--- With 9 weeks remaining in the fishery, Pacific Halibut catches throughout Alaska continue to sit on par with last year's harvests. As of August 23rd, the International Pacific Halibut Commission's 5th Landing update showed 72 percent of the commercial fishery caught. 17 million pounds of the 24.4 million pound quota has landed, including 6.2 million pounds caught in area 2B of British Columbia. Docks prices are said to be in the range of $7.90 - $8.00 / lb USD, which is a bit higher than last season. With raw material pricing stronger than last year, a common trend is untrimmed halibut with no trim allowance from vendors. As for finished goods, there is little to no price parity for fletches at the moment. Price points are all over the map, Ocean Run fletches in Seattle were at $14.10 /lb at the beginning of August. Offers now for domestic 1-3lb halibut fletches range from $15.25 - $17.15 /lb in Seattle. --- As another option, some buyers have sought after Russian halibut for the price advantage over Alaskan products. The major catching season in Russia runs from December to February next year, so any remaining production will be bycatch until then. Alaskan Halibut is typically around 30 percent more expensive than it's Russian counterpart, but Quality can be a hurdle. Russian products are typically not bled to the North American standard, which can cause a pink hue to the meat. To compare price points to Alaska, offers out of China range from $13.95 - $14.10 /lb USD. It's recommended that buyers do their due dilligence when making purchase decisions, be wary of inexpensive offers as we have seen some quality issues out of Chinese production facilities. --- To wrap things up, our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for IQF Sinbad Pollock Loins. These are #1 quality, twice frozen, available in both 3oz and 4oz in Boston and Chicago for $1.75 /lb USD. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. ----Thank you for joining me for the Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Rob Reierson - “BUY SMART” and “EAT MORE SEAFOOD"

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