Domestic seafood supply for Mid-Autumn Festival expected to reach 260 tons, with clams and saury prices rising

Taiwan’s Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue season will have a plentiful supply of domestic seafood, but shoppers may pay more for clams and saury. The Fisheries Agency expects about 260 tons of seafood to reach the market, with demand rising 5% to 10% in the week before the holiday.

Clam production fell after delayed deaths linked to damage from last year’s Typhoon Danas. Officials expect clam prices to rise by at least 7% to 10%. Saury catches have reached about 7,000 to 8,000 tons so far this year under a national quota. That is close to the usual catch, but far below last year’s unusual harvest of 48,000 tons, making prices higher than last year.

Tilapia offers a cheaper option. Fisheries Agency Director-General Wang Mao-cheng said wholesale tilapia prices have dropped about 15% from the same period last year. He attributed the decline to difficulties in export markets and the impact of a drug-testing controversy earlier this year. Wang said tilapia remains safe, nutritious and rich in protein, with annual domestic production of 50,000 to 55,000 tons.

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Supply is quite plentiful.

Officials are also promoting eel, including salt-grilled white eel alongside the familiar kabayaki style. Taiwan produces about 3,000 to 5,000 tons of eel annually, much of which previously went to Japan. The agency hopes to keep more of the fish in the domestic market as Japanese consumers cut spending and Chinese producers expand industrial-scale output.

Rather than promote a single species, fisheries associations have joined forces to offer mixed barbecue boxes. The boxes can include black tuna, tilapia, milkfish, grouper, Taiwanese white shrimp, eel, saury, squid and prepared fish products. Consumers can order them through the Buy Fish platform, which the agency says checks product origin and quality and offers home delivery.

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Tilapia is safe and has abundant protein and nutrients.