As sea temperatures rise due to the heat wave, seafood prices are also trending higher. With mass die-offs at some fish farms and catches declining, prices for key sashimi fish such as flatfish, gizzard shad, and rockfish are jumping.

According to the retail industry on the 9th, 300g of flatfish sashimi at big-box stores is currently selling for around 25,000 won. It is in the 23,000-won range at E-MART and in the 26,000-won range at Lotte Mart.

In the afternoon on the 6th, officials clear out juvenile rockfish that die from high temperatures at an offshore net-pen fish farm in Jungjang-ri, Anmyeon-eup, Taean, South Chungcheong Province. /Courtesy of News1

Earlier, in early May, prices rose sharply compared with when E-MART sold 360g of flatfish sashimi for 19,000 won through a discount event. Typically, May is when the catch of wild flatfish increases, making it the cheapest time of the year for flatfish sashimi.

Wholesale prices are also on the rise. According to the weekly seafood trends from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives' Noryangjin Fish Market, from the 27th of last month to the 1st of this month, the average auction winning bid for 1 kilogram of farmed flatfish was 22,300 won, up 2.3% from the previous week. Compared with July last year, it is 13.2% higher.

This is due to the intensifying damage from high water temperatures caused by the heat wave. At the end of last month, more than 21,000 farmed flatfish died at fish farms in the Jeju area. The optimal water temperature for flatfish is 18–25 degrees, and when it exceeds 27–28 degrees, high-temperature damage such as die-offs can occur.

Prices of wild gizzard shad have also jumped. With high water temperatures in the West Sea reducing the number of fish approaching the coast, catches have fallen. On the 8th, the average auction winning bid for 1 kilogram of live gizzard shad at Noryangjin Fish Market was 17,000 won, up 10,000 won from 7,000 won on Aug. 2 last year.

Wholesale prices for rockfish, whose farms are mainly located in the South Sea, are also staying high. According to the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives' Noryangjin Fish Market, as of the 6th, the median auction winning bid for 1 kilogram of rockfish was 25,000 won.

Because the sea heats and cools more slowly than land, sea temperatures around the Korean Peninsula are expected to peak from late August to early September. If high water temperatures continue to cause farm die-offs and lower catches, wholesale prices will rise and could be reflected sequentially in consumer prices.

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