KEY POINTS:
The price of snapper is soaring in Auckland, as high demand and the strange summer weather wreak havoc on catches.
Prices of the popular fish have nearly doubled in the past month, putting pressure on restaurants to ratchet up their prices to recover costs.
Cam Hadlow, owner of Fishmart in Auckland, said whole snapper at wholesale prices were now around $11 a kg, nearly twice the usual price of $6 a kg.
"Snapper is one fish that has been very expensive in the last few weeks, and that's mainly because the prices the exporters are getting in Australia are significantly more than they can get on the local market."
A prevailing easterly also kept some fishing boats in port.
"Last week's all came off the west coast."
A kilogram of whole fish, with the bones and head removed, provides about 350 grams of fillets, he said.
Whole fish were now selling for $14.95 a kg, while snapper fillets were $31.95 a kg. Both were up $2 a kg from the previous month.
"It's a very seasonal thing," Mr Hadlow said.
"What we try and do - we've obviously got to try and follow the market price - but we try and soften the blow by not making too big a jump for the public."
It has not affected the store's overall sales, but some were turning to cheaper fish, such as tarakihi.
Other fishmongers the Herald spoke to confirmed that snapper prices were at a high. Most were selling fillets for about $30 a kg, up from the average of between $25 and $26.
"We used to get it at like $18 [a kg], sometimes $19, $20, $21, now it's $30," said Riadh Al-Sayed, co-owner of Aubergine restaurants.
"If it continues like this we'll have to change the prices. I haven't raised prices yet on my menu, but if it continues, we'll have to do something."
One retailer said wholesalers were also citing higher than usual demand from restaurants due to Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year.
Herald columnist Harvey Clark said spring and summer have been unkind to Auckland fishermen.
"The Hauraki Gulf, claimed to be the best snapper fishery in the world, is experiencing its leanest catches in years. Cooler water temperatures and unsuitable weather have dominated," he wrote in his Weekend Herald column.
But try telling the Rods & Reels Fishing Club members that. They went on their bimonthly trip into the Gulf with AB Charters yesterday, and caught an estimated 80 fish between the nine of them - a haul that would test even the most creative chef.
Club member Murray Christensen said they were looking forward to tasting their valuable catch "every which way. Raw, pan fried, you name it."
