Tilapia Prices

[grumblebee]

Wow... tilapia seems to be pricey in the US! I'm in Alberta and the tilapia I buy goes for about $2.50-$2.99/lb here. (and that is Canadian funds too... so it be less in US dollars)

I'd be curious to know how much you guys pay for fresh salmon...?

 

[Dina]

Pretty much the same for salmon grumblebee-$5.99 a pound.

 

[ironchef]

I'd be curious to know how much you guys pay for fresh salmon...?

Depends on what type of salmon it is. You can get whole fillets of that Atlantic farm-raised crap at Costco for really cheap. For the really good stuff like Wild Alaskan King salmon you'll pay considerably more depending on availability.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Retail prices for salmon around where I am in Virginia range from $6.99-$8.99 per pound for regular farm-raised, around $10.99 for Alaskan "organic" farm-raised, $8.99-$18.99 for wild-caught sockeye (& other "basic" varieties) of salmon ($8.99 is for previously frozen), & - most recently - a whopping $30.00 per pound (yes, that's THIRTY dollars per pound folks) for wild-caught Copper River salmon, which I find utterly ridiculous & refuse to pay. Many restaurants in Virginia are also refusing to serve it because of the major upswing in price.

 

[ironchef]

Many restaurants in Virginia are also refusing to serve it because of the major upswing in price.

For anyone interested, the price swing is because they had a very poor season this year. That's also why the availability of the Copper River salmon was so late this year compared to in years past. We chose not to run any specials with it for that reason. From what I've heard and tried, the Copper River salmon isn't as flavorful as in past years as well. Just one of those things I guess. It's still cheaper in L.A. than what Breezy is seeing in Virginia, but that's due more to proximity than anything.

 

[buckytom]

ic, who took the picture of you inspecting the tilapia?

also, you're dead on about salmon prices, especially wild/copper river.

oh, and i think almost all tilapia available in the u.s. is farm raised.

 

[ironchef]

This article offers more in depth reasons for the high prices of Copper River salmon this year:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/270522_salmon17.html?source=rss

BT, the pic was taken by the GF while we were shopping for dinner last week. We ended up getting scallops and halibut.

 

[buckytom]

no offense, but can you be the photographer from now on? she's much easier on the eyes...(lol, sorry man, couldn't resist the set up... i guessed it was her, he he he)

ok, so to summarize, the increased demand due to a superior product and effective marketing has blown the curve, along with atmospheric and industrial conditions reducing the supply, thus driving up the price exponentially.

 

[grumblebee]

I dont want to start a whole new thread and since we are talking about tilapia anyway I thought I would ask here:

Has anyone ever made ceviche with tilapia? I usually use sole, shrimp or scallops. I wonder if its any good?

 

[velochic]

You know, I only started eating Tilapia (aka Nile Perch)

I think Tilapia and Nile Perch are two different fish. From what I remember reading several years ago, the Nile Perch in Lake Victoria were threatened by the Nile Perch (which is supposed to be really disgusting to eat). Eventually, because Tilapia are fast growers, they rebounded and aren't in danger anymore. But they are two different fish.

I'm not sure how much Tilapia is in the midwest (where I'm from), but my mother was saying recently that it's quite an inexpensive fish.

 

[ironchef]

I think Tilapia and Nile Perch are two different fish. From what I remember reading several years ago, the Nile Perch in Lake Victoria were threatened by the Nile Perch (which is supposed to be really disgusting to eat). Eventually, because Tilapia are fast growers, they rebounded and aren't in danger anymore. But they are two different fish.

They are two different fish. Tilapia are actually members of the cichlid family, but they are commonly labled and sold as Nile Perch. I put that in because some people may know the fish as a Nile Perch rather than a Tilapia. It's like the Chilean Sea Bass. It's not a bass but because of the fish's texture, flavor, and marketing ploys, it's now known as a type of bass.

 

[BreezyCooking]

You're right Ironchef. What everyone swoons over as "Chilean Sea Bass" is actually called "Patagonian Toothfish", which seafood marketing geniouses decided wasn't terribly appealing - lol!!!!

And it doesn't even resemble any sort of "bass" in even the remotest way - rather it's a long snarly-looking sort of fish.

 

[Sabrine]

The price is around 5.30$ lbs for tilapia filets here.

I think i'll give a try ti this fish. I never ate it before.

Can you recommend me a recipe?

Thank you

 

[skilletlicker]

Live tilapia? Fish stock?

The other day I saw it for $2.99/lb. for whole, fresh, farm raised fish. I've noticed that through posts on here, lots of people actually eat it.

So, how much is tilapia in your area?

A conversation with riverli in the Beautiful chinese dishes thread got me out into a couple of Asian markets yesterday. Both had live tilapia in tanks and had paper signs saying, "Tilapia $2.99" taped to the tank. I wondered if they meant per pound or fish, but communication was difficult and live fish wasn't the mission so I didn't learn any more. I will be back to one of them at, least, and expect to find out.

I don't remember for sure but I think I've paid 4.99 to 5.99 for tilapia fillets. I've never bought the whole cleaned fish.

Does tilapia make a decent fish stock?

 

[Snoop Puss]

Here in Spain, tilapia is sold as "perca". It goes for between €8 and €11 a kilo, about the same price as farmed salmon fillets and steaks. They used to sell larger fillets as "mero" (usually translated as "grouper") but nowadays the fillets are definitely smaller than before.

 

[CharlieD]

Sam's club sells a 3 lb bag, filet for $9.98 here in MN