Celebrating the new year with a plate of ahi sashimi is likely to cost more this time than in previous years.
But rough weather and bad timing are factors in the price hike.
You have to act and think fast to put in a bid at the fish auction. Even more so at this time of the year as the competition really heats up for ahi. As busy as the place looks though, officials here at the United Fishing Agency were hoping that there would be a lot more activity.
"Unfortunately we haven't had as much fish as we'd like to have and so demand far exceeds the supply right now," said Brooks Takenaka, United Fishing Agency.
And that has buyers scrambling to get as much as they can, which is driving prices up. Prices are normally higher at this time of the year because of greater demand. But with the low supply, get ready to pay even more especially if you plan to buy the higher grade sashimi.
"It's a matter of do you want to buy the Volkswagen or do you want to buy the Cadillac or Lexus? It just depends on what you want to buy, but I think the high end seems to be a little bit higher this year," said Takenaka.
There was optimism earlier that more fish would be brought in because the National Marine Fisheries Service did not impose a ban on longline fishing. That's something that happened in previous years. But Takenaka says by the time word came out that the ban was lifted, it was too late.
"In order to do this there's a lot of timing that's involved and so that timing and cycle got screwed up so what happens is we're seeing the effects of that," said Takenaka.
Bad weather also played a factor although Takenaka says fishermen are more willing to brave the weather at sea knowing that the payoff will be better this time of the year.
"It pays off for them so they do take a chance and they risk their lives and we're seeing that," said Takenaka.
People can get better value if they buy other types of fish but ahi is the preferred choice because of its color, red, represents good luck.
