17,400 metric tonnes of Arrowtooth has been caught in the Gulf since October 8th, about 19 per cent of the 80,000 metric tonne quota.
Inventories on finished goods are sparse, with many vendors focusing on other species at the moment.
In British Columbia, one vendor advised they will fish Arrowtooth next month once the Hake quota is full.
Pre-commitments on Head Off, Gutted, and Tail Off Arrowtooth are booking at $2,150 per metric tonne CNF China.
As a low priced species, boats often target more lucrative fish in the Gulf of Alaska. However, demand is strong in China for raw materials, especially since August.
According to a leading producer in China, this year's catch has been poor compared to previous years, causing higher demand and $500 per metric tonne increase for raw materials right now.
Arrowtooth is rarely produced for export to North America as once frozen products can be found domestically in the range of $1.45- $1.55 and twice frozen fillets can't hit these price points.
Production space for Arrowtooth Flounder before Chinese New Year is reportedly fully booked - we will provide another update as fishing efforts strengthen in the coming months.
The China Fisheries Seafood Expo is in Qingdao from November 2nd to 4th this year, where many Chinese vendors will iron out any remaining production space before the factories close on January 20th.
