Consumers find fish a luxury meal

Tarakihi is one of the most expensive species available in shops. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Sales of fish are down but consumers opting to buy meat could be causing prices to go up, an industry insider says.

Calls to fishmongers, supermarkets and fish shops around Auckland showed the average price for a kilo of snapper was about $37, while tarakihi and gurnard were about $26.

The Herald has learned of one fish shop that last week was selling snapper at $60 a kilo and tarakihi at $55.

But Mike Towner, Fishmart's manager of auctions, said sales had been running at 60 per cent of normal levels since June due to bad weather, fewer fish, fewer boats out catching them and fewer people buying. This could actually be pushing fish prices up.

"They [retailers] have to keep the prices up to stay ahead and it pushes that gap even further to what people can afford. The price keeps going up because the shops aren't making anything," said Mr Towner.

"People are saying to our faces we used to have fish twice a week because it was healthy but we now substitute it with meat and vegetables for $3 a family member, rather than snapper at $10 a family member."

The wholesale price for snapper varies constantly but on Friday it was $8.50 a kilogram of whole fish.

This price is multiplied by three after the fish's head and tail are removed and it is filleted to yield about 350g of fillets, giving retailers their cost price of about $26 a kg.

"So if a retailer is selling it at $31, they're not really getting a thing by the time they pay for their ice costs, their power, their guy to cut it and transport and so on," said Mr Towner.

Retailers needed to charge about $36 to really make anything on it at the moment.

The chief executive of Mangere Budgeting and Family Support, Darryl Evans, said the price of fish was "incredible".

He said his clients could afford only tinned fish.

"In my house, two of us are working, but even we don't buy fish like we used to ... It's fair to say it's become a luxury item."

Figures from Statistics NZ show that in 2005, the weighted average retail price per kilogram for snapper and tarakihi in Auckland was $28.73 and $19.20 respectively. Last year those figures were $37.40 and $26.67.

But Alastair Macfarlane, trade and information manager with the NZ Seafood Industry Council, believes New Zealanders are spoiled for choice.

He said many Kiwis were in the habit of ignoring species other than snapper, gurnard and tarakihi.

"It's a lot like going to the supermarket and only having a look at the finer cuts of lamb and fillet steak," Mr Macfarlane said.

"If you are looking at cheaper options for baking, of course hoki is around and that's never expensive. You can always get flounder and sole for under $20 a kilo or - if you're somebody who likes to smoke fish - then of course there's kahawai.

"A little bit more challenging are things like mackerel and pilchards - they are among the fish that are the best for you and they are affordable."