When you say “steakish fish” I think you mean fish like Marlin and Swordfish, right? Well, the reason you can’t find those in a can, or any variety of Ahi other than Albacore, is that it isn’t economically feasible to put them in a can.
Let me explain. Let’s say that the entire sport and commercial fishing fleet leaves Honolulu this morning on the hunt for Swordfish, which we call Shutome, for canning. Those fish are caught through long line fishing, one at a time. Over an entire day they might come back with a combined catch of maybe 10 Shutome. The average weight for these fish is between 100 and 300 pounds, even thought they can be as large as 600 pounds. That gives us a hypothetical catch of 3000 pounds, before it is butchered. After it is cut we’ll say we have 2500 pounds of usable product, which we are going to stick into 8oz cans. That’s 5000 cans of Shutome to put onto store shelves.
How much do you think it cost each boat to catch one fish? They’ll each burn a tank of gas that day. Two V8s will use $800 worth of gas, easily, pushing a 40 foot boat around in Pacific. The boat wants to make a profit as well, so one 300 pound fish is worth at least $8.00 per pound to the guys who caught it. When Shutome is available from my suppliers it usually costs about $18.00 per pound wholesale. So it goes from a canner, who has to process it as well, to a distributor, who has to ship it and market it, and then a retailer, who hopes consumers buy it. Never mind the fact that Shutome is only running between January and May, which will make the canned product even more exclusive.
By the time you pick up a can of Swordfish off of the grocery store’s shelf, it’s going to cost more per pound than dry aged prime beef, white truffles, or that bottle of Screaming Eagle Cab you’ve been yearning for.
Besides, why would you want to eat Shutome like that anyhow; overcooked, dry and packed in water. I want it on the grill and cooked to medium, max, myself.
Let me explain. Let’s say that the entire sport and commercial fishing fleet leaves Honolulu this morning on the hunt for Swordfish, which we call Shutome, for canning. Those fish are caught through long line fishing, one at a time. Over an entire day they might come back with a combined catch of maybe 10 Shutome. The average weight for these fish is between 100 and 300 pounds, even thought they can be as large as 600 pounds. That gives us a hypothetical catch of 3000 pounds, before it is butchered. After it is cut we’ll say we have 2500 pounds of usable product, which we are going to stick into 8oz cans. That’s 5000 cans of Shutome to put onto store shelves.
How much do you think it cost each boat to catch one fish? They’ll each burn a tank of gas that day. Two V8s will use $800 worth of gas, easily, pushing a 40 foot boat around in Pacific. The boat wants to make a profit as well, so one 300 pound fish is worth at least $8.00 per pound to the guys who caught it. When Shutome is available from my suppliers it usually costs about $18.00 per pound wholesale. So it goes from a canner, who has to process it as well, to a distributor, who has to ship it and market it, and then a retailer, who hopes consumers buy it. Never mind the fact that Shutome is only running between January and May, which will make the canned product even more exclusive.
By the time you pick up a can of Swordfish off of the grocery store’s shelf, it’s going to cost more per pound than dry aged prime beef, white truffles, or that bottle of Screaming Eagle Cab you’ve been yearning for.
Besides, why would you want to eat Shutome like that anyhow; overcooked, dry and packed in water. I want it on the grill and cooked to medium, max, myself.
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