« September 2008 Table of Contents 
Product Spotlight: Opah
Chefs nationwide rave about moonfish
By April Forristall
September 01, 2008
Fifteen or so years ago if an opah was cau g ht as bycatch
it would have most likely been tossed overboard. The market for
opah wasn't generated until the early 1990s, when the state of
Hawaii challenged chefs to develop recipes for the
underutilized fish. The fish slowly gained recognition for its
rich, creamy flavor profile and earned a spot in the
fine-dining niche nationwide.
Opah, or moonfish, is a bycatch of the longline tuna and
swordfish fisheries and is harvested consistently in small
quantities. The fish is highly marketable for its high quality
red flesh, which is valued by the restaurant trade in Hawaii
and the continental United States, especially for sushi. It
does not have a strong presence in supermarkets because it is
only affordable to retail markets for a few weeks a year.
Dirk's Fish & Gourmet Shop in Chicago retailed opah for $24
in mid-August, and wholesaler Garden & Valley Isle Seafood
in Honolulu had product for $5.95 during the same time
period.
Significant opah landings weren't seen until around 2002,
when they jumped from a 10-year average of about 1,500 pounds
to just under 913,000 pounds, with all but about a tiny
fraction coming from Hawaii, according to National Marine
Fisheries Service data. Landings increased to just over 1
million pounds in 2003 and have remained at that level, with
the exception of 2004, when regulations enacted to reduce
bycatch of sea turtles minimized the harvest. The supply does
not hurt opah's marketability, but rather is congruent with
demand. "It's one of those things that's not a staple, so [when
supply is low] we can sell something else and it's not a big
deal," says Dirk Fucik, owner of Dirk's Fish.
"Because it is a specialty item, we don't have the type of
demand for orders larger than 50 pounds," says William McCabe,
president of Wild Ocean Seafoods in Ferndale, Wash. "If demand
went up, there isn't going to be enough supply in Hawaii."
Opah is one of Garden & Valley Isle Seafood's main
products. According to President Bob Fram, on an average day
the company sells between 10 and 15 whole opah, at most 20 to
30 if supply is high.
When the Hawaii supply is low, imports from Fiji, Tahiti and
New Zealand fill the pipeline. Mexico also exports opah to the
U.S. market, but quality and handling concerns keep import
numbers low. Hawaiian opah is also generally larger, averaging
100 to 140 pounds, while opah out of Fiji runs between 60 to 90
pounds.
"Supply is pretty consistent," says James Iacino,
foodservice sales manager at Seattle Fish Co. in Denver. "It's
price more than anything that will fluctuate."
While opah is available year-round, midsummer to early fall
is peak season. For about four to six weeks, supply is "really
abundant" says Fram. "When there's only one opah per every
1,000 hooks, the price stays pretty firm and expensive. When it
becomes two or three then it becomes very cheap," says
Fram.
In early August, premium-cut back loin was selling for $5.95
a pound, which is normal for the season. The yearly average for
back loin is between $9.95 and $10.95.
Opah's low recovery rate also affects price. Due to the
fish's peculiar anatomy, mainly the large, bulbous bone plate
in its front belly, yield is only about 30 percent, and McCabe
says once the center loins, which are the portions fine-dining
restaurants demand, are removed, recovery is reduced even
further.
"It keeps prices high on a fish that starts out low," says
McCabe.
Suppliers don't have problems moving opah when it is
available, and while they don't foresee it ever breaking out of
its specialty niche, that suits the species perfectly.
Editorial Assistant April Forristall can be e-mailed at
aforristall@divcom.com