Blue Crab Auction Volume Hits Decade High
Gizzard Shad Auction Prices Drop by Up to 55% Compared to Last Year
Since the fishing ban was lifted this year, the volume of blue crabs sold at auction has reached its highest level in the past decade.
According to the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives on September 11, from August 21, when this year’s fishing ban (June 21 to August 20) was lifted, until September 9, the nationwide volume of blue crabs sold at auction reached 3,690 tons, the highest for the same period in the past 10 years. This is a 67.2% increase compared to last year, when the blue crab catch plummeted due to high water temperatures. Since 2016, when blue crab catch statistics began to be compiled (1,673 tons), the auction volume had steadily increased, reaching 3,484 tons in 2023, but dropped sharply to 2,207 tons last year.
As the catch of blue crabs increases and prices stabilize, blue crabs are kept in a tank at a store in Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, Dongjak District, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News
The National Institute of Fisheries Science explained that the reason for this year’s blue crab abundance is that "the cold water pool at the bottom of the West Sea has expanded closer to the coast and further south compared to last year." Blue crabs, which live on the seabed and prefer warmer waters, have moved toward coastal fishing grounds to avoid the cold water that has pushed in along the bottom, resulting in increased catches.
As the catch volume has increased, auction prices have also stabilized. From August 21 to September 9, the average auction price was 6,430 won per kilogram, which is 17.7% lower than the 10-year average auction price of 7,816 won.
Gizzard Shad Prices Fall as Fishing Conditions Improve
Autumn gizzard shad prices have also dropped significantly compared to last year.
Autumn gizzard shad prices have dropped to half of last year's level, and on the 11th, gizzard shad were displayed at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, the average auction price for gizzard shad from Seocheon, a major production area, was 14,300 won per kilogram as of this month, down 55.0% from the average price of 31,850 won during the same period last year. Based on auction prices from the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation, the average auction price for top-grade gizzard shad this month is 5,385 won per kilogram, 38.2% cheaper than in the same month last year. The volume of gizzard shad caught from July to August 8 was 407 tons, nearly double last year’s catch of 209 tons during the same period.
The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives explained, "Fishing conditions have improved this year because water temperatures did not rise as much as last year." Gizzard shad prefer seawater with low salinity, and because there was a lot of rainfall this year, the increased inflow of freshwater attracted more gizzard shad, resulting in higher catches.
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