December 31, 2013

The production of scallop hit a five year high this year in the Sea of Okhotsk, Hokkaido, Japan, as good conditions produced healthy, heavy scallops.

In most areas the season has closed, although a couple of smaller areas will be open until the end of this year.

Total harvest is expected to come in around 310,000 to 315,000 tonnes, including the output of Lake Saroma, of about 6,000 tonnes, this is the highest level in five years.

Buoyed by strong export demand, prices have risen. Frozen scallop meats were expected to be about 25,000 tonnes compared to 18,000 tonnes in 2012, and this level will still increase on higher production. Yield from round scallop to frozen meat is up 3% this year, to around 14%.

The export pricing has meant that sales in Japan have remained sluggish, as retailers cannot match the higher prices, and also they had gotten used to smaller sizes, so they are not anxious to pay for the larger scallops sizes available.