Seafood commodities are just like oil commodities in that there are pipelines in which the fish travel to their respective markets worldwide. When times are good, the fish are caught, flown into Miami, and distributed throughout the U.S. market. But when a storm like Hurricane Fiona rolls through Puerto Rico and onto the Dominican Republic, it stops fishing over a vast swath of the Caribbean. Fresh mahi, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, and snapper are the three most affected species.
Mahi started drying up last weekend, but Fiona’s most significant impact could be on the lobster, halibut, and swordfish production as the storm hit the Canadian Maritime provinces yesterday. It doesn’t have to get very close to land to shut down all fishing, as wave heights are projected to reach 50 FEET! There are two more tropical depressions in the central subtropical Atlantic forming right behind Fiona. At the same time, Hurricane Ian will enter the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, forcing all fishing vessels in to shore. That means that there is a break in the fish production pipeline next week. It has been a tranquil hurricane season so far, but it looks like the last six weeks of the season will be busy.
9/26/22
