Bristol Bay is about over and the preliminary estimates for 25-32 million fish are not going to be reached. The catch looks like it will fall to around 20-22 million fish. Although that seems like a large number, it is far below pre-season estimates. With the Japanese market hungry for Sockeyes to replace the frozen inventory that was destroyed by the massive earthquake and subsequent power outages, our hopes for a less expensive frozen sockeye supply for winter are all but gone; the market is now sure to go up.

Other grilling fish options that are in good supply are local Tuna and Swordfish, as well as, reduced prices on Alaskan and Nova Scotia Day Boat Halibut.

We are seeing a little bit of Wild Striped Bass come in with more expected this weekend from the Northeast. There is also some Farmed Cobia, Lake Ponchartrain Drum, Dotted Snapper and a good supply of Pompano. By the way, Pompano prices are down and the catch is almost daily out of the bayous of Louisiana.

Shrimp is starting to come in from the Carolinas as well as the Panhandle of Florida. Supplies are getting stronger every week. Prices are a little up from this time last year but the whole shrimp market is higher.

We now have a good supply of Lobsters and prices are starting to inch down. They are all Maine and Canadian Hard Shell Lobsters in stock and we will bring in new shells in the next few weeks as they firm up a bit at lower numbers. We may also have a limited supply of Lobster Jumbo Lump in this week.

Louisiana Crawfish season seems to be at the tail end (no pun intended!). We may have 1 more week left; it is still much later than it has ever gone.

Crabmeat prices are good right now, out of the south, for Domestic Crabmeat; it is time to stock up on that! In fact, domestic crabmeat is actually cheaper than most imported pasteurized crabmeat from Asia right now. Take advantage of this while it is in play and taste the difference between fresh Domestic Blue Crabmeat and Imported Asian Swimmer Crabmeat.

Oysters from the Pacific Northwest are still limited due to a Red Tide closure and spawning. We will have a limited supply from areas which are not affected by either and we will also have a good supply of East Coast Oysters.

Perfect grilling items for the land lovers…

We have great specials on Rib eyes from Painted Hills, Australian Grass-Fed Tenderloins and Piedmontese Tenderloins from Montana Ranch.

We also have 6 Bone Veal Racks from Le Quebecois on special.

A nice menu item on the grill this summer is Lamb. We received a new shipment today of Fresh Domestic Lamb from Colorado. Ask your Inland representative for pricing and availability.

Market Report July 8, 2011

Today we are receiving a load of Red Grouper in from the Cortez area of Florida along with a deep water Hook and Line boat that brought in a good shot of short-trip Yellowfin Grouper and Golden Tile.

The price of grouper has spiked because of the storms off of the Coast of Mexico and domestic grouper has also gone up. Yellowfin Grouper has a distinctly whiter appearance and for many has a milder, sweeter taste than Red or Black Grouper. This fish should even be perfect for Sashimi as the trip was very short and the fish has bright, cherry-red gills.

We are also expecting good load of Dotted Snapper in from the coastal waters of the Pacific. Prices are up a little bit but the quality will be exceptional; it is one of the few Snappers that are semi-reasonable at this point. In addition, we have a shipment of day boat Yellowtails out of the Keys that are in-house along with a few Caribbean Red Snapper. We are expecting Genuine American Gulf Red Snappers in next week.

We got a short-trip Halibut boat in yesterday that is stunning quality out of the inward passage of Alaska. We were able to preserve some heads on the fish so we are able to have a little bit of cheeks with this.

There is some Black Bass around, along with a little bit of small Wild Striped Bass. We hope by next week to have larger Striped Bass out of the Northeast. Prices are still very strong but may drop slightly next week.

Mahi is very tight and is expected to only go up in price over the next ten days. This is probably going to be the time of year where availability will be the worst.

We also have a good shot of Wreckfish that hit our docks from yesterday’s unloading off the Carolina Coast. When we land Wreckfish a side benefit we get some Barrel Fish as a by-catch. For those of you who haven’t tried Barrel Fish; it is very similar to Australian Bluenose in appearance and it has a very sweet, mild taste. Wreckfish, of course, has become a favorite in the South and has a great, meaty taste.

We do have some Lake Ponchartrain Drum in from Louisiana but the big news out of Bayou country is we got a nice shipment of Pompano yesterday and more is expected today. Prices are coming down on this fish. For those of you who have not had Pompano lately, it is a great, tasty fish for whole-fish presentation and as a filet in your own special preparations.

Tuna and Swordfish seem to be fairly plentiful and prices are very moderate. We expect that trend to continue until the end of next week when we think prices will start going up because of the full moon.

We have a good supply of Northeastern fish including Haddock, large day boat, hook-and-line Jumbo Cod, Monktails and a few Skatewings on hand along with a small amount of Wolffish coming in from Canada. In addition, we received a small shipment of Dab Flounder that was pre-cut in 4-6 and 6-10 ounce size from the Northeast along with a tiny bit of John Dory, as well as a shipment of Fluke in Rhode Island.

The Salmon market seems to have steadied out for Atlantics, in fact, Scottish have gone up a little bit. Wild Alaskan and Oregon Salmon, on the other hand, are at their prime and we have a good inventory of both Colombia River Kings and Net-and-Troll Kings out of Alaska. Prices are outstanding!

We are receiving daily shipments of Sockeyes in from both Main Bay in Prince William Sound and the famous Copper River. The season is still continuing in that area confounding the experts who have never seen this amount of Sockeyes this late in the Copper River.

Later today we are expecting another shipment of Ketas. Please check out the low price of Ketas, it is something you owe to yourself to try. We are continuing specials this week and next week as we receive shipments almost daily out of Alaska with Sockeyes, Ketas and Kings. Our company goal is the following:

“ WE STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD SUPPORT AMERICAN FISHERMAN AND SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES LIKE THE ALL NATURAL WILD PACIFIC SALMON DURING THE SEASON. WE HAVE MADE THESE SPECIES MARKET READY FOR YOU BY PRODUCING AND HAND CUTTING “D” TRIM PIN BONE OUT FILLETS OF WILD AMERICAN SALMON AT PRICES COMPARABLE TO OVERSEAS FARMED ATLANTICS!”

We have a decent inventory of Lobsters. It seems as though the shed has begun in the Northeast but the Lobsters are not ready to ship so prices on Hard Shell, Canadian and Maine Lobsters are still expensive.

We just got in a shipment of Domestic Crab meat. We have a good supply of Imported Jumbo lump and Regular lump on hand. Prices are inching up on imported crab meat while domestic seems to be holding steady.

It’s not a great week for Oysters out of the Pacific Northwest as Kumamotos are in short supply and there is red tide in certain parts of Puget Sound so we have to limit the amount of West Coast Oysters we have on hand. Please check out the good selection of East Coast Oysters and we expect more in later today.

We are beginning to see some Shrimp coming in from the Panhandle and the Carolina Coast. We expect to have U15, 16/20, 26/30 and smaller shrimp on hand by this afternoon. Don’t forget we have a good selection of the Bluefoot peeled and deveined all-natural shrimp along with gallons of peeled Rock Shrimp.

We also were also fortunate enough to get a small shipment of Viking Village day boat Scallops in today. If you haven’t tried these sweet jewels of scallop-essence, this is the real thing. Viking Village boats go out in the morning and return the following morning. This is truly a day boat scallop!

We are continuing to run specials on our All-natural, Hormone-free beef. This week we are again featuring a special on our boneless Ribeye from Painted Hills which is all-natural and hormone-free. By the way, our Painted Hills ribeye is deeply trimmed. In addition we have a good supply of Painted Hills Chuck Flatirons on hand. These make a great bistro steak.

We also received a new shipment of grass-fed, all-natural, hormone-free Australian tenderloins in this week. Check with your salesperson for pricing. We also have a good supply of Montana Ranch tenderloins on hand for the ultimate in taste experience.

This weekend we are celebrating the arrival of the tomato season in the South with the cooperation of Eden Farms, the all-natural 100% Berkshire pork breeders out of Iowa. We are featuring all of their bacons, both sliced and slab and layouts for reduced price. Check with your sales people for the price for this week and next. We can almost taste those BLTs being made.

Also since its tomato season we are taking 10% percent off of all the olive oils that we have.

http://inlandseafood.com/Oils-Vinegars-Butters

For the next week we’re running a 10% off sale on all of the Olive Oils that we have. These are really wonderful and unique olive oils from Greece, Italy, the deserts of Spain, as well as pomace oil for cooking and blended oils at 75% Virgin Canola Oil blend. We are also taking 10% off of all of our Tsitalia Olives.

We just received a shipment of all-natural Marcho Farms block-ready veal short loins in yesterday along with some six-bone veal racks. These make excellent grilling items and are wonderful and much lighter tasting than heavier grilling items this time of year.

As a final note, we are starting to see a bumper crop of Porcini mushrooms coming in from the mountains of Oregon and Northern California. We have reduced the price of Porcinis to $19.99/lb.
*you must buy a 5lb case.

Market Report July 5, 2011

This shortened week,because of the July 4th holiday means different truck schedules and flight obstacles. We are experiencing some flight delays out of Miami and some areas around the globe.

We were able to get a good amount of Halibut over the weekend and it is due in this afternoon. We will also have some Halibut cheeks for the first time which is exciting to see.

There seems to be plenty of Black Bass at fairly reasonable prices and some medium size Wild Striped Bass that is expensive right now. Prices may drop later this week as Massachusetts opens up for commercial fishing.

Mahi is scarce and expensive and we don’t know where or when we will be receiving our next shipment at this point, so you may want to stock up.

We are seeing some Farmed Redfish and the beginnings of Farmed Cobia as well.

There is some supply of Wild Redfish from the Carolinas and Lake Pontchartrain Drum from Louisiana.

The price on Swordfish has come way down and we are also experiencing decent landings of Tuna; Itsumo Tuna and some number 1 Tuna which will be here tomorrow.

Northeastern ground Fish (Cod, Haddock, Pollock & Hake) is relatively expensive as a lot of boats took the holiday off.

Atlantic Salmon prices have fallen dramatically over the last ten days and our latest offerings reflect that. We have some terrific specials on Atlantic Salmon fillets, especially if you can take a 20 or 30 pound case of fillets. In addition we have a good price and supply of Norwegian Salmon fillets as well as Whole Scottish and Atlantic Salmon from Western Canada. Check with your sales representative about these prices.

Most Wild Salmon is running very strong this year in Alaska with the exception of the Keta runs which seem to be down. We have good quantities of Columbia River Kings landing right now as well as some Ivory Kings and a good shot of Alaskan Net Kings coming into our building as we speak. We are receiving daily shipments of Main Bay Sockeyes. We are continuing our special for the entire week on these new Sockeyes and Kings that we ran last weekend.

Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (Bright Red Meat!)
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $8.99/lb

Wild King Salmon; Columbia River & Alaskan
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $10.99/lb

Lobster prices are still relatively high as we wait for the shed to begin. There is a full moon in five days and at that time we will see the beginnings of soft shells and it will take a couple of weeks for them to firm up before we will see them shipped.

Last week we were informed that our supplier of Kumamoto Oysters will be out of stock for the next 2-3 months as the Oysters need to grow. We are trying to supplement with more Shigoku and Kusshi Oysters to maintain supply of petite West Coast Oysters. In addition, we have a good supply of East Coast Oysters from the cold waters.

We were able to get another supply of beautiful Day Boat Viking Village Scallops. These are a great item. They were caught on the 3rd of July by American fishermen and trucked down here directly.

Market Report July 1, 2011

There are plenty of grilling fish for this weekend, and the next, at good prices. Swordfish is down significantly from where it has been; in fact it will be moderate for the next couple of weeks.

Tuna is readily available in the market place and it is excellent quality.

In addition, we have a lot of Salmon of all types, which are excellent for the grill, including the Columbia River King Salmon and the last of the Copper River Kings as well as Sockeye and Keta which we are running on special:

As a salute to the American Fisherman, all Wild American Salmon, the Greatest American Fish,
are on special all weekend long and will be available next week as the rush for the 4th of July subsides.
*Note these are priced for 20 pound catch weight cases.

*Wild Alaskan Silver Bright Keta Salmon
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $5.79/lb

*Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (Bright Red Meat!)
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $8.99/lb

*Wild King Salmon; Columbia River & Alaskan
Skin-on, “D” trim, pin bone out - $10.99/lb

Scottish Salmon is also very reasonably priced. Please check out our new prices on Atlantic Salmon, including Norwegian and Chilean, which are down. It seems like we are beginning to see the effects of Chile coming back into the farmed Atlantic Salmon market place.

Grouper is going to be tight because of the storms off of Central America and Mexico. Most probably, imported Dotted Snapper will be as well.

The Northeastern product, ground fish; Cod, Monkfish, Haddock and Skate seem to be more reasonable than they have been. In addition, we are starting to see a little bit of Mahi Mahi out of Mexico from artisanal boats. Hopefully this means that the upcoming season will be good.

We have a new shipment of Alaskan Cod coming in and hopefully, by Monday, a little bit of Fluke Flounder from the Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico.

We’re starting to see a little bit of Pompano come in from Louisiana as well as another shipment of inexpensive day boat Drum from Lake Pontchartrain. Things seem to be settling down in Louisiana and the floodwaters are receding. Crawfish are still around but they are getting much scarcer.

Lobster, of course, is still very expensive and will probably remain that way through the next couple of weeks as we hear signs that the shed is starting in Maine which will be the beginning of Lobster season for new shell Lobsters at a much lower price.

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July weekend, from all of us at Inland Seafood!

Market Report June 28, 2011

As the 4th of July weekend approaches, this week promises to be a good one for seafood.

We have great quality fresh Alaskan King Salmon and Columbia River Kings from Astoria, Oregon in our door. Prices are as low as they have been in years and this is lower river and ocean caught fish!

We have another shipment of Sockeyes coming in from Prince William Sound today and our prices are dropping to reflect our great purchase price. We will have pin bone out Sockeye Salmon fillets at well below $10/lb! *Speak with your sales representative for pricing details.

We are receiving a good supply of Ketas with more coming on Thursday. Last week we ran a special and could hardly keep up with demand. We are extending through this weekend!

We do have the last bit of Copper River King Salmon on hand from the last opener and this will probably be it for the spring run of Copper River from what we are hearing.

*As a note, the Yukon River will not allow any fishing for King Salmon so if you are looking for that fat, beautiful fish, look to these Copper River fish or the early summer run of Columbia River Kings.

Swordfish seems to be falling and we should have a new price by mid–week along with a new shipment that we just unloaded. This is a great grilling fish and wonderful for this weekend.

Tuna is steady and actually showing some moderation in pricing. We did get another 700 lb Bluefin in this morning and it is gorgeous sushi quality along with another Itsumo Tuna shipment due in later today. Good 2G & 2 plus Tuna are a bargain this week as well.

We are starting to see some large Mahi out of Baja, Mexico, prices are not cheap but the quality is terrific.

Northeastern Fish remains expensive and we expect it to stay that way for the rest of the week. No bargains in Cod or Haddock but pre-cut Georges Bank Flounder is reasonable, as is Pollack.

Grouper is a good value from both Mexico and Florida. It is not as low as in years past but with the price of fuel and freight it is less than it has been.

We have some more fresh caught Drum coming in from Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Bourne in the western part of Louisiana.

Flounder is still expensive, but good quality. Look to the Georges Bank flounder as we
mentioned earlier for a less expensive flat fish.

Striped Bass seasons are starting out of Maryland and Rhode Island and we are going to have lower prices starting today on this great fish. The population of Striped Bass has rebounded and is now booming! It is a great fish success story after pollution and habitat degradation nearly destroyed these fish in the 70’s & 80’s.

Speaking of flatfish from the Northeast we have the king of them all, Hook & Line Northeastern Halibut, hitting our docks tomorrow morning. These are sushi quality fish and as they were described to us, you could bounce a quarter off of them and catch it without bending over!

Scallops are steady in price but Crab Meat is inching up slightly as the weather warms up and the crabs are digging into the mud.

We are expecting a small amount of Fresh Shrimp in today including some 10/15’s and 16/20’s. Other than that, the shrimp are still too small for harvesting off of the Georgia and Carolina coast and the season has been delayed yet again. What we are getting is coming in from the Gulf of Mexico.

Look for our freshly peeled rock shrimp and our Blue Foot peeled 41/50 finished count sustainably grown and farmed, salt water, all-natural shrimp for your fresh shrimp fix.

Please let us know your needs for any Shellfish for this weekend. In order to keep the freshest stock possible, we attempt to clear out our inventory of Oysters, Clams and Mussels as we go into long weekends.

Softshell Crabs are going to be hard to get and very expensive this week. It’s too hot and the crabs are digging in the mud.

We have a lot of great grilling specials for this Holiday weekend on Montana Ranch & Painted Hills Beef, Springer Mountain Chicken, Le Quebecois and Marcho Farms Natural Veal and Colorado All-Natural Lamb. *Check with your sales rep for the latest specials of the week on these hormone–free, antibiotic-free all natural items.

Market Report June 24, 2011

During the week leading into the 4th of July, which is normally a big grilling time, there are many good grilling options available.

Wild Salmon and Farmed Raised Salmon are dropping in price in time for great summer menu items.

We have incredible ongoing specials featuring Sockeye Salmon from the Copper River and other areas of Alaska as well as Troll Kings from the Queen Charlotte Islands and gorgeous Salt Water Lower Columbia River King Salmon which are bright Silver Bullets. In addition we have great priced Keta’s rolling in about every day.

Tuna is coming down in price, especially number 2’s. We have some beautiful #1 sustainably caught and landed Sushi-grade Bluefin Tuna on hand which is terrific for any application. We also have more coming in for next week.

Swordfish is fairly plentiful but prices are still high and will most likely remain that way because of demand in the New England states.

Snapper has tightened up considerably. There is a lot of rain on the Gulf side of Central America so Snapper and Grouper are very scarce because boats can’t get out. Prices on these fish, which were down last week, went way up this week.

Halibut is also in short supply because fishermen are targeting wild salmon while the fish are in their catch areas.

We still have some decent prices on Trapped Black Bass and Wild Striped Bass is beginning to open up in Maryland and Rhode Island. Prices are still strong but are down slightly this week.

Mahi is a problem world-wide because of the global shortage and the abundance of rain in Central America. We are hoping to get some out of Mexico this upcoming week.

We are expecting a good supply of Drum out of western Louisiana for today and tomorrow and we think it will be a good fish for the menu next week with great pricing.

Scottish Salmon and Chilean Salmon prices are reasonable and are getting better.

Prices for Ground fish (Cod, Haddock & Flounder) out of the Northeast are very high due to inclement weather and quotas.

The Live Lobster market is extremely high and we expect it to stay that way through the 4th. If there are any bargains, they will be with the 6 lb and up sizes coming out of Canada and the Magdalen Islands, but we don’t expect any real relief until the middle of July when new shells hit.

Next week we will have a good supply of all sorts of All Natural Protein grilling items such as Le Quebocois Veal; we are running a special on Loins. With Marcho Farms, we have a special on Block-Ready Porterhouse Veal.

Painted Hills Ground Beef and Ribeyes will be on special next week, as well, and if you have not tried their All Natural, Hormone-free Ground Beef then you are not making the best burger for that bun. The feedback from customers on this product has been straight A’s. Speak with your Inland Sales Representative about this and other items.

We also have a special running on Montana Ranch Piedmontese Strip Steaks at incredible prices. Check with your rep for details.

Our Lamb Denver (Baby Back Ribs) are going quickly! Secure your order as soon as possible before we sell out.

Next week promises to be big for our 100% Certified Berkshire Pork Butts from Eden Farms. Please let us know what you need for pre-orders.

Have a great weekend!

Market Report June 21, 2011

Leading up to the 4th of July, 14 days away, the emphasis in seafood has switched to different species.

Atlantic Salmon has continued to come down in price and it would behoove you to check out our supply of Farmed Atlantic Scottish Salmon as well.

The world has turned its attention to Wild Caught Salmon from the US and the season is about to unfold. What started out as an overwhelming great catch in Copper River, brought a lot of eager grocery buyers to the marketplace as the prices plummeted. Ads were planned based on the lower prices and as soon as that happened, the prices again shot upward. As Sockeye catches from other areas started salmon prices have stabilized and we are able to offer some great deals now.

Wild salmon showing early in good numbers indicate there was plenty of food in the water. This year’s salmon are fat and very red showing that the herring, smelt and squid that they feed on were abundant. Many people think that this is because of the Icelandic volcanoes erupting adding organic matter into the oceans of the Pacific.

We have Sockeye Salmon from Copper River, Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay as well as the beginnings of Cook Inlet. Prices are down close to the Copper River opening and are now comparable to Atlantic Salmon, especially for pin bone out, skin-on portion; and in some cases even less, depending on size.

If we had our choice, it would be to buy Sustainably, American Caught, Domestic Wild Salmon for taste, health benefits and to support the US economy. We understand the consistency of Farmed Atlantic Salmon from Chile, Scotland, Norway, Canada and even the US, but nothing beats Wild Salmon when it is running and predictions are that this will be a great run! This should bring prices down for all salmon during the coming months.

King Salmon, which has been scarce for the past few years, is also showing up in good numbers. We were able to option a good amount of verifiable, Sustainable Copper River Kings at a great price relative to the market lately.

In addition, we are getting Kings from the Inward Passage of Alaska, Trolls from the Queen Charlotte Islands and the beginning of Columbia River Kings coming into our building. Please discuss these with your sales person as we are adjusting prices daily as new shipments arrive!

We only buy Columbia River Kings from the Astoria area which is the bay and mouth of the Columbia River. These fish are bright and the meat is deep orange with an abundance of fat. We think they are comparable to Copper River with better prices!

The real bargain is Wild Keta Salmon from Prince William Sound. We are running a special this week on skin-on, pin bone out fillets at $5.29/lb and skinless portions at $6.99/lb. Check with your sales rep for details.

Swordfish prices have been high, and will most likely stay relatively high, over the next 2 weeks until after the July 4th weekend because of the traditional grilled Swordfish for the holiday in New England and other areas of the country. We have good supply and prices on Swordfish coming in almost daily. We are featuring our gorgeous Swordfish Chops for $7.99/lb. Talk to your sales person about this great, limited item to feature on your menus.

One of the downsides of the Wild Salmon season is that Halibut becomes more scarce and, hard to believe, more expensive. We are at record levels for Halibut prices and we see no signs of relief in the coming days. In fact, we see prices going up.

We are beginning to see a little more Wild Striped Bass coming to the marketplace even though it is very expensive. But the real value is Black Bass from fisheries off of the mid and north Atlantic. Prices are at a 2-3 year low!

Also out of New England, we have just landed 2 beautiful, Sustainably-caught Blue fin Tuna. Caught well within the permitted areas by hook and line, these fish have exquisite sushi-grade color and fat content. All Tuna, including Itsumo, is a relative bargain right now and is actually more reasonable than Swordfish for the first time in quite a while.

Grouper is coming out of Mexico and the US and we have a good shot of Grouper coming in today with slightly lower prices on Mexican Grouper fillets. But because of the currents and lack of cool water, catches out of that area have been very scarce and the prices have not come down as much as they should.

One item that has been extremely high, and is not expected to drop until after the 4th, is Lobster. The catch on Lobster has been weak with the constant bad weather in the Northeast which is also affecting the prices of Cod, Haddock and other species from that region. The shed is coming 2-3 weeks later than last year and Lobster prices are at record levels; partly because of lack of catch, partly because of the high demand of processed Lobster tails and meat and partly because the US dollar is so weak against the Euro, Yen and Canadian Dollar.

For some reason, prices on Fresh Domestic Crabmeat from the Gulf and Imported Crabmeat are extremely attractive. It is a good idea to look at Fresh Crab meat from the US and Venezuela and even from Mexico where it is lower priced than pasteurized in some cases.

Because of the hot weather and warm water temperatures over the last 2 weeks, Soft Shell Crabs have been harder to get but we do have a limited amount coming in. Prices are much higher than they were at the end of May. Pre-orders are very much appreciated and we will bring them in as we get availability.

In Louisiana, we are seeing a late Crawfish season because of the high flood waters. These Wild Crawfish are bigger but the prices have not come down and they are not expected to come down at all. Local crawfish are at an all- time high for this time of year in supply of Live Crawfish, Fresh Crawfish Tail Meat and Cooked Crawfish. The good news is that we may have Crawfish for the next 3-6 weeks. We do have a good supply of reasonably priced Spanish Crawfish Tail meat which we feel is the next best thing to domestic crawfish and far superior to the Chinese mudbugs!

As the water changes in the lakes and bayous western Louisiana, we are starting to see some Large Drum and Puppy Drum coming back in, as well as a limited amount of Sheephead. Prices are more expensive, but still a relative bargain.

We are starting to see some Wild Shrimp out of Cameron, LA. We should have some Domestic head-on and headless Shrimp out of the western part of Louisiana, and some Peeled Rock Shrimp and Bluefoot Peeled Shrimp out of Ecuador.

Scallops continue to be pricey and with the weakness of the US currency, we see no way around it.

We are looking at a new Oyster out of Virginia and hoping to have it in next week. It is a cold water oyster that will be under 50 cents!

On the All-natural Hormone-free land lover’s Protein side…

We are offering some continued specials on our Painted Hills, beautifully marbled, Ribeyes. Ask your sales rep about this great menu item for the coming weeks.

We have a good supply of Le Quebecois Top Round and Marcho Amish Farms 6 Bone Racks on special this week, as well as, All-Natural Hormone-Free Lamb Denver "Baby Back" Ribs.

We are happy to have a good supply of 100% Certified Berkshire Pork Eden Farms Apple Bacon and 10 Rib French Racks on a feature this week through the 4th of July.

Our Jurgielewicz Farms Pekin Duck has won 11 out of 11 cuttings and one of our Carolina customers said, “…it was the best whole duck she’s ever cooked and I have to try this with curry…”!

Chicken is always a hot item around the July 4th weekend (pardon the pun!) and our Springer Mountain All-Natural, Hormone-Free Chicken, from up the road in Georgia, is the greatest chicken you can offer to your customers. Please let your Inland rep know what you need in advance to ensure availability.

Wild Mushrooms are starting to show up everywhere and we have some gorgeous Porcinis and Morels from Oregon and Northern California that will complement many dishes.

Market Report June 17, 2011

Leading into the Father’s Day weekend, there are a few changes in the market to consider.

After a slow start to the Wild Salmon season, the good news of the weekend is some great supply of Copper River Kings.

As a terrific surprise for Father’s Day, we will have some of the highly sought after Ivory King Salmon. They should be arriving today, check with your Inland sales representative.

Boats should be returning any day with another supply of Wreckfish. We are waiting to hear when they are coming in and we will keep you informed.

Most varieties of Snapper would make a great choice for menus as the supply is plentiful in the market. We received a great supply today of Yellowtails. Most of them are about 1-2 lbs with some as large as 6lbs for a perfect ‘whole-fish’ presentation for Dad. Consult with your representative for details of other availability.

We have a limited amount of Wild Striped Bass arriving for the weekend that also looks stunning.

Alaskan Cod is coming in as a by catch so quantities have been scarce.

Haddock has taken a spike this week; we are hoping to see some supply next week.

Skatewing and Monkfish supply and pricing has been stable.

Tuna should be in good supply. We are expecting some nice domestic fish arriving today.

We are sampling some new varieties of Oysters this weekend and will be introducing them next week. Consider running special features on your menus with these specialty mollusks.

An amazing success has been our Viking Village Scallops. These are a must if you have not tried them yet. Everyone who has tasted these ultra dry, day-boat caught beauties come back for more. We should have a shipment arriving on Sunday for delivery next week.

Ask your sales person about our inventory of all-natural, hormone-free meats, poultry, lamb and veal. Perfect for the grill this weekend and all summer long!

Have a safe and happy Father’s Day weekend from all of us at inland Seafood.

Market Report June 14, 2011

In planning menus and specials, there are some great opportunities to consider.

Amberjack has been difficult to procure as high winds continue off of the coast of Florida.

Wild Striped Bass opened June 1st in Maryland and it has been less than spectacular. The quality has been low and supply limited. They are starting to lay traps for larger cooler water ocean fish, we will keep you updated. As a side note, Massachusetts opens in mid-July.

Father’s Day Weekend is a great opportunity to cater to them with some of their favorites.

Dads love to grill and some terrific items for grilled specials on menus or on special at the seafood counters are Tuna and Wild Salmon.
We were able to secure a last shipment of beautiful #1 & #2 Yellowfin Tuna out of the Gulf.

Wild Salmon supplies improved over this past weekend and we will have some Columbia River and Copper River Kings along with Copper River Sockeyes in house with more arriving Thursday.

As fishing for the Columbia River Salmon increases we are seeing some limited amounts of Sturgeon as a by catch as well.

Wahoo has been more of a challenge to buy lately and Swordfish will be tight with the full moon tomorrow. Fishermen will be fishing the full moon but may not make it back to port for this weekend.

Dotted Rose Snapper remains a great value with a steady supply for a menu choice.

We should have some Domestic Red Snapper and Mutton Snappers arriving on Friday as well.

On June 12th, the Fluke Flounder Season opened in Massachusetts and we hope to have our first shipment in house by Thursday. These will be gorgeous sushi quality fish. They are caught on draggers with 300lb quotas. The sandy bottom doesn’t bruise the fish and the boats are back to shore quickly so the fish is in our building within 24 hours of being caught! These flounders will be running through August and will make a great consistent menu choice.

Another great choice coming up after this weekend and available for next week is Wreckfish. We will keep you informed as the shipments arrive.

We are also seeing good supplies of King Clip out of Costa Rica this week.

In addition, we will have a shipment of Domestic Pompano arriving tomorrow which we haven’t seen in a while.

Dads also love Shellfish and the availability should be good.

Oysters will be in abundance from both the east and west coast. We will receive the west coast varieties tomorrow. East coast comes in more regularly. Chincoteagues are a little limited, but we do expect plenty of Blue Points, Malpeques, Misty Points, Beausoleils and some other great ones. *Discuss options with your Inland Seafood Sales Representatives to ensure availability.

Crawfish Tail Meat is still pretty limited, but a beautiful special addition to many dishes, or as an appetizer is Fresh Domestic and Imported Crabmeat; supply is good and prices are very attractive; even lower priced than pasteurized in some cases.

Have a great week!

Market Report June 10, 2011

We are looking forward to a great weekend with some great items landing today.

We will have some beautiful Domestic Red Snapper. The quality is impeccable and prices are steady.

Another culinary favorite is Onaga Snapper. We received a shipment yesterday and this would make a terrific menu choice. Also know as Queen Snapper, this product is truly sushi quality, day-boat fish. There is a limited amount, so order early.

Another great option is Gulf, American-Caught, Mutton Snapper arriving today with the Red Snappers.

As we head into the weekend, we are expecting a shipment of Tripletail on Sunday; a perfect substitution for Grouper. These fish were caught in Panama and they are outstanding.

We will have some gorgeous Corvina coming in for the weekend, as well. These are also a product of Panama.

Some additional Black Bass should be arriving this weekend for delivery at the beginning of the week.

Soft Shell Crabs have tightened up in supply and prices have firmed up. Do not expect quantities to increase until next week.

Sushi Quality Day-boat Fluke Flounders will be arriving over the weekend and these fish are beautiful. The quantity will be a little low so order early.

To reduce some of the pressure from the low supply of fluke flounder, we have also brought in some of the best Northeastern Black Back Flounder. Prices are extremely attractive and we have a good supply. We are bringing them in pre-cut and fillets are averaging 4-6 ounces. To keep the prices at their levels, we are buying in large quantities and we are asking that you please order by 10 pound units.

Northeastern weather has improved and we are expecting some great opportunities in Ocean Perch, Market Cod, Large Cod and Hake that is beautiful.

Wild Sockeye Salmon should be in greater supply as more fishing areas open next but this week has shown shorter supplies than we would have liked. We are also expecting to have some King Salmon from Canada as the opening was Wednesday which should also bring the prices down.

We are also anticipating prices to come down next week as the next full moon ends and fishing increases. Prior to the full moon, fishermen are fishing less and waiting for the gulfstream migration during the full moon for more abundant catches.

Market Report June 7, 2011

The market has been fairly steady since our last report with a few notable items.

There has been some wonderful quality of Black Bass since the season has opened. We are getting great quantities and the fish are gorgeous. There has been supply coming from Florida up to the North Atlantic. Prices are starting to come down and should prove to be a terrific menu choice. Sizes are ranging from larges; 1-2 lbs; jumbos at 2-3 lbs and even some 4-5 lb fish should be coming in.

We have heard some rumors that we should start seeing some pound nets being laid in the Atlantic region and that we could expect to see some Pound Net Flounders. If you haven’t seen these, they are the highest quality flounder around. Stay tuned and we will keep you posted.

Wild Salmon will have a good season although this week seems to have a slow start. There are going to be some more openings on the Copper River. We are limited on Sockeyes right now. We do expect some other fishing regions to open soon and take some of the pressure off. We do have some Copper River Kings in house; get them while they last.

We are going to see our first shipment of Copper River Ketas in soon. *Your sales representatives will keep you informed.

Following our head buyer’s return from Viking Village, we will start to see some other products from that area. The Ultra Dry Fresh Scallops that we have been bringing in will continue with another shipment this week. These scallops are All-Natural, pristine, Day Boat Scallops andare absolutely gorgeous! If you have not tried these, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Your customers will thank you!

Aside from scallops, there are some beautiful Day Boat Fluke and Skate that we are bring in. These fish are fresh and make beautiful dishes with any recipe.

With some challenges in certain areas of the market, a delicious menu option with continuity of supply and good pricing is Farmed Redfish from our New Orleans buying station. Ask your Inland Seafood representative for information.

Market Report June 3, 2011

As the summer starts, there are many terrific menu options available. Here are some great values that will give your customers a wonderful selection.

Amberjack should be in good supply off of the Atlantic coast and prices remain steady.

Halibut seems to be running steady. Prices are a little up but the quality is exquisite.

Black Bass is going to be one of the best choices over the next week or so, the season just recently opened up in the mid-Atlantic. Expect some good quantities here on Sunday; 1-2 and even some jumbos.

We were able to purchase a little Wild Striped Bass out of Maryland. Season opened on the first of June but supply was much less than expected. Expect prices to remain firm as availability is limited.

Mahi remains to be a struggle out of South America but we are starting to see some head-on domestic fish at firm prices.

As far as we can tell, we are going to be out of Farmed Cobia for the next 6 weeks. Look for Wild Cobia to supplement the lack of farmed product.

One of our newer fish is Barrel Fish; a Wreckfish by-catch, caught off of the Blake Plateau, SC. We are seeing a decent amount and we tasted some yesterday and it was firm and delicious with the consistency of grouper.

Northeast Ground Fish remains a challenge. We are hoping that fishing will get better next week.

Flounder has been in short supply and the little bit of domestic is very expensive.

Grouper supply on domestic fish is very good and prices are attractive. Imported Grouper still remains a battle and prices will reflect that.

One of the big values in the marketplace is Dotted Lane Snapper. High supply has pushed prices down to some of the best that we have seen in quite some time. Check with your sales person for details.

Swordfish supply remains good. We have a very good inventory that will be in here for the first part of next week.

Tuna is also in very good supply. We have some domestic #1’s in house that are absolutely beautiful.

Wild Salmon has been volatile. After a great excitement last week over the Copper River opening, supply has tightened a little and prices are rising. We have not confirmed what we will have for next week.

Atlantic Salmon has reduced in price and there seems to be some chatter about Chilean supply. We believe that prices should begin to fall; we will keep you posted.

Imported Crab Meat is in abundance and prices are very good as the flood gates have opened on supply. We are hoping that domestic will follow suit in the downward pricing, mainly on jumbo lump.

Fresh water from the Mississippi flooding has decreased the salinity in the waters and pushed shrimp offshore resulting in a delayed start to Fresh Shrimp catch in the Gulf. South Carolina waters open on June 7th which will help relieve the pressure. As we get the updated news, we will let you know.

Soft Shell Crab production has reduced significantly. Most are coming out of the northeast but we expect that supply will increase next week. With the current limited supply prices are higher.

Market Report May 31, 2011

Hopes for a quick and less expensive opening to the Wild Salmon season, with the tremendous return of the Copper River, was bashed by this past weekend’s catch being less than was expected. Many producers pre-sold Sockeyes in anticipation of another overwhelming catch that did not materialize this weekend. This meant that Copper River Sockeyes became scarce as buyers scrambled to put Fresh Copper River Sockeyes in the ads as soon as possible as the prices were thought to be reasonable.

The Copper River Sockeyes, which are the first real wild fish in any volume for the first few weeks, are not as numerous as we hoped. Yes, there will be fish, but it will not be as cheap as we had hoped. Hopefully, as more areas open in the next 10 days, prices will come back down to where they were last week.
The price last week that was being offered by many suppliers are not available now. The good news is all in all these fish are $3.00-$4.00 less than this time last year. It is hoped that as more Salmon show up in other areas it will be like what happened in the Copper River with early returning abundant fish to lower prices for us all.

We do have an inventory of Copper River Kings that are way down in price, plus some Troll Kings from off of the Washington/Oregon coast, as well as, a few Ivory Troll Kings and Columbia River Kings at great prices.

Atlantic Salmon prices are steady-to-slightly down. Hopefully we will be able to move prices down further in the near future. Scottish Salmon is also less expensive on the medium sizes.

After the full moon, Swordfish prices should come down this week even though prices did spike during the Memorial Day weekend. First catches of Swordfish are coming in from Nova Scotia and off of the New England coast.

Mahi remains expensive.

Grouper and Snapper are starting to show up at more reasonable prices. *Check with your sales representative for pricing.

There are still fresh Soft Shell Crabs. They are more expensive but they will be more available as the week continues. Even though they are a little higher in price, they are still a great value.

Crabmeat prices are down so you need to check your fresh crabmeat supply.

With the beginning of summer in June, Oyster sales and availability drop as certain areas of the south close for protection against vibrio outbreaks. Prices of select gallons and other southern oysters are sure to go up. To mitigate this pressure, there should be more supply from Canada and the Northeast, as well as, West Coast Oysters.

We have a surprise shipment of peeled Rock Shrimp but we also suggest that people look at the Bluefoot All Natural Saltwater Shrimp from Ecuador. These are averaging a 40/50 count and they are still on special. This fantastic fresh shrimp option is raised in an all natural, eco-friendly environment on the coast of Ecuador where sustainability is the main goal. You’ll love their pure taste and firm texture courtesy of swift Pacific saltwater tidal currents that naturally replenish the ponds.

These delicious shrimp are harvested around the clock so that you can enjoy the freshest, tastiest shrimp available on the market, 24 hours from harvest!

*shrimp is raised in a low-density environment to avoid overcrowding and promote good health
*vertically integrated farm with full control over all operations guarantees a safe and 100% traceable product
*all natural, free of chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and never treated with preservatives

Cleaned and ready to cook, Blue Foot White Shrimp are super easy to work with! Whether you’re adding them to a salad, pasta or soup, you’ll love their flavor and their price! *Ask your sales representative for details.

In addition, we have specials continuing on Painted Hills Tenderloins and Briskets this week, along with Montana Ranch Striploins and Marcho Farms, all natural, block ready shortloins (to make porterhouse t-bones).

Market Report May 27, 2011

This Memorial Day weekend is getting off to a booming start and Copper River Sockeye Salmon are returning in numbers that have not been seen in years.

During the first 3 openings, 80% of the total Copper River Sockeye projected for this season has been met with almost 3 ½ weeks still remaining! Today there is a 36 hour opener which means that there has been plenty of fish going upstream to spawn. In Alaska the Department of Fisherie’s first priority is to make sure enough salmon get upriver to sustain the population of sockeyes (as well as all salmon runs) for the future. It looks like a banner year for Copper River Sockeye with 2 -3 times the projected amount returning to spawn! We hope this trend continues in other areas of Alaska as it will help fill a world-wide salmon shortage; especially in the US.

We have low prices on Sockeyes and Kings out of the US and Canada for this weekend. The only problem with these wild salmon is that we are only getting a trickle out of Alaska because airspace is problematic. No one was expecting this amount of fish in the Copper River. Plants are backed up and the infrastructure for trucking product to the lower 48 was not in place this early. Hopefully we can have product later today for Saturday delivery, as well as weeks ahead. Prices are truly outstanding and we believe that they should hold in the weeks ahead.

We at Inland believe IT IS TIME TO PUT WILD ALASKAN SALMON ON YOUR MENU FOR THE NEXT 12-16 WEEKS!!! Your customers and American fishers will thank you.

We were hoping, and heard rumors, that Atlantic Salmon would follow suit and start dropping in price but we are not seeing it as of yet; but we believe it is just around the corner.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of Swordfish and Tuna for grilling this weekend.

We have on hand Red & White Troll Kings, a few Copper River Kings and some Columbia River Kings. All make a terrific choice for the holidays. If the planes arrive Friday from Alaska we will also have lots of Copper River Sockeyes for this weekend.

Halibut is remaining steady in its pricing and it should remain that way next week.

Grouper, Snapper and Swordfish prices should be edging down as well.

Tuna, with more of a world-wide demand, seems to be fairly stable.

Cod should be plentiful next week.

One issue is a lack of Flounder almost nationwide until the boats in New England can get out and fish.

A great choice to feature instead of flounder would be Amberjack over the next week.

On the Shellfish front, we are hoping to be clear of all shellfish by this weekend so that we can start stocking fresh on Monday.

Hopefully Lobster prices will trickle down, but bad weather in the Maritime Provinces of Canada has actually seen boat prices increase instead of decrease over the last 7 days.

Here is some good news; we are still seeing plenty of Soft Shells Crabs. Prices are up slightly but we can still get good quantities.

Fresh Crabmeat is coming down; both import and domestic.

The 1st of June begins a new season on Wild Striped Bass, with new quotas. Hopefully, this will mean large beautiful fish in the marketplace by the end of next week.

*As a reminder, we will be closed on Monday, May 30th, in observance of Memorial Day.*

Memorial Day is the day to remember all of the brave men and women who have served our country, fought to keep our freedom to choose and have made the ultimate sacrifice to make our nation great.

We thank you for choosing Inland Seafood for your Seafood, All natural proteins and specialty needs.

We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.

Market Report May 24, 2011

Memorial Day is typically a great grilling weekend and it is also the time when summer vacation starts and we have a terrific line-up of seafood for the grill as well as all-natural chicken, veal, pork, lamb and beef for all of your customers!

For The Grill…..From The Sea

We have a great run of Amberjack from Key West and North Carolina. This moderately priced fish is wonderful grilled, sautéed or baked.

In addition, there is a lot of Corvina around and Lake Pontchartrain Drum. Fishermen just went out after the flood and they are arriving today. Prices are very reasonable on both items making them good menu choices. The season on Baja Redfish is over. We will not see any for the next few months, except as a by-catch. There may be another season in the fall but the Corvina and the Lake Ponchatrain Drum mentioned above are in the same family.

Grouper prices seem to be moderating, along with Snapper of all kinds from Dotted Lanes from Panama, Dayboat Yellow Tails from the Florida Keys, to Gulf Red Snapper from Destin, Florida.

The grilling fish of choice for Memorial Day weekend are Salmon and Swordfish and we have an abundant amount of both.

Swordfish, which usually skyrockets this week, is very reasonably priced and we have a good selection of all sizes. Prices are very moderate for this Memorial Day weekend.

Halibut is beautiful and the price is still steady. We have large Halibut, up to 50 lbs, from Alaska, as well as nice 10-20 sizes; all are perfect for grilling or baking.

For Salmon, it looks like the whole world has turned into a giant salmon! Wild Salmon: Copper River opened last Monday and to everyone’s surprise, more Copper River Sockeyes were caught in the first 2 openers than was caught last year in the first 7 openers! It seems that this may be a great Wild Sockeye season; at least in the Copper River. We have a great inventory landing this evening from yesterday’s catch and prices are way down from last year!!!! Prices are “Way, Way” down. They are actually in the neighborhood of Atlantic Salmon fillets or lower. Call your Inland Sales team tomorrow to find out how low.

In addition, we have a limited amount of Copper River Kings but they are very expensive because of the limited amounts of kings being caught. We did make a great deal on Columbia River Kings and also Troll Kings out of British Columbia that are very inexpensive. These will be hitting our docks tomorrow afternoon.

We had shipments arriving from Scotland before the volcano blew in Iceland. Our inventory is fine and we should have enough to get us through the weekend until things come back to normal for Farmed Scottish Salmon.

We have a good supply of Atlantic Salmon; grown in the USA; from Washington State; as well as, Steelheads and Arctic Char.

There is plenty of Shellfish around. Soft Shell Crabs should be plentiful this weekend. Prices may be up slightly but the quality is superb. It has been a great run and we expect it to get us through this weekend; next week is still up in the air.

We have a good supply of Fresh Scallops and we are unloading a boat today at Viking Village. Our head fresh buyer, Richard Luff, is on the ground there and we will have some videos and pictures on our web site for you to see when he returns.

Lobster prices seem to have moderated some so we have a good supply on hand. Rumor has it that on Friday we will have our first inventory of Fresh Lobster Jumbo Lump Meat. It will be expensive in the beginning of the season and we will have this item until December and prices will moderate as the season progresses. We also want to remind you that we have a good amount of Frozen Lobster Jumbo Lump at better prices on hand now. These are perfect for Lobster Rolls!

As always, since we are closed on Monday, we are trying to run our shellfish tight. Please let us know about any special needs because we will run our inventory out by Saturday to restock on Tuesday.

Bluefoot Shrimp is a great menu choice and makes a terrific pasta dish. This is a fresh all-natural salt water raised peeled fresh shrimp.

For The Grill….From The Land

We have Jurgielewicz Farms Pekin Duck and Sonoma Saviors Magret Duck Breast.

We are running a special on All Natural Painted Hills 0x1 USDA Choice or better Strips & Tenderloins. Also from Painted Hills, we have great inventory of meaty Long Bone Shortribs as well as Briskets that will be great for barbequing this weekend.

We have great supply of all natural Springer Mountain Airline Breasts on hand. If you have a big order, please let us know in advance.

From Eden Farm 100% Certified Berkshire Pork company in Iowa, we have a great supply of Pork Spare Ribs and 10 Bone French Racks in house.

From Montana Ranch we have plenty of Bone-In and Boneless Prime Rib Eyes.

All Natural Colorado Lamb is great for grilling this week. Try our Boneless Lamb Legs and Bone-in Lamb Spare Ribs as a special this week.

We also have Marcho Amish Farms Veal Block Shortloins, which will make great Veal Porterhouses, as well as, Le Quebecois 6 Bone Chop Ready Veal Racks on special this weekend. Both are all-natural and humanely raised.

We also have the first of the season Morels hitting our dock this afternoon for those of you who want to make a great sauce with your grilled chicken, Lamb Pork and Veal.

Have a Safe and Busy Memorial Day; from everyone at Inland Seafood!

Market Report May 20, 2011

We are seeing good catches of East Coast Amberjack. Prices are attractive right now.

Halibut remains stable. We haven’t seen any reduction in price but quality is stellar.

Wild Striped Bass remains tight.

We are seeing some domestic as well as imported Mahi. Market is stable at best.

Farmed Redfish has been a tremendous success story. We bring it in twice a week and the quality if phenomenal. If you haven’t tried this fish, you need to! Delicious, flaky and perfect for many recipes.

Cobia is available and a great menu choice.

We are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel on Snapper. Dotted Rose Snapper (Lane Snapper) are starting to be caught in the southern hemisphere.

We are starting to see a decent supply of Tilefish from Mexico

Expect more Columbia River Sturgeon as we see openings.

It has been a dismal week for North Atlantic fish due to weather, but we are going to have good quantities of all your ground fish including Monktails and Skatewings.

Flounder remains a challenge. Prices are firm and there is very little fish out there. We are waiting for Fluke to open up in the Northeast. Expect that to happen in next several weeks and supply should be good.

No real breakthrough with Grouper. We have had enough to meet most of your needs but we are hoping that we will see some increased supply as we get closer to Memorial Day with lower prices.

Coming off of the full moon, we expect Tuna and Swordfish to be more available next week. Boats are out now and we are expecting some fish by early next week. Prices should be stable.

Wild Salmon: there was another Copper River opening yesterday and we are standing by with bated breath to find out availability. The Kings that we had in early in the week flew out of here. We do have some Columbia River Kings as well at a great value; check with your sales rep for details.

We are hoping to see some relief on Atlantic Salmon coming out of Chile soon. We will keep you informed.

With the cold spell earlier in the week, Softshell Crab supply is tightening up but we will have good amounts for the beginning of the next week.

Market Report May 17, 2011

Copper River Salmon season opened yesterday and we have some fish, mostly Sockeyes, in route from Alaska as we speak. They should be in house by Thursday. Prices should be lower than the astronomical prices that we saw last year

Halibut supply has increased. With good availability, this would make a great menu item.

Baja Redfish season is over. Look to Lake Pontchartrain Drum as a terrific menu option.

Tuna and Swordfish will be in short supply until the weekend because of the full moon.

East Coast Amberjack is opening and we are seeing a good supply.

Historically, Live Lobster prices come down after Mother’s Day but because of the rainy, windy, cold weather in the Maritimes over the past 2 weeks, boats only went out 3 of the last 15 days. This is keeping prices at the same level as Mother’s Day weekend. As weather improves, prices should come down.

Domestic Shrimp supply, especially 16/20 and smaller, is starting to increase and prices should reflect it.

With the recent cold spell, Fresh Soft Shell Crab supply should dwindle, but we are still seeing some availability.

*Due to flooding in the Mississippi, we anticipate that seafood production over the next 7-10 days out of Mississippi and Louisiana will be greatly impacted. We will keep you posted.

On the Land lover’s Side…

Beef prices on middle meats; ribeyes, striploins and tenderloins; are coming down as demand decreases. There are some great values to be had!

Market Report May 13, 2011

The outlook for next week is optimistic in the sense that we are beginning to see fish show up at more reasonable prices, finally, after Mother’s Day. Having a Mother’s Day so close to Easter meant that the first fish that showed up at the docks after the Easter holidays had high demand and high prices. We expect prices to moderate over the next 2-3 weeks…we hope A LOT.

We think that it’ll show in prices over the next two weeks for things like Grouper of all varieties, Various Snappers species, Swordfish, Amberjack, Tuna and Corvina.

Mahi prices will not be extremely crazy, just slightly crazy as boats return without the demand of Mother’s Day.

Atlantic Salmon: we are getting rumblings that the market may fall but we don’t have verification. It is just a matter of time. Some of our sources say the fall is imminent and others say that we will not see the fall until July but all agree that it will fall within the next 6-8 weeks so please do not do any long term contracts at this time.

Besides that, we have seen a reduction in the prices of Wild King Salmon. These fish are Troll (hook and line) fish from Canada and the inward passage of Alaska and the Oregon and Washington coast as well as a few Columbia River nets Kings. We are positive we will see astronomical prices for the first big run of Wild Alaskan Salmon from Copper River this upcoming week. The season opens on the 16th and because of cold water temperatures and heavy snow pack, we are sure prices will be completely stupid where only the owners of Microsoft and Apple will be able to afford the first fish.

Medium size whole Atlantic Salmon and fillets from Scotland will be fairly inexpensive overall but big sizes from Scotland will be much more expensive.

Halibut prices haven’t come down but they haven’t gone up; we guess this is good news.

There’s still a lot Lake Pontchatrain Drum as our fishermen made their last sets today in preparation for the high waters as the levies are let out in the lower Mississippi Bayou area.

Wild Striped Bass is expensive, though we are seeing signs that the prices may come down slightly. It still won’t be reasonably priced but it won’t be through the stratosphere.

Flounder in the mid-Atlantic is very expensive to nonexistent. Since the season is over, we will be looking to the Northeast. As soon as the weather settles we should have ample quantities of their species like Yellowtail, Black Backs and, hopefully, Gulf of Maine Dab Flounder. They may not be as good as our local flounder but they are caught in the USA.

The good news from the mid-Atlantic is that there are plenty of Soft shells Crabs showing up and the prices are down and will be down at least for the beginning of the week. That is until the full moon at the end the week which will then tell the tale as to whether we will have another good shed with more crabs coming to market at moderate prices over the next few weeks until Memorial Day. For the time being this is a great feature that all guests will really like and allows Chefs to strut their stuff!

We are starting to see a lot of Fresh Night Boat Shrimp from the Cameron area of Louisiana and we hope that the fresh water influx down the Mississippi does not stop these great local evening boat caught shrimp. But just as a reminder about easy to serve and handle we are getting RAVE reviews on our Blue Foot Saltwater-raised, All-natural, Hormone-free Peeled and Deveined Shrimp out of Ecuador that is replacing the Laughing Bird Shrimp. We are offering an introductory price this weekend and next of $9.99 a pound. This is less than the price that we were selling Laughing Bird, but we believe you really want to try this new product. So, if you buy the Blue Foot Shrimp next week, it will only be $9.99 per pound. That’s one special that we will have that you have to explore quickly!

The Scallop market will continue strong. Please, if you want the best, try our Viking Village, truly dry, fresh scallops out of Cape May, New Jersey.

Unfortunately, because of bad weather in Maine and the Maritimes in the Canadian North Atlantic, Lobsters will remain strong for at least the beginning of the week. Prices of frozen lobster products that were expected to fall soon may not for a couple of weeks. Please ask your sales rep about the wide variety of lobster products we have on hand.

What is bad for the people in New Orleans and the flooding in the bayous will probably be good for Crawfish. We anticipate that once the water settles that there will be a lot of water in the bayous that there will be a tremendous wild season in Crawfish extending probably into July this year. So we should have Live Crawfish and Fresh Crawfish Tail Meat through, at this point looks like, mid-JULY, which is very unusual.

Fishermen are pulling their last traps of Stone Crabs on Sunday and we’ll have our last shipment in on Tuesday. That should be it until next October 15th.

Scallops are still through the roof and will probably stay that way as overseas demand is huge and their currency is strong.

There are bargains to be had with Memorial Day coming up on Painted Hills Tenderloins, Boneless & Bone In Short Ribs as well as Striploins There are also great deals on Piedmontese All-Natural Montana Ranch product; especially their Ribeyes and Cheekmeat.

From Colorado we have some good deals on all natural lamb including spring lamb baby spare ribs, (stock up for Memorial Day) and fresh spring lamb shanks.

We have a good supply of Magret Duck Breast, as well as, new shipment of Jurgielewicz Duck coming in this week. Springer Mountain product is plentiful; we should have a good supply of that great local chicken so that’s a good time to check that out.

Market Report May 10, 2011

After the latest Easter and earliest Mother’s Day in the last 50 years, we see great opportunities in the seafood business during the coming weeks.

First, and foremost, after many false starts, Soft Shell Crabs have come out strongly in all their glory. This week we have fresh soft shells from the Carolinas and Virginia at outstanding prices.

They are priced at less than 3 dollars per crab and at that price they make a perfect appetizer or entrée. In addition to jumbos and whales we can special order primes or hotels (smaller crabs). We are also going to stock Dressed Jumbos for a slightly higher fee. Dressed crabs are already cleaned and are ready to be grilled or breaded for a terrific spring menu item! *any large orders or dressed jumbo orders need advance ordering.

Out of the Gulf and the East coast, we are also seeing a lot of Amberjack. In addition, the south Atlantic is now open to fishing and we are beginning to see beautiful Sushi-Quality, Day Boat, Grouper, Snapper, Triggerfish and B-liners. We expect more landings and increased quantities as the season progresses.

Flounder from the mid-Atlantic is over for a while until the pound net season starts later this month. We will possibly get Fluke Flounder in from New Jersey and Maryland, but now our attention will turn to Gorges Bank Flounder, Yellowtails and hopefully some Dabs out of the Gulf of Maine.

Swordfish is a real bargain this week. Landings are coming in from the USA and Costa Rica.

Tuna is steady in price and so is Atlantic Salmon.

We are still getting quantities of Lake Pontchartrain Drum from Louisiana. We don’t know how the rising waters from the Mississippi River are going to affect this fishery but stay tuned for more information as we get it.

We have good amounts of Loupe de Mer arriving today from Greece.

In addition, we also have good inventory of North Atlantic Farmed Turbot from Chile.

Cod is reasonable, both from the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest.

Haddock from the Gulf of Maine is also a great menu choice at this time.

Lobsters have started to fall in price and will remain down for at least the next 2-3 months. Our prices will adjust accordingly as the week goes by.

The Shellfish market remains steady.

Live Crawfish and Crawfish Tailmeat out of Louisiana are readily available as of now but we do not know what the rising Mississippi will do to the bayous and estuaries.

We have had great success with our Bluefoot Peeled Shrimp which is the successor to the Laughing Bird shrimp. We expect a new shipment in today at the same prices. We are also hoping to receive another shipment of the beautiful 16/20’s head on shrimp out of Cameron, LA, like last week. People were astounded by the quality!

For the bird lover, we have good inventories of Magret Duck from Sonoma Artisan and Jurgielewicz Duck from Long Island, as well as, a good amount of All-Natural Springer Mountain Chicken from right up the road in Georgia.

Market Report May 6, 2011

Some last minute specials and notifications for Mother’s Day weekend as well a glimpse at next week’s outlook.

Grouper remains very tight but we do have a lot of Lake Pontchartrain Drum that is absolutely stunning.

Wild King Salmon is sold out and we will not have any more for this weekend but we do have a new shipment of both Scottish Salmon and west coast Alaskan Halibut. We will have more Kings by the Middle of next week.

We are getting some expensive Mahi as well as a little of Gulf Red Snapper today. Prices are up there and will stay high through next week; we believe.

Atlantic Salmon looks to be in good supply. We are limited on big fish so if you need a large whole fish, call as soon as possible. We should see prices fall by the end of next week, we hope.

One thing we received that we were not expecting was a huge shipment of Swordfish! Extraordinary quality and we are dropping the price again for next week. This will make a great grilled Mother’s Day special as well as a go-to fish for next week.

We have a good supply of Tuna that has arrived. We have both Itsumo Sushi-Grade Breadloafs as well as nice quality Yellowfins.

Next week looks to be a little bit better, we hope, for supply of Domestic Grouper, Snapper and other Gulf/South Atlantic species because have had time to return from their first post Easter trip and the Carolinas opened for off shore fishing after being closed since the first of the year.

The great news is that we are starting to see some Soft Shell Crabs. The price is down a little bit and the quality is superb! We have limited amounts in for this weekend so call early to reserve yours.

Next week looks like the deluge of soft shells will hit. Indications are that prices will be way down especially since the demand caused by Mother’s Day will be over. We will have plenty of Jumbo’s and some Whales. In addition, we will be offering dressed Jumbos in 2 dozen boxes on a pre-order basis.

From Cameron, LA, the shrimpers who sent us the beautiful Blue Whites Head-on 16/20 Shrimp, came in yesterday with another load and we have approximately 600-700 lbs; but it is sure to go fast. Call to reserve yours. In addition, we expect to have a few pounds of 26/30 Headless Shrimp from the same folks. They are extraordinarily beautiful shrimp!

People are going crazy for our Ultra Dry Viking Scallops. We received a new shipment this morning. They are eating like sugar!

We also have a good inventory of Ocean’s Alive and Seatrade Scallops that are dry and a good value.

We have a good supply of Lobsters on hand. Our last shipment arrived last night. We should have enough, but order soon to ensure your supply. First come first served. These lobsters have good hard shells and will be great for Sunday. Big ones, 2lbs and up, are fairly scarce and need to be ordered right away.

We still have decent inventories of Painted Hills Tenderloins that we are running on special this week, as well as a few cases of their Bone-in Prime Rib. Also, we just received a new shipment of Hanger Steaks, as well as, some Painted Hills Boneless Short Ribs.

All the other specials from the beginning of the week are still running as well!

Don’t forget the great value and quality of our 100% Certified Berkshire Black Forest Hams from Eden Farms. We are down to our last 3 cases, so reserve yours right away.

We have a good supply of Duck Magret Breast. Foie Gras is selling out rapidly. We have Whole Jurgielewicz Duck and single serving Pekin breasts on hand but we are selling out of the breasts quickly.

We wish everyone a Busy and Wonderful Mother’s Day!

Market Report May 3, 2011

This is traditionally one of the biggest weeks of the year for people taking care of “Mama”. There is an old saying that says “If Mama ain’t happy then no one’s happy.”
Well, nothing could apply more to Mother’s Day and the days leading up to it.

First of all, on the seafood front, you can make Mama very happy by giving her Lobster!
We have lobster in all shapes, forms and sizes. Obviously there is live lobster, and as we predicted, prices are high but not as crazy as in Mother’s Days past. In addition, we have a decent supply of lobster tails, both warm water and lobster tails from Maine and Canada. *Please order early, the season for processing has not started and supplies from the end of the season on Maine and Canadian produced products are running very low so it behooves you to buy what you need right away instead of waiting until the last minute.

We do have an adequate supply of Frozen Lobster Meat of all sizes, including our relatively bargain priced broken lobster meat which is perfect for making with pastas, sauces or stuffings. We have claw & knuckle and leg meat (CKL Lobster meat) which is perfect for all dishes that require lobster and is a bit cheaper than our ultra premium nitrogen frozen all-natural claw and knuckle meat which is nothing but 100% claws and knuckles.

And then, for the ultimate treat, there is Jumbo Lobster Lump. We have a little bit, and I do mean a little bit, of this frozen jumbo lobster lump that was frozen from this January’s Canadian season in stock. Prices are about the same as Fresh domestic Jumbo Lump Crabmeat. Supplies are limited so order very, very early in order to ensure supplies of that item.

In addition, if you’re trying to make a lobster dish, we have Minced Lobster Meat, Lobster bodies, and both raw and cooked Lobster Leg meat. We also have the Clearwater raw, high-pressure processed lobster in both body meat and claw and knuckle meat; and whole lobster. Don’t forget that Inland Market also produces restaurant quality Lobster Cakes that are perfect for an appetizer in 1-ounce sizes and in a 3-ounce size.

The other item that draws a lot of attention during Mother’s Day is Crab. It seems as though Soft-shell crabs are going to be few and far between and super expensive until after this weekend but we have the fabulous Florida stone crabs in stock as well as a decent supply of Imported and Domestic Fresh Crab meat. Maine Peekytoe Crabmeat is starting to roll in again as that season gets under way.

We have a good inventory of all types of Pasteurized Crab meat from China, Indonesia, Philippines, and the US, as well as, first-of-the-season Alaskan Snow crab (we even have a good supply of jumbo snow crab in stock, some are actually bigger than some of the King Crab we’ve seen lately. There is a new shipment of huge 9-12 King Crab legs; this is a very rare commodity indeed.

*Please pre-order all of these items as quickly as possible, especially the frozen, as there is no benefit in waiting for any of these items until the last minute. Also if you could let us know if there is any fresh or live needs that you may have, it would really help us in planning our purchases.

May is also the time of year where we start to see Fresh Shrimp coming out. This year it is very late due to the cold weather in Georgia and South Carolina and we’re seeing very few fresh shrimp. What we do have as a surprise is something called Blue Foot Shrimp, which is as close we get to the famous Laughing Bird shrimp from Belize. This is a salt-water grown, all-natural, antibiotic-free farmed peeled shrimp from Ecuador. The price is very similar to Laughing Bird shrimp. It is peeled and de-veined from a 41-50 shrimp and is wonderful for all applications that you used Laughing Bird or the freshly peeled rock shrimp that is now again out of season.

FLASH SURPRISE!!!!FRESH 16/20 HEAD ON SHRIMP ARRIVE TOMMOROW!!!!
A few boats we had been working with in Cameron, Louisiana have come together to change the way shrimp are caught and sold in the Gulf.
First -the boats only shrimp at night and come in in the morning.
Second -they are unloaded in a refrigerated dock and hand graded.
Third-they are rushed to all our plants throughout the south and will be here tomorrow.
Fourth-to preserve the integrity of the heads we want to sell them in 20 lb. cases at a special price for orders bought that way.

One thing that is plentiful for this weekend is Crawfish and crawfish tail meat. Live crawfish and cooked crawfish will be available this week. We will have some limited supplies of cooked crawfish from Louisiana, and live crawfish is a pre-order item. But we should have good supplies of Louisiana, freshly-picked crawfish tail meat for all sorts of uses for this weekend.

Scallops should be abundant but up in price. Please do not forget our Viking Village, super-fresh dry dry scallops. Mama deserves the best!

Shellfish, including Oysters and Mussels, should be abundant but again please give us pre-orders so that we can bring it in on time. Our last truck arrives from the Northeast on Friday and our last truck arrives from the Gulf on Thursday night, so please help us to not disappoint you.

Fish wise, it is pretty much as we predicted. There is a decent supply of expensive Atlantic Salmon, a hopefully increasing amount of Fresh King Salmon out of Alaska and Oregon with various amounts of Arctic Char and Steelhead.

The fish that will be readily available will be Lake Pontchartrain Drum, Baja Redfish and we have the first Amberjack since the closing to enter our building tomorrow.

Flounder is tightening up. Flounder will be available from the mid-Atlantic, prices are up a great deal, but the quality of this last catch from the spring season is exceptional.

One surprise is great quality Tuna and Swordfish at really good prices for this weekend.

Snapper and Grouper, as we predicted, remain very, very scarce and very expensive, although we have inventories of both there are better options at less money.

If you need orders of Fresh Squid from Rhode Island or day boat Cod or Haddock from the Gulf of Maine, as well Skatewing or Monkfish, please let us know as soon as possible.

On the Farm-raised front, we have a good order of Loupe de Mer arriving tonight after being harvested this morning in Greece. We have new stock of farm-raised North Atlantic Turbot arriving on Wednesday. In addition, we’re seeing that Halibut will be available but the prices are still up.

On the non-seafood side we have good inventories of everything you could want; All Natural Veal from both Marcho Farms and Le Quebecois, Piedmontese Beef from Montana Ranch, Painted Hills All-Natural Beef, as well as, Springer Mountain Chicken. *Please let us know if you need additional airline breasts as this is usually in high demand for Mother’s Day.

We have some terrific Duck including Sonoma Margret breast & Foie Gras and our Pekin Duck from Jurgielewicz Farms that people are absolutely ecstatic over. We have been in twelve cuttings since last week against the stuff from way up north in Canada and we have won and gotten orders all twelve times! Please, we are not trying to ignore you by not showing you the product but it is hard to get around and see everybody at once.
Please let us know when you can schedule our sales crew to come and show you a sample.

Don’t forget if you could let us know about the Great Southern Plantation Quail from down the road in Madison, GA. They now have the quail airline breast as well as semi boneless breasts and quail eggs.

We also have a great selection of all sorts of Smoked items such as seafood, duck breasts, American & Italian prosciutto, Spanish parma ham and of course Eden 100% Kurobota Farm in the USA Bacon (both sliced and whole slabs)

Speaking of Pork, we have the world’s best pork which was just named 1st in the country; 100% Certified Berkshire Eden Farms ham. We have a good inventory of Ten-bone racks, Black forest hams and a really good inventory of pork butts and pork bellies for this weekend.

We have replenished our stock of Colorado Domestically Grown All-Natural Lamb and New Zealand Lamb after the Easter holiday.

And for your Sunday brunch we have just about everything you could want from locally produced Chicken Sausage, Aidell’s sausage, turkey bacon from Goodschall’s out of Pennsylvania and a new item; Harper’s Country Ham from Kentucky!

Market Report April 29, 2011

May 1st starts the beginning of new seasons and the end of old seasons in the fishing world.

First is Flounder, the season for flounder, is over in most areas of the mid-Atlantic and most of what will be coming in will be in very reduced volumes and higher prices are sure to follow. Even though the quota has been increased dramatically the season will be declared over on May 1, 2011 for the spring season and will the fall season will start around October.

Amberjack, Red Snapper, and Black Grouper along the Atlantic coast will be open on May 1st. Expect to have some boats in probably by the 2nd or 3rd of May as they have anxiously been awaiting that day to start fishing. Prices will be high to start and should fall after that. Mexican and Domestic Gulf Grouper should start showing up again as boats are returning from their first trip after the Easter break. By mid-week next week we should see a lot of grouper in inventory with the hope of perhaps lower prices.

There’s good news and bad news about Halibut. The good news is it doesn’t seem like the price is going to rise this upcoming week. The bad news is that it doesn’t seem like prices will be coming down this week. For the upcoming holiday; Mother’s Day weekend; we foresee having decent quantities, but prices will not be inexpensive.

We should have a good inventory of Corvina, Farm-raised Redfish and more Baja Redfish.

We are still getting a lot of Lake Pontchartrain Drum, which is a great value and will hopefully continue to be sold for the next 30 days.

We should have a good supply of Tuna and Swordfish as boats come in from the full moon and the holiday.

With Salmon, there should be plenty. Unfortunately prices will not come down just yet. We should have a decent inventory of Scottish, Norwegian, Canadian, and United States farm-raised Salmon. There is good news for wild salmon as the Troll King Salmon season starts. May 1st starts off the Oregon and Washington coast and word is that there are plenty of fish in the water. In addition, we should have some Big Spring Columbia River Kings from the Sunday opener here by Tuesday.

We should have more Alaskan Cod as well as Dover Sole for the beginning of the week and hopefully more as the week progresses.

The beginning of April opened Scallop season in the Eastern United States, but because of increased European demand for scallops and the weakening of the dollar, the price of scallops with the new season is actually going up instead of down. The earthquake in Japan destroyed a lot of the cold storage inventories and the ensuing tsunamis ruined a lot of scallop beds in the Hokkaido Peninsula so the demand in that part of the world for our big scallops is way, way up.

We are getting rave reviews about our Viking Village day boat ultra dry Sea Scallops. We will have u/10’s for Monday and hope to have more as well as u/12’s by Wednesday.

Lobster should be steady and we’re hoping that by the end of the week it may even drop as Canada starts to get out and fish and U.S. boats start to cycle in.

Crabmeat will be about the same as the past week.

Mussels, Oysters and such will be in high demand so order as early as you possibly can or at least give us an indication of your needs. One problem is because of the cold weather, the severe amount of rain and lack of sunshine in the Pacific Northwest.

Mediterranean Mussels that are grown by growers in the Northwest are way behind season and they are not harvesting them for the next 3-4 weeks until the water warms up and they have more growth.

There should be some Stone Crabs coming in next week, as the boats begin to pick up their last trips of the season which closes May 15th.

Softshell Crabs are going to be few and far between because every time there is warm weather and crabs are caught, it turns cooler very quickly and the shed seems to disappear.

One bit of bright news is that Live Crawfish and Crawfish Tailmeat seem to be coming down almost daily and the availability is way up. *We do pre-orders only on live crawfish.

We should have some Cooked Crawfish pre-ordered in next week and we should definitely have three or four shipments next week of crawfish tail meat.

We are going to run an extraordinary special all of next week on Painted Hills tenderloins if you buy a full case of 35 lbs for $12.99/lb. Ask your sales person for details and to place an order.

We are also going to run specials on 6-bone Ready Veal Chops from La Quebequois, as well as, Block-Ready Veal Shortloins from Marcho Farms. In addition we will have All-Natural, Hormone Free Striploins from Montana Ranch and Certified Berkshire Pork Black Forest Hams from Eden Farms for your Mother’s Day brunch!

Market Report April 26, 2011

It is not too early to start planning for next weekend for Mother’s Day. This is the closest that we will see Mother’s Day to Easter in many years to come. Because of this, the market on many seafood items is high and availability is tight. Most of the boats in Central and South America came in for Easter and are just heading out now. We are not expecting catch from them until next week. What we do see will be expensive compared to last year. These high costs are also attributed to the weakening US Dollar. There will still be some good opportunities for this week and next.

*NEWS FLASH – A boat just arrived with Day Boat Pompano, the sizes are ¾-1 lb and 1-1 ½ lb. They will be in our building on Thursday morning. Prices are too good to publish, ask your rep for details!

Flounder is still a relative bargain until the end of the season on May 1st in the Mid-Atlantic which means that prices will be going up by the middle of next week.

Halibut is still very expensive and we do not anticipate that coming down in the near future but we will have good availability.

Wild Striped Bass is still very expensive and will probably remain that way until the Fall.

There is hope for King Salmon because on May 1st California, Washington State and certain areas of Alaska are open for fishing and Canada is now open for Troll Kings. There should be some expensive Troll Kings this week and next in the marketplace and prices could come down.

The Atlantic Salmon market is steady and everyone is holding their breathe for prices to drop. But the Monday harvest was canceled because it is a holiday in many countries on the Monday after Easter. All Canadian, Scottish, Chilean and Norwegian harvest did not happen yesterday as normal which means a semi-shortage of fish going into Mother’s Day in the US. The outlook after Mother’s Day looks like prices should decrease…by a lot we hope.

Fish that had been in good abundance over the last few weeks has also been affected by the holiday. We will not see a lot of Baja Redfish until the end of the week but we will see plenty of Lake Pontchartrain Drum coming in which is a great menu feature for the upcoming weeks.

Grouper remains high but is still less than it was during the closures.

Mahi is almost non-existent due to the full moon and the season ending. Our hopes were to get some out of Mexico and Peru, but the prices will still be much higher than we have seen.

Alaskan Cod is still a bargain, in the scheme of things, with Northeastern Cod well over 10 dollars.

For the holiday, we are bringing in Farmed Turbot from Chile, both fillets and 1-2 & 3-4 lb whole fish. This is a terrific menu item. Please pre-order; we have a limited amount coming this Wednesday and more coming next Wednesday.

Please let your sales person know about orders of Loupe de Mer and Dorade; other great farmed raised options. The prices are slightly up because of the currency exchange.

Shellfish is plentiful but as always pre orders will ensure that you will not be disappointed for the upcoming 2 weeks. This same request is essential for Smoked Fish as well as special order items.

Opportunities exist on smaller dry Sea Scallops and don’t forget to ask about our Ultra Dry, Ultra Premium, Viking Village Scallops.

We are starting to hear talk of more Softshell Crabs over the next 10 days out of the Carolinas and Virginia. We will keep you posted.

Lobster will remain high for the Mother’s Day holiday and then hopefully drop as catch starts in Canada.

Another opportunity in shellfish is Stone Crabs. Boats are coming in with their last catch of the season. We could have a lot of Stone Crabs over the next 10 days. Now that the tourists have left Florida, the market is plentiful and prices are down a little.

Fresh Blue Crabmeat is very expensive and imports are scarce because of the Easter holiday. We should start seeing Domestic Crabmeat by the end of the week as well as increased production from other countries. Fresh Peekytoe from Maine is becoming much more available and the price is right.

In addition, plenty of Oysters will be around. Please let us know what you will be need as we will be curtailing our selection and production as we enter the warmer weather months.

We also have great opportunity with our All-Natural, Hormone-free Beef with all of our programs. We will inform you of that later in the week.

We would like to again point out our Jurgielewicz Farm’s Pekin Duck which has been taking people by storm! The legs are much smaller than the magret and perfect for confit or roasting. The breasts are extraordinarily tasty and very reasonably priced. Each breast averages about 7 ozs; perfect for a single serving plate presentation.

With the warmer weather our all natural Sonoma Farms Magret Breast makes a great grilled entrée.

To avoid confusion, the Pekin Duck is a traditional duck that weighs around 3-4 pounds and is used for most recipes that call for duck like Duck a’la Orange etc.

The magret ducks grown by Sonoma Farms are a larger forced fed duck that makes wonderfully rich flavorful, yet much larger duck that weigh 6-8 pounds. This is grown for their luscious Sonoma foie gras and the Magret breasts are averaging about 16-20 ozs, each with larger legs than a Pekin duck.

All these are reasonably priced selections, except the foie gras, for the next couple of weeks.

We are taking pre-orders for Giant French White Asparagus as prices have come down, as well as orders for Porcini and Morel Mushrooms which should be available by this weekend.

French White Asparagus are a completely different flavor and size from the stuff grown in South America as anyone who has traveled in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Denmark will verify. There is really no comparison because these White beauties are about 6-10 per pound and 2-3 stems make a great special stand alone appetizer that your sophisticated diners seldom see in the USA. We are featuring them for 14.00 per pound over the next 2 weeks so an appetizer will run about 3.50-5.25 a portion.

**When placing your orders, don’t forget about our great selection of cheeses, oils, olives and other terrific specialty items that we carry!

Market Report April 22, 2011

We are looking forward to a terrific Easter weekend. We are anticipating a busy couple of days for restaurants and grocery stores.

We received some day boat Alaskan Cod this morning and prices are better than we thought! It’s a great seafood item to show your skills in the kitchen.

We have good amounts of Tuna for this weekend and prices are steady.

Swordfish has arrived for this weekend and should be plentiful through next week; prices are stable compared to where they have been.

Flounder continues to be a good menu choice with good availability and very reasonable prices.

Monkfish is also available for a terrific special this weekend.

Lake Pontchartrain Drum and Baja Redfish are in good supply this weekend and the prices are very good.

We have some beautiful Sturgeon in house. This steaky fish is perfect for a grilled entrée, smoked appetizer, oil poaching or as a great salad topper.

The price of Grouper from Mexico, and most fish from Central and South America, is extremely high and in short supply now. Things should get better in 10 days or so after the Easter holiday. Remember, most boats are in port for Easter now and it will be 10 -14 days before the boats cycle back in from their first post Easter trip with enough catch to bring prices down.

In addition, Mahi remains extremely expensive with the Central and South American season coming to a close because of a lack of fish near shore.

We secured some Day Boat Yellow Tail Snapper from the Keys for this weekend. As supply is limited and most snapper is very expensive right now, please order early.

Amberjack fishing is still closed on the East Coast and in the Gulf.

Striped Bass is still astronomically priced and in very short supply.

We have a great supply of Hook & Line caught North Atlantic Black Bass. Its great texture and mild flavor make it versatile for almost all recipes.

Farmed Turbot from Chile is also a phenomenal choice for this weekend’s menu.

Fresh Swai is available at great prices, as well. 5 - 7 oz fully trimmed fillets. This is a product that everyone needs to try. Ask your Inland Seafood representative for details. Product is limited, so order early!

Atlantic Salmon has increased, yet again, for the week. As an alternative, ask about both Red and White Troll Kings arriving from Alaska. Prices are high but the quality is higher!

Crabmeat out of the Gulf has sold out for the weekend but we have plenty of Imported Crabmeat to cover orders.

We can expect the Lobster market to remain high until after Mother’s Day.

On the Non-seafood front…

We had a great run on our Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Hams. Honey Glazed, spiral-sliced cured half hams are sold out but we have a limited supply of Applewood Smoked Black Forest Ham for the Easter buffets. Don’t forget to take advantage of the special pricing on the Berkshire Pork Bellies available through the weekend!

We also have USDA Choice Montana Ranch Piedmontese Ribeyes, which are perfect for any carving station at great prices for the Holiday.

As an equally great special we have All-Natural, hormone-free, Painted Hills tenderloins at deep discounts through Easter Sunday. *Remember, our cases on Painted Hills are smaller than average at 30-35 lb. weights, so take advantage of this, another great holiday buffet item.

We have a small supply left of Le Quebecois, all-natural 6 bone Veal racks at great prices. Ask your Inland Seafood representative for prices!

If you are considering poultry this weekend, don’t forget about our Georgia grown, All-Natural, Springer Mountain Chicken.

We just received a shipment of fresh Pekin Duck from Jurgielewicz Farms of Long island, USA, in time for this weekend. Whole Birds, Double Lobe Breasts and Leg Quarters are available.

Domestic Lamb is very limited as we approach Sunday, please contact your representative for pricing and availability.

Again, remember Mother’s Day is May 8th so there is not a lot of time between Easter and Mother’s day this year.

**When placing your orders, don’t forget about our great selection of cheeses, oils, olives and other terrific specialty items that we carry!

Market Report April 19, 2011

This is the last week of Lent and Good Friday starts off the weekend. We will see a lot of people going out to dinner and having family gatherings and buffets. We have a number of seafood items that are reasonably priced and perfect for this week.
We have a good shot of Alaskan Cod coming in this week. Prices are up a bit but it’s still a bargain, especially compared to Northeastern Cod which is well over $9 per pound.

We have good inventories of Tuna and Swordfish all week, prices are stable to where they have been.

Flounder, if the weather permits, will continue to be a good buy, prices are very reasonable. And, as a by-catch from the flounder boats, there is plenty of Monkfish available.
We are expecting to have more Lake Pontchartrain Drum and Baja Redfish this week, hopefully landing here by Wednesday at reasonable prices.

We are also expecting to see the more delicate Puppy Drum coming in tomorrow. The fish is a smaller size of the same Lake Pontchartrain Drum and the fillets will average between 8-14 ozs per side. The price is higher but in the scheme of things today it is a down right deal.

Because of Good Friday and the celebration, a lot of boats in Central and South America will be coming in for the weekend. Unfortunately, if these boats get in before Friday the price of their fish will be very expensive because the largely Catholic population of Central and South America eat a lot of fish the last week of Lent. The emerging middle class of these countries is now willing to pay for the fish and are actually willing to pay higher prices than we are used to paying in the USA, especially for this Holy Week.

The most dramatic example of this is the prices of Grouper from Mexico which have risen dramatically in the last 5 days.

Mahi prices, with the full moon and with the season winding down in Ecuador, are extremely expensive.

Red Snapper from Mexico and the USA, as well as Dotted Snapper from Central and South America, is very expensive. We did manage to get some day boat Yellow Tail Snapper from the Keys for weekend.

Certain species are tight because of closures and government regulations on catch size. Perfect examples of this are Amberjack; the entire state of Florida is closed to allow the species to breed; and Striped Bass fishing which has been closed for spawning almost everywhere except a small area near Maryland. The little bit that we are getting is astronomically priced.

Wild Redfish is also closed in most areas as well as Speckled Trout.

For a special catch, spring feature please look this week at Hook & Line caught North Atlantic Black Bass.

We brought in limited amounts of Farmed Turbot from Chile this week. Order early if you would like it for this week’s menu.

We are trying something different from Vietnam. We are bringing in Fresh Swai and introducing it to the market at great prices. 5 - 7 oz fully trimmed fillets. Product is limited, so order early!

Atlantic Salmon is very expensive and the Urner Barry report showed yet another increase for the week. Despite these price hikes we will have good inventories of Canadian Atlantics, Scottish Atlantics and Norwegian Atlantic filets with a sprinkling of Chilean Atlantic Salmon filets coming in. Prices, unfortunately, are up again.

Shellfish in general is something that you need to plan for in advance, if you’re featuring this on a buffet, as we are going to try to carry just enough for the holiday.

Pasteurized Crabmeat has been increasing in price due to worldwide demand. In addition, Crabmeat out of Central and South America is getting more expensive. For a change, Crabmeat out of the Gulf seems to be the only real bargain. We should have limited amounts of Fresh Crabmeat this week.

We are still seeing small amounts of Stone Crabs come in as the season nears it end.

Soft Shell Crabs are going to be scarce for a couple of days because of the colder weather over this past weekend.

Scallops keep climbing in price as demand in Europe and Asia goes up and the weak dollar means that they’ll be paying more for our products than we have been paying in the USA. It is getting to be a common theme that other countries with stronger currencies, that value great seafood, are bidding up the price many of our favorite seafood items.

The Lobster market is going up and it will probably stay up between now and Mother’s Day. Catches in the Northeast are dwindling and bad weather has forced a lot of boats in. We expect prices to climb another 30-40 cents this week and go up even further the week after. *Remember Mother’s Day is May 8th so there is not a lot of time between Easter and Mother’s day this year.

We are starting the week off with a really good inventory of Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Hams. Honey Glazed, spiral-sliced cured half hams and Applewood Smoked Black Forest Ham, perfect for Easter buffets, Easter dinners or specials that you want to run for this week. In addition to the hams, we’re also running specials on a great southern favorite; Berkshire Pork Bellies from Eden Farms, we’ve reduced the price for this week!

We also have USDA Choice Montana Ranch Piedmontese Ribeyes, which are perfect for any carving station at great prices for the Holiday.

As an equally great special we have All-Natural, hormone-free, Painted Hills tenderloins at up to a dollar and a half off if you buy a full case this week. *Remember, our cases on Painted Hills are smaller than average at 30-35 lb. weights, so take advantage of this, another great holiday buffet item.

We have a great special on Strube Ranch, All-Natural, frozen bone-in Kobe Short Ribs. They are packed in 30lb cases and our special pricing makes Kobe beef affordable on this week’s menus.

Le Quebecois, all-natural 6 bone Veal racks is also a great item, at great prices. Ask your Inland Seafood representative for prices!

Please stock up on poultry this week because we are going to run it lean and Springer Mountain is going to be closed Friday to Sunday so we have to get our orders in; no last minute pick-ups in Gainesville this weekend.

We have another shipment of Jurgielewicz Farms’ Pekin Duck coming in for this weekend. The Chefs who have tried this product all agree that this is the best Pekin Duck that they have ever tasted! It beats the feathers off that injected product with a leaf on it from Canada. Check out Jurgielewicz’s website, www.jurgielewiczduckfarm.com, for the whole story on this truly special duck; and we don’t mean The Donald!

Please order all of your Smoked Salmon and buffet items as soon as possible.

We will also have 4 cases of Porcini Mushrooms and a limited amount of French White Asparagus so let your representative know as soon as possible to ensure supply.

When placing your orders, don’t forget about our great selection of cheeses, oils, olives and other terrific specialty items that we carry!

Market Report April 14, 2011

This week it seems there are a lot of changes in the seafood market and a lot of opportunities to be had; especially for this weekend and the beginning of next week.

First and foremost are two fish from our local waters in the Gulf. Lake Pontchartrain Drum, the fish is a relative of the Redfish and we are catching lots of these big beautiful fish. The prices are outstanding. We’re talking way below $7 for fillets and a little bit above that for portions. The fish is fresh and comes to our New Orleans plant practically still flapping! In fact they showed up yesterday morning with some that were actually alive. It is caught at night by the fisherman and brought to us the very next morning. You couldn’t get any fresher than this.

Another local favorite that just came to our dock, with lower prices, is Gulf Red Snapper. We’ve reduced the prices to the point where it is our cheapest Snapper in our inventory. This beautiful Gulf product will make excellent fillets as well as portions. This is the best buy in Gulf Red Snapper in a couple of years! See why this is the king of the fish in the Gulf.

Mid Atlantic Flounder had been in short supply at the beginning of the week due to bad weather, but we just unloaded a boat and received it in our building this morning. The prices are up a little bit but the quality is excellent and it’s still a relative bargain.

Prices have come way down on Red Grouper from Mexico as the boats cycle in from the closure at the end of the month of March. Prices are way down, quality is excellent and we’re getting new fish every day.

We have been getting rave reviews on our farmed Chilean Turbot. This product is the ultimate in sustainability. It is grown in circulating tanks next to the ocean so there is no chance of disturbing the environment in the pristine waters of southern Chile. We have 1-2 pound fish which are perfect for tableside presentation. These fresh fish are at much lower prices than the price of frozen Dover Sole. We also are featuring 3-4 pound whole Turbot for filleting, portions or steaks. We also brought in a few 25 pound boxes of turbot fillets that are 8-14 ounces, skin-on, for $17.99 as an introductory special for this weekend!

One of the new items that we have started carrying is Viking Village Day Boat Scallops out of Barnegat Light, NJ. The boats go out for very short trips and are owned by one of the fishing families in a small area called Viking Village, hence the name. These are true day boat scallops and they are truly gourmet items. They are a little bit more expensive than the Ocean’s Alive or Sea Trade, but these are really the ultimate in specialty scallops.

Fresh Soft Shell Crabs have started on the East Coast and in the South. We are getting shipments daily. Prices are still a little expensive and will probably stay that way until after Easter (April 24, 2011) but you can be the first on your block to have this great delicacy of spring.

Another sign of spring is the emergence of Live Crawfish and Crawfish Tail meat. Live crawfish are a pre-order item so ask your salesperson for our schedule. Great news is that the price is down on fresh picked Louisiana crawfish tail meat and the sweet crawfish tails are very big right now. It is probably the most excellent time of the year to feature them. You can also make a sauce with the crawfish tail meat and put it on anything from chicken to tenderloin to duck.

Speaking of Duck, we’re still talking about the Jurgielewicz Farms ducks from Long Island. They’re at the very edge of Long Island over-looking the ocean. These ducks are the rave of all of the top-quality restaurants in Manhattan. Most of the white tablecloth restaurants will no longer serve any type of Pekin Duck other than the ones raised by Tom Jurgielewicz.

The duck breasts range from 7-9 ounce with a beautiful one-piece presentation, perfect for any recipe. We have a limited amount of whole duck on hand to do your own Pekin duck, or whatever recipe you want. We also carry Pekin duck legs and a limited amount of duck liver and fresh-laid duck eggs (perfect for any cake you may want to make). On special order, we are also carrying duck tongues.

The prices are very competitive with what’s coming out of Canada yet these are naturally raised and fed only grains and natural foods. This is a free-range duck, not a caged duck, and has never had a growth hormone or antibiotic introduced into its system. Unlike other Pekin ducks, they are minimally processed at harvest and there is no salt or solution added to pump up the flavor. There is nothing added, all you get is the pure goodness of the duck.

Now is a good time to start thinking about Easter buffets and Easter dinners. You need to pre-order your Lamb while we have a good inventory of fresh and frozen for next week. Please let us know your needs for Smoked fish, Oysters and especially your Eden Farms, All Natural, Certified Berkshire Black Forest and Honey Baked Hams which are the perfect item for any Easter dinner. In addition, we have good quantities of Veal on hand for that day.

Over the weekend we will give you a heads up on the seafood situation as well as a few specials on some all natural proteins.

Market Report April 8, 2011

The market on most species remains relatively unchanged from the earlier part of the week.

Swordfish will be very scarce going into the full moon.

Wild Striped Bass is very tight and looks like it will remain that way for the near future.

Prices on Grouper will be coming down for the beginning of the week and Baja Redfish from the Southwest Coast still remains plentiful.

With the bad weather, Alaskan Halibut is very hard to get and prices are reflecting it.

Farm Raised Salmon from both Scotland and Canada are stable.

Beef, Pork and other land proteins are increasing in price because of the inflated cost of corn.

The Lamb market is also high due to the feed cost and the upcoming Easter Holiday. Place orders early to ensure delivery.

Continued Features!
The Turbot and Pekin Duck are getting rave reviews!

We are directly importing North Sea Turbot grown in the pure waters of Southern Chile this weekend. If we can show the volume we need to, we can have around this price point consistently.

Direct Import! Buy like a wholesaler!

30 lb Case of 3-4 lb Fish
30 lbs case of 1-2 Turbotines
Cases land Monday and we will have more on Sunday for Restaurant Delivery. We are accepting pre-orders now. Get in on the Availability!

Free-Range, All-Natural, Pekin Duck products from Jurgielewicz Farms. The birds are raised on Long Island and the breed is prized for the delicate flavor of its meat and sweet, unctuous, fat. We offer Whole Birds, Breasts, Leg Quarters, Livers, fresh eggs and even Tongues on a limited basis.

Don’t forget to ask about the beautiful French White Asparagus before we run out!

Market Report April 5, 2011

The weather in the Northeast has put a damper on fishing. We purchased aggressively in anticipation so we have a good supply of Cod, Haddock, Pollack, Hake, Skatewing and Monktail.

From the mid-Atlantic, we think Flounder is going to tighten a little due to high winds and less than desirable fishing conditions.

Wild Striped Bass is as scarce as we have ever seen it. We were unable to buy any, at all, today but we are hopeful that we may be able to buy today for Wednesday or Thursday arrival.

On the Southeast coast, not much is going on as fishing for most species is still closed.

In the Gulf, Domestic Grouper is still very tight but we are starting to see some Mexican Grouper and the market is starting to soften a little bit. We are hoping to be able to lower prices soon.

Baja Redfish from the Southwest Coast remains plentiful.

We have a decent supply of Alaskan Halibut at palatable prices.

We were anticipating a decline in Farm Raised Salmon prices but the decline in supply caused stagnation and even increases. Some Chileans have even halted harvesting to maintain market value.

Wild Salmon from the Pacific Northwest looks promising. We are hoping to have some more of those beautiful Alaskan Troll King Salmon on Wednesday or Thursday.

The first of the season Soft Shell Crabs are arriving this week. We are expecting a minimal production and expensive prices. Hopefully the warming weather will help increase production and availability.

Swordfish is still steady and it will be until the 18th of April (full moon).

Tuna is still questionable and we are being careful. We have a good supply of beautiful, sashimi-grade Itsumo Tuna in house.

For a great menu choice, we have some beautiful Alaskan Cod Fillets from Kodiak, Alaska in stock; and more on the way!

We also have some gorgeous French White Asparagus and it is going quickly so order now!

Market Report April 1, 2011

Due to the fuel and feed cost being on a significant increase over the last three months all Tilapia and Rainbow Trout vendors are raising their prices over the next couple of weeks.

We expected Farm Raised Salmon to come down but it is not going to come down as much as we thought because of some major movements by some of the major suppliers to limit harvest. It’s a control issue for them and they don’t want the market to collapse so they have stopped harvesting. There is not a surplus of supply appearing in the marketplace the way we had anticipated. They will have to harvest those fish at some point so the surplus of supply will occur; we’re just unsure as to what date exactly.

From the Pacific Northwest, Halibut has come down a little bit; but not enough in our opinion. We feel like demand is so high and the trading of quota shares in the Pacific Northwest halibut fishery is causing prices to remain artificially high. We want the market to come down but we’re not sure we’re actually going to be able to see that.

Wild Salmon is just around the corner. Initial projections are that the first fish out of the North Columbia River and the Columbia River will be very expensive. We expect a moderate amount of fish initially and we’ll talk further about wild Salmon in May.

In the Pacific Southwest, Baja Redfish remains a good value and we look forward to California White Bass season coming on very soon.

In the North Atlantic, the Scallop fishery is set to open although this weekend they are having some April’s Fools’ snow in New England and some bad weather along the coast. We expect the weather to improve in the next ten days and the fishing effort to increase and prices on Cod, Haddock and the rest of the Northeastern ground fish to soften.

North Carolina and Virginia Flounder are still a good value.

Wild Striped Bass, due to size regulations and fishing restrictions, has tightened up and prices remain firm.

The South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are steady at this point. There are virtually no fisheries on the South Atlantic from North Carolina to the Florida Keys that are currently open. We expect openings on a couple of species in mid-April and then the rest will be open for fishing in May.

In the Gulf of Mexico there is still ‘The Edges’, or the 40 break, that will be closed until May 1st, but we are seeing some Red Grouper availability. Mexico’s moratorium is over and we’re starting to see some Mexican Grouper filet come in; that will begin to bring the market down and, hopefully, make Grouper more affordable by next weekend.

Due to Red Snapper IFQ’s, prices remain very high and the availability remains very low. Imported products like Snapper, such as our Dotted Snapper, remain firm and expensive due to a long-line ban in Panama and limited availability in other Central America producing countries.

Swordfish is relatively affordable, for this time of year, with an uptick in prices and a downward turn in availability with this next full moon on April 18th.

Tuna is a little bit shaky. Not as much domestic product as we would like to see and not as much imported product as we would like. We do have some fish coming but not a large supply.

Beef: Cattle futures prices continue to increase, pushing to record highs on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This escalation is forcing boxed beef cutout prices to move in accordance with the replacement cattle market. Expect these prices to remain very high through 2011.

Featured Items!

We are going to directly import North Sea Turbot grown in the pure waters of Southern Chile this weekend. If we can show the volume we need to, we can have around this price point consistently.
Direct Import! Buy like a wholesaler!
30 lb Case of 3-4 lb Fish--------$10.45 ------ 9 cases available
30 lbs case of 1-2 Turbotines 8.99----- 4 cases available

Cases land Monday morning for Tuesday Restaurant Delivery. Accepting pre-orders now. Get in on the Availability!

We are happy to offer Free-Range, All-Natural, Pekin Duck products from Jurgielewicz Farms. The birds are raised on Long Island and the breed is prized for the delicate flavor of its meat and sweet, unctuous, fat. We offer Whole Birds, Breasts, Leg Quarters, Livers, fresh eggs and even Tongues on a limited basis.

We will also have French White Asparagus in on Tuesday. Only 100 lbs available so get your orders in early!

Market Report March 29, 2011

The Atlantic Salmon market has come down a slight bit and we expect further moderation as the weeks go by. We have lowered prices on Scottish Salmon. Unfortunately, there is no really big 13 up fish but we have a nice supply of Sushi 11 to 13 pound fish.

We are also getting some day boat hook and line caught Troll King Salmon out of the inward passage of Alaska, prices have come down quite a bit but they are still expensive. Some of these same fish are destined for the Copper River and by the time they get there, in the beginning of May, not only will they be slightly larger but a whole lot more expensive. Right now they are well under 19 dollars but rumor has it that the Copper River Kings will be over 35 dollar this year.

Seafood, as other proteins, is at a historic high in price. But we have searched the world over to find our customers value. We have great prices that you need to ask your salesperson about:

Baja Redfish that is from the Baja peninsula of Mexico.

King Clip, a great grouper taste-alike from the country of Panama.

Day Boat Lake Pontchartrain Large Drum from Louisiana in the good old USA.

All these fish are well under $8 per pound. They offer everyone a great, moderately priced seafood entrée that can show off a cook’s creativity, as well as, being a great value.

Speaking of moderate, the Alaskan Halibut market is inching downward and we expect to have slightly more moderate pricing by the weekend that will be no longer be insane, but expensive.

The Tuna and Swordfish markets seem to be going in opposite directions; Swordfish slightly decreasing with Tuna rising daily.

Red Snapper from the Gulf, Yellow Tails and Dotted Snapper, have been very, very expensive and we expect that to continue although we have new supply coming in at slightly lower prices. Look to Mutton Snapper as the only real bargain.

On the domestic front, Flounder from VA is a bargain. Alaskan Cod, while slightly more expensive because of air freight, fuel surcharges and the closing of the season outside of state waters, is still a great bargain.

In the beginning of April, we should start seeing more fish show up so we will have some more availability on Grouper out of the Mexican waters, as well as Pompano and Cobia.

We have limited availability of some specialties items this week:
Pacific Rockfish fillet
Mongchong (Promfret) from Hawaii
Heibi (spearfish) from Hawaii
Columbia River Sturgeon from Oregon
Naigri (Striped Marlin) from Oahu

Order quickly as supplies are very limited! FIRST COME FIRST FILLED!!!
Check with your Inland Rep for more daily limited catch specials.

As the Final Four approaches we have a great selection of appetizers and hors devours that are great for Final Four parties.

Since March Madness is over we have a couple of things we would like to put on this weekend’s report. We have select crab cakes for less than .40 per cake and we have the last of our specials on select cuts of Springer Mountain All Natural Chicken.

We have All Natural Montana Ranch Piedmontese Strip Loins, this weekend only, for $7.59/lb if you buy a full case (55 lbs).

We are also cutting the price of our Marcho Farms All Natural Amish (2 inch) Hind Shank Osso Bucco. Ask your Representative for details!

Lamb prices have taken a big jump and our prices for next week are going to be higher yet again. If you are smart you will buy your lamb, either domestic fresh or New Zealand frozen, this week before the weekend as prices will probably go up another 5-7 % as Easter approaches. We get our lamb every week from that week’s processing, so these cuts will last you through Easter.

In addition, we need pre-orders on Eden Farms 100% Certified Berkshire Black Forest Hams, Honey Glazed Hams and, especially, for the Uncured Hams, because we only bring in what is preordered on that item due to shelf life. Also, it is time to stock up on Eden Farms all natural apple smoked bacon while we have a good inventory!

Market Report March 25, 2011

In our efforts to keep our customers up to date on all market news, we are excited to announce that the Inland Seafood Market Report will be distributed to all of our customers, and made available here on our website, TWICE a week! Come back every Tuesday and Friday afternoon to stay in tune.

The International Boston Seafood Show ended on Tuesday after introducing great new products and, at the same time, displaying some uncertainties.

We are seeing some softening in the world-wide marketplace on Farmed Salmon. We are adjusting our prices accordingly to take some pressure off of our restaurants and grocery stores. Keep in mind that these prices increase much more quickly than they decrease. The drop in prices will be a slow process.

We have some beautiful Alaskan Troll King Salmon out of Ketchikan, Alaska; they are absolutely amazing and would make a terrific menu special!

In a press release Tuesday, the NOAA announced that federal waters off South Carolina will be closed to all fishing for Brown, White, and Pink Shrimp through June 6, 2011 (read more…). We expect the same decision to be made for Georgia waters; we will let you know as we are informed.

In the Northeast, the weather has subsided and fishing has resumed. While product is available, it is not flush. The market is coming down slowly on Cod, Haddock, Monkfish and Skatewing.

Expect the new Scallop season to bring some temporary relief in prices and supply, but with the damage to the Hokkaido Scallop industry due to the earthquake, we are unsure of the long-term prognosis.

In the mid-Atlantic, Flounder remains plentiful, while Wild Striped Bass is about to tighten up this weekend because of size limit restrictions. The fish are spawning this time of year and, to ensure that the stock remains healthy, the bigger fish are not allowed to be caught. Since the fishermen do not want to use up a tag on a small fish, the supply will be down.

The South Atlantic remains closed for just about everything. In the Gulf of Mexico, the Edges will continue to stay closed until the first of May.

In Mexico, the 30 day moratorium on Grouper fishing has been lifted. We expect Grouper prices to soften in the near term and drop dramatically in the not-so-distant future. We are hoping that supply increases over the next 48-72 hours so that we may start seeing more steady availability. We do, however, have ample amounts of Domestic Red Grouper coming in from Madeira Beach, FL today.

There is a good supply of Baja Redfish coming in from the Southwest Coast.

The Alaskan Halibut season is in full swing. Prices are softening slightly but we do not expect dramatic decreases in pricing at all this season. The lack of quota allowed in one of the most prolific areas is going to keep these prices high.

With springtime upon us, we should see greater supply of Swordfish and Tuna from various fishing ports. Some Swordfish is available out of the Pacific, mainly Honolulu. Swordfish stock has really rebounded and we should see decent supply moving forward.

Market Report March 21, 2011

Northeastern species remains tight but we expect fishing to resume and expect supply to catch up by mid-week.

Flounder remains plentiful and we have a good supply.

Wild Striped Bass is in good supply right now but it is going to tighten up by March 25th because of size limits and restrictions.

South Atlantic species from North Carolina to Florida remains closed, except for possibly Triggerfish; we will confirm later this week.

South Western Coast from San Francisco South; weather is questionable so there is not a lot of fish coming out of this area. Look for Some Swordfish from Hawaii.

Limited amounts of Red King Salmon coming out of Alaska and the Columbia River with limited amounts of whites coming. The troll season is open in Alaska but fish is very expensive.

Salmon has hit a peak for now and will come down soon. We don’t know when, but it will!

Halibut is starting to loosen up a little bit but prices remain firm in a very ‘High-demand’ market. We expect prices to remain firm, but we do not expect prices to come down for at least the next 30 days.

Tuna remains tight world-wide. We expect Tuna and Swordfish to be more readily available out of Central America mid-week but it will be tight at the beginning of the week.

The Boston Seafood Show is in progress right now and we will have more information later in the week. Please come and visit us for the latest updates on Thursday. Our goal is to keep you, our customer, as well informed as possible.

Market Report March 14, 2011

The first full week of Lent brings some stability to the market.

We don’t see many prices going up except for Mahi and Grouper. As the conservation closure ends in Mexico, Grouper prices should drop by the end of next week and Mahi prices will be climbing as we approach a full moon.

Swordfish and Tuna will begin to be scarce. Swordfish prices are steady but Tuna prices are up this week. We have a good supply of Swordfish and Tuna right now though, especially Itsumo Sashimi Grade Tuna.

Stripe Bass is slightly harder to get and is increasing in price because of poor weather across the mid Atlantic.

Snapper catches all over the world are down and the price is up again; we anticipate them staying that way for the coming weeks.

Our reasonably priced seafood specials took off beyond our expectations last week and we have had to increase orders. This week we should have a lot of Baja Redfish and Puppy Drum, as well as Spanish Mackerel and Pollack that will be arriving on Tuesday.

Alaskan Cod is plentiful and at good prices, along with Mid-Atlantic Flounder.

Salmon prices are stable and we keep hoping that they will fall. They will eventually decrease; it is just a matter of time.

Shellfish seems to be steady. Certain areas of Canada are getting iced over and some species of Canadian East Coast Shellfish are problematic.

We expect to see some more Farmed Raised Arctic Char this week as it has proven to be a favorite among our customers.

In addition, we are bringing in some pin bone out Red-meated Trout from Columbia (6-8 ozs per fillet) over the next couple of weeks at very reasonable prices.

Some advance warnings, small Lobsters are reasonable this week and next but will most likely go up in a few weeks. Large Lobsters are extremely hard to get and are very expensive.

Chilean Sea Bass continues to climb in price and we do not see any relief on the horizon as long as the US dollar remains weak.

We have been looking into the possibility of bringing in Farmed Raised Turbot from Chile at good prices. If you have an interest, please let your salesperson know.

Speaking of flat fish, Fresh Alaskan Halibut season opens this week and we will probably have a shipment by the end of the week. Prices are outrageous, to say the least, at over $20 plus a pound for fillets. This year the quota was cut by 24% making it a bad year for Hailbut at reasonable prices, unless something changes drastically.

Scallops will start their new season shortly and we expect prices to drop in the coming weeks.

Since we are in Lent and the anointed 64 were announced today, we will continue our March Madness with…

This Week’s Features…

Springer Mountain All-Natural Chicken - check this week’s special cut

36/40 and 31/35 P & D Shrimp from the Gulf at a very, very special pricing.

All-Natural Bell & Evans Frozen Whole Ducks at a great price

Painted Hills Ground Beef; if you haven’t tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so! It is the tastiest, most clean ground beef for the money at just over three dollars a pound.

Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Pork Butts; perfect for barbequing and slow smoking in the perfect warming weather.

We will continue the special on Montana Ranch Piedmontese Strip loin. The Piedmontese cattle breed emerged from northern Italy’s mountainous Piedmont region. In the early 1980's the first Piedmontese were introduced to North America. Because of the animal’s genetic tendency for lower total fat, calories and cholesterol compared to traditional cattle breeds, the Piedmontese Beef has been an increasingly popular option for many. The combination of naturally low cholestrial meat with a tender texture and remarkable flavor in many ways far out-paces competing breeds. This is a healthy alternative to traditional U.S.D.A. choice beef.

Market Report March 7, 2011

The good news this week is that Farmed Salmon has probably hit a plateau and we do not expect any more increases. The bad news is that prices are at a record high and we do not expect any relief for the next 2-3 weeks. We are hoping to get some Fresh Alaskan Troll Kings in towards the end of the week. We may also have a great deal on 5-6 pound frozen Atlantic Salmon Sides that are due in this week (Look for them in our March Madness Specials in coming weeks if they pass our inspection and taste test).

After rising seafood prices over the last 2 months, prices seem to be at a pause. Unfortunately, crude oil is not so steady. Fuel costs are rising and it is effecting freight on everything; land, sea or air. Fuel surcharges have risen dramatically and now are 35-42% on most freight charges. Until oil goes back to the mid 80’s, these costs will continue to escalate on the products we ship and receive world-wide.

In South America, Mahi prices seem to be stabilizing and even decreasing as supply looks better at least for the short term.

Corvina has also stabilized with good production as well.

Grouper and Snapper, on the other hand, are very expensive. The best choice for Grouper is from US waters from fisheries off the coast of Florida. All Imported Snapper is still hard to get and very expensive.

In the Northeast, the latest storm is sure to drive up prices. We did secure a good inventory of Cod, Monkfish and Haddock as boats came this weekend before the storm hit. Even though it is not from New England the best quality and bargain fish is Day Boat Cod Fillets from Alaska in the low to mid six dollar range. Fillets average 16 ozs, pin bone out and are excellent for any use that you can imagine (See ‘This Week’s Feature’ below).

It looks like there is plenty of Swordfish coming in and we are expecting prices to drop over the next 2 weeks until the next full moon especially as more areas of production like Chile and Hawaii come on line.

Tuna is still scarce and prices are high. Sushi Itsumo Tuna is the best quality and price available in our opinion.

In the mid- Atlantic Wild Striped Bass has fallen tremendously. We have secured a good amount of these beautiful, large 10 pound up, day boat fish and prices are as low as they have been in the last year.

Virginia Fluke Flounder, although up in price slightly, remains a good menu choice with exceptional quality and consistent cost for the next 30-45 days.

This week begins the announcement for the brackets for March Madness. We will be featuring very good buys (The Inland Version of March Madness) for certain proteins and special closeouts for the month of March…stay tuned.

For a great value, we are now carrying fresh Surimi that has never been frozen with a 120 day shelf life. This surimi is produced fresh for us in Motley, Minnesota by one of the world’s best producers. They are located in the US and use only US product and the taste is remarkable for this type of product. *Special pricing for this month at $1.99/lb, case price, contact your Inland Seafood representative for details.

INLAND SEAFOOD VALUE FISH FINDS

We have Baja Redfish in abundance and at a great value. It is a Redfish cousin from the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Prices are very good and the fish is exceptional, making it a terrific and versatile menu item.

In addition, we are seeing a good run of sustainably caught Spanish Mackerel off of the coast of Florida. Large fillets are running under 6 dollar a pound and pin-boning is available for an additional 50 cents on large fish.

FAS Wolfish is another great bargain to feature right now. At just under 7 dollars a pound, it seems to be taking off. The flavor profile is a cross between Halibut and Haddock. This is true frozen at sea by Norwegian and Icelandic vessels. This is one of the best Frozen at sea fish available.

In the Gulf of Maine, some species, especially Cod and Haddock, are making a rebound. The real unsung hero is Gulf of Maine Pollack. This is a great fish and in the same family as Cod and Haddock. It has slightly darker meat and is more favorable in most chefs’ opinion in the know. We sell this skin-on; perfect for sautés; or skinless. This fish is also large enough for our portion program.

Smaller Lobsters have been dropping in price so look at adding Lobster to your menus this week because we think it will not last. Large Lobsters remain high.

Last week we saw the first of live Louisiana Crawfish and Crawfish tailmeat. With this being a Mardi Gras week, we think prices will be up. After this week, prices should fall.

For Mardi Gras celebration menu items, we suggest Louisiana Oysters in the shell, gallons of Oysters and, reasonably priced, Gulf of Pontchartrain Louisiana Drum. These fish yield a luscious 2-4 pound fillet that are perfect for any recipe that calls for grouper or Redfish (cousin of the Drum).

Inland’s March Madness Special Selections will be announced on Wednesday with prices that are good for one week! But as a teaser…

Montanta Ranch All-Natural Piedmontese Striploins at 8.49/lb or 7.99/lb case price

Whole Springer Mountain Chicken at 15 cents off per pound for the next week

Domestic Colorado Lamb Shanks for 30 cents off per pound for the next week

This Week’s Feature…

Alaskan Cod
The Alaskan Cod season is in full production now. For the next 3-4 months we should see a lot of day-boat, j-cut, boneless Alaskan cod, from sustainable fisheries, at very reasonable prices.
If you like your fish mild, moist, flaky and lean, you'll love Alaska cod. Harvested in the icy waters of Alaska's Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, this popular and versatile seafood with its snow white color and firm texture is the highest quality cod available.

Concerned about calories, fat and other nutritional issues? Alaska cod is low in fat and calories, high in protein. It also contains all the essential amino acids in addition to important minerals.

*Alaskan cod is a "Best Choice" when caught in the U.S. Pacific Ocean by bottom longline, trap or hook-and-line. The U.S. Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands freezer longline fishery is certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Market Report February 28, 2011

The Current Salmon and Seafood Situation…

In the last 3 weeks, the world seems to be cockeyed; from oil prices to uprisings in the Middle East. Farm Raised Salmon also seems to be completely out of whack from the way we have known it at this same time.

The reasons for this are many. Among them are the US dollar has sunk in the last few weeks largely because of the Middle East turmoil and the price of oil. Consequently, European Salmon from Norway and Scotland has risen in price in terms of the US dollar.

In addition, the change of generation, which happens every six months in farmed raised Atlantic Salmon is now taking place. This means the fish are smaller at the beginning of the generation. Most salmon farmers harvest a set amount of fish per week in order to have fish every week for cash flow reasons if nothing else. The average weight is usually 14 pounds for Atlantic salmon from Norway and Scotland, but we are now seeing 10 pound averages and this is adding to the short supply. If they target 100.000 fish per week as a harvest they are now getting 1,000,000 pounds of fish instead of 1,400,000 pounds of fish per harvest week.

This scenario is also taking place in the Maritime Provence of Canada and the Pacific NW. Basically all northern hemisphere generations of Atlantic salmon change at about the same time.

It is our opinion that the cost spikes are because of the producers (mainly in Eastern Canada) are price gouging and taking advantage of the shortage. We have seen their prices rise over a dollar a pound in the last 2 ½ weeks as the larger European salmon disappeared from the market.

Chile is slowly coming on line with production but the loss of 75% of their biomass due to ISA will take some time to recover. Their prices are following suit with the other producers and they are also taking the opportunity to increase their price on the little supply that they have to offer after their disastrous losses.

Quite frankly we suspect a lot of collusion in pricing and we are staying on top of the situation. We expect to see prices start to come down in about 6 weeks when salmon grows larger with the warmer weather and more producers in Chile come back into the U.S. market.

For now we have enough Salmon on hand but at much higher prices than we have ever seen. The sizes may be different than what everyone likes and whole fish and fillets will be smaller and more expensive. We will have a variety of Scottish, Norwegian, Chilean and Canadian Salmon this week.

With the rise in prices of fuel, we are hoping that it does not deter the consumers from buying in grocery stores and eating out. Transportation for all proteins, especially seafood that needs to flown into the USA, will be affected by the oil prices. Corn, wheat, and soybeans are also rising along with world demand as well as for ethanol use as oil becomes more expensive. These items make up a large percentage of the feed for all farmed land and sea creatures from Cattle to Tilapia and Catfish.

Because of this, we have sought out some special, reasonably priced, items for our customers in the coming weeks.

First and foremost, out of Louisiana, we started to see a nice run of Large Black Drum. These will be very reasonably prices under $7.95/lb. for fillets averaging 2-5 pounds from a Day Boat Fishery.

In addition, we have lowered the price of Mid-Atlantic Flounder even though the season is about over in North Carolina. It is our understanding that the season in Virginia will commence shortly and this should be a good item to use with frequency over the next 45 days.

One of the greatest under used fish from the Gulf of Maine is North Atlantic Pollack. This fish is about the size of Haddock and perfect for any sauté that you may want. It is very mild and very flaky with good flavor. A bit darker than Cod and Haddock and with more oil content, a lot of people think it has a beautiful ocean taste. One of the latest winners of a seafood cooking contest won a best dish award with a pecan crusted Pollack.

We are also starting to see more Alaskan Day Boat Cod come into the marketplace as the weather in Alaska moderates at very reasonable prices and we expect to see this continue until the end of April.

In addition out of Alaska there is a Fresh Golden King Crab season starting and we will have a limited supply of large 1.5 & up King Crab clusters at prices less expensive than frozen this week. Be sure to pre-order and the best deal is when you order the 25 pound master cases straight from the fishing grounds. We expect a Tuesday arrival which means a delivery for the next day.

This coming week we will see a good supply of Swordfish at fairly good prices as well as Amberjack that is being caught by Hook and Line fishermen from the Florida Keys to Myrtle Beach.

Because of our extensive portioning programs, we have 3-4 oz portions of Mahi, Grouper, Swordfish, Tuna and occasionally Sea Bass and Halibut at reduced prices daily! Check with your sales person for daily availability. The smaller 3oz avg. portions make a great addition for lunches or a 2-piece portion at a great price.

Right now is peak time for quality of Oysters and Mussels. Oysters are a great item to feature on menus, especially Shucked Select Oysters from the South and the mid Atlantic. They are at their saltiest and plumpest because the water has been so cold and this leads to great flavor. Prices have come down as well. Southern Shucked Oysters are about half the price from last summer. They have come back on line and the resource is very clean, very safe and quite tasty!

Mussels from PEI are at their peak right now with the highest meat-to-shell ratio of the year. Very reasonably priced and perfect for all recipes.

Lobster prices look like they will remain constant for the next week or so. The great news is that when we did inventory in Maine this weekend we found that some mislabeled packages from December production on lobster meat and they were actually Lobster Jumbo Lump! It is of course frozen and this product will go very quickly so put your orders in early to ensure your supply.

On the non-seafood front…

Over the next 4-5 days, we will publish the first of our March Madness Specials. We will feature close-outs for some seafood items, some prepared items from the freezer and run some insane specials to give you, Our Customer, a break when you most need it. We will be running a weekly special from Springer Mountain on All-Natural, Hormone –Free Chicken featuring a different cut each week for March. We are also speaking with our Pork, Lamb and Veal producers about doing the same.

This Week’s Feature…

5 Pound Gallons of Shucked Select Oysters

Shucked in Codeine, Alabama and Wilmington, North Carolina!

Market Report February 21, 2011

Tuna has been in short supply world-wide because of the after effects of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Many of the Asian catch vessels went into port for a few days and then went out and stayed out. We are between catch cycles right now. We are seeing some boats arrive from the Gulf of Mexico but it is the first we have seen in 10-12 days. As we move into this week, we expect catch, mainly from Ecuador, to be good and prices decline over the next 7 seven days. Currently the market remains tight and prices high.

Basically, as in any agriculture or aquaculture situation farmers raise their crop to a certain size and then harvest them. With Salmon, we are at the end of one harvest cycle and the new cycle has not yet begun. Fish from Europe are very small and not being exported and supply in Norway and Scotland will remain low for the next 15-20 days. There is no Salmon coming out of Chile that has not been committed in advance. Western and Northeastern Canada and the US are producing very little as well. Demand is very high for a very tight market. Prices are very high and increasing. It will most likely be 6-8 weeks before we see some softening.

As of February 15th, Grouper fishing in Mexico has closed for 30 days. In the US, the entire East Coast has closed for the first 4 months of the year until May 1st. The most prolific part of Grouper fishing in the Gulf, an area called the edges or the 40 break, is closed until May 1st.

Black Grouper, as a commercial catch, is basically closed. Quotas have been lowered to the point of allowing each vessel to catch 1 fish per day. Quotas on Red Grouper have lowered and will remain tight for the next 30-35 days. Grouper prices in general will remain high for the next 30 days. We will see some Grouper from the Pacific Coast and Central America; Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Snapper remains tight due to quotas and it looks like it will stay that way for a few weeks. Landings are down for Caribbean Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper and Dotted Snapper because of the full moon and February being a poor time for this catch.
Cod, Haddock and Pollack from the Northeast remains in short supply with another storm moving in from the Midwest.

Mahi will be available at a firm price, despite the full moon, as we near the end of a very short season.

Swordfish looks a little tight but should loosen up in the next few days.

Lobster prices look like they will remain high, until after Mother’s Day, due to weather.

We are seeing a good amount of Mid-Atlantic Flounder and an occasional catch of Tilefish and Black Bass at high prices.

We expect to see Striped Bass prices to soften over the next few days.

Scallops look to remain tight until the spring.

Oysters out of Canada are also going to be in limited supply as we near the end of the season and stock piles dwindle. Mid-Atlantic Oysters should be available but there is a lot of stress in many areas. Chesapeake Bay should be closing in April or May depending on water temperature.

Stay tuned for our first supply of Georgia Oysters which should be just around the corner!

On the non-seafood front…

Foie Gras and Duck products are terrific right now with the cold weather in Northern California.

We expect high and increasing prices in beef, lamb and pork due to the increase in corn and other feed.

This Week’s Feature…

Mid-Atlantic Flounder

Flounder will make a great menu item this week. With the good weather we have seen in Atlanta, the coast will be experiencing the same in the coming days. Even though winds will be high, fishing weather will remain good and supply should be nice throughout the week.

Market Report February 14, 2011

Inland Seafood would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Even though we are past the Lunar (Chinese) New Year, Tuna catch is still relatively limited. Prices should be steady or may even increase slightly.

With Swordfish we are seeing good landings on the Pacific Coast. The prices are down to the lowest point in months. (See our Feature below)

Flounder catches are down so we are anticipating small increases in prices.

Wild Striped Bass should be readily available and the prices are a bit lower as the weather improves and will be even better after Maryland opens in the coming weeks. This should be a good substitute for the challenging supply of Snapper.

Monkfish and Skate wing have been extremely tight. As weather conditions improve, things should change.

One thing that we have been seeing in the mid-Atlantic is Black Bass and Triggerfish.

We should start to see Wild Caught Pacific Halibut in the next 30 days.

Mahi is still limited due to La Nina and also the demand for frozen product. Prices are acting accordingly and increasing regularly.

The Salmon market is firm. We most likely will not see any relief until Chile starts producing. Prices will continue to increase. Norway and Scottish supply will continue to tighten and this will also increase market price.

Temperatures being colder than normal near the equator are affecting the growth of Tilapia. Expect a limited supply of 7-9 oz and 9-11 oz. 5-7 oz should be in good supply. Prices have been steady but this could eventually drive them up.

Corvina supply should continue to increase and prove to be a good menu item.

Crabmeat continues to be very expensive but Stone Crabs look stable in supply and prices.

Gulf Oysters supply are improving and keeping prices steady. It looks like a robust harvest for spring. West Coast Oysters are consistent. East Coast Oyster supply is adequate and will improve as weather remains good.

Farmed King Salmon prices are high but a nice substitute for menu items or specials.

Grouper prices are going to remain firm as long as the closure of fishing areas in Mexico does not affect catch. These closures should not affect the domestic Gulf area but we will keep you informed.

A terrific menu item for a great whole fish presentation is Rosefish. We will be bringing in some beautiful whole fish in the next few weeks.
*Contact your Inland Seafood representative about availability and pricing for the next several weeks.

This Week’s Feature…

Swordfish

With the supply being steady and prices consistent, Swordfish is our feature this week as a great menu choice!

Market Report February 7, 2011

**As a reminder we will deliver as we always do on Saturdays; the 12th will be no exception! We will also be delivering on Monday the 14th.**

If the weather cooperates, this should be a busy week, leading up to Valentine’s Day next Monday.

Remember to order as early as you can to build up inventory on frozen and non-super perishable items including our antibiotic & hormone-free proteins.

Please let us know about your special needs for menu items, Shellfish, Smoked Fish, Caviar, Live Lobsters, etc. Please refer to our Valentine’s Program Special below in the ‘This Week’s Feature…’ section.

Things are shaping up nicely for some good specials during the week…

It seems like we will have an excellent supply of Swordfish at very reasonable prices.

Tuna seems like it is readily available and the prices are down.

We will have a good supply of Scottish Salmon, as well as, Flounder from the mid-Atlantic.

Striped Bass should become more available and be coming down in price as the week progresses. Mahi-mahi, on the other hand, seems to be going up as the price on the beach is being bid up by packers needing to fulfill frozen orders.

There is good news on the southern Gulf waters as we see good quantities of Gulf Red Snapper, even though they are expensive, and short-trip Gulf Red Grouper from Florida as well as an occasional Black Grouper. Some Redfish, Sheephead, Sushi Spanish Mackerel, and Speckle Trout are being landed in limited quantities.

The moderating weather in the Northeast should allow good quantities of Cod and Haddock to be landed before the next storm starts.

We are also getting some North-Atlantic Day-Boat Halibut out of Nova Scotia. It is expensive but very, very nice. Unfortunately, the farm that we contract with to supply us with Farm Raised Icelandic Halibut ran out of fish early this year. We are switching supply to Norwegian Farm Raised Halibut this week. The prices will be up slightly, but the good news is that the fish will be larger; nearly 10 pounds each!

On the All-Natural Protein side…

We have great supplies of Painted Hills All-Natural Hormone & Antibiotic-Free Tenderloins, Strips & Rib Eyes, along with good quantities of Flatiron Steaks.

For Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Pork, we are expecting a big shipment of 10 Rib Racks, as well as, more of their Kuraboto Pork Bellies.

We suggest you look to our Montana Ranch All-Natural Piedmontese Beef for Short-ribs this week, we have a good inventory of both boneless and bone-in.

Also, don’t forget about our Fresh All-Natural Domestic Colorado Lamb for the holiday this week, as well as, our All-Natural Antibiotic Free Springer Mountain Chicken from right up the road in North Georgia at prices that will make your heart smile!

This Week’s Features…

Market Report January 31, 2011

With Valentine’s Day being on a Monday this year deliveries will be a challenge. To help, we will be publishing an order guide in the next few days to help you plan your Valentine’s menu specials and coordinate the exceptional seafood, shellfish, and all natural protein options for this special weekend and Monday night! We will also give you a time line of when special orders need to be placed in order to be as sure as possible to get the items you need for the whole weekend.

As a reminder we will deliver as we always do on Saturdays and the 12th will be no exception!

This upcoming week, many of the boats that fish Tuna and Swordfish are owned and operated by fishermen who observe the Lunar (Chinese) New Year which begins February 2nd. We are seeing more Tuna and Swordfish finally show up in the marketplace and prices are finally coming down in the next week. Unfortunately, once these boats are in, it will be another 21 days before we see the next cycle of landings. By the end of that period (10-20th of February) prices on Tuna and Swordfish will probably go up again and be very expensive.

Fish from Central and South America is beginning to show up. Mahi is prevalent and we are starting to see prices fall on Grouper. We are also starting to see the appearance of the many varieties of Snapper from different countries.

The milder weather in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast this weekend is sure to allow boats to get out before the storms arrive mid-week. We anticipate lots of Cod and Haddock. Striped Bass starts its new quota on February 1st so prices should be down shortly. Flounder, although a little bit higher, should be very reasonable in the upcoming weeks. On the West Coast, we are seeing small amounts of Dover Sole.

The big feature for the month of February will be Hook & Line, Day Boat caught Alaskan Cod.

The Salmon situation remains fairly constant with a lot of big beautiful Scottish Salmon available. We can hardly keep it in stock and everyone is extremely satisfied with the quality.

Prices on farmed raised fish in general will be going up with the increased cost of grain and fishmeal over the past 6 months. Fishmeal and grain are combined to make feed for aquaculture so our prediction is that we will see prices go up on Tilapia; prices on Catfish have already seen a spike; Rainbow Trout and Salmon could be next.

Cleanfish’s Laughing Bird Shrimp is a thing of the past with the untimely death of the company’s owner.

Lobster prices have been going up slightly but the real news is Frozen Lobster Meat and Frozen Lobster Tails where prices have gone through the roof as the economy recovers worldwide; demand is up and so are prices. Both warm water and cold water Maine/Canadian tails are in high demand and the prices are escalating.

Stone Crab seems to be more abundant and prices are down. Please let your Sales Representative know if you would like to have them as we will only be bringing them in on a ‘Special Order’ basis after this week.

Scallop prices will remain high until the next season for quotas which begins on April 1st.

The worldwide market on Shrimp seems to be increasing so Shrimp in general will be edging upward. The domestic season has ended for all practical purposes so new production will not alleviate this situation.

We have our first load of this season’s Royal Greenland Snow Crab coming in this week as well as a new shipment of Spanish Crawfish Tail Meat at very good prices. Because of the frigid weather the Louisiana Crawfish season is off to a slow and expensive start.

On the All-Natural Protein side…

Beef, as you know, is going up because of the coast of corn and grains. We have managed to make some great purchases of Strips, Rib Eyes and Tenderloins allowing us to secure the prices for about the next few weeks. The peripheral cuts like Short Ribs, Hanging Tenders, Flank, Culottes and Tri-tips seem to be moving very, very rapidly and are rising in price.

Don’t forget to look at our Painted Hills All-Natural, Hormone & Antibiotic-Free Ground Beef that has been getting rave reviews from everyone who tries it!

Le Quebecois has given us a special allocation of 6 Bone Veal Racks for this week. These meatier, All-Natural, field raised Veal Chops are great for all preparations. The Lamb market has been going up rapidly but we have a huge inventory of All-Natural Colorado Lamb Hind Shanks (Osso Buco) which is perfect for the cold weather we have been experiencing.

This Week’s Feature…

Alaskan Cod
The Alaskan Cod season is in full production now. For the next 3-4 months we should see a lot of day-boat, j-cut, boneless Alaskan cod, from sustainable fisheries, at very reasonable prices.

If you like your fish mild, moist, flaky and lean, you'll love Alaska cod. Harvested in the icy waters of Alaska's Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, this popular and versatile seafood with its snow white color and firm texture is the highest quality cod available.

Concerned about calories, fat and other nutritional issues? Alaska cod is low in fat and calories, high in protein. It also contains all the essential amino acids in addition to important minerals.
*Alaskan cod is a "Best Choice" when caught in the U.S. Pacific Ocean by bottom longline, trap or hook-and-line. The U.S. Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands longline fishery is certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).