Great Lakes perch shortage may boost cost of Lenten fish fry. Here’s why
Folks looking to enjoy American perch during their traditional Lenten fish fry likely will find some — so long as they’re willing to shell out a little extra money for it.
Seafood distributors say a severe yellow perch shortage continues in the Great Lakes region, but lighter demand from restaurants and food service vendors during the coronavirus pandemic means the supply hasn’t dried up completely. “I did get mine,” said Paul LeClair, owner of Susie Q Fish Market in Two Rivers. He bought 2,000 pounds of Great Lakes perch from area commercial fishermen and froze and stored fillets to distribute during Lent. During the 40 days leading up to Easter, which began Feb. 17, many Christians forgo meat or dishes made with meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays during Lent. Great Lakes yellow perch have been hard to come by since summer 2019 as a result of a variety of environmental factors, and seafood vendors say those trends will continue to affect the perch supply for at least a few more years.
The perch catch also was reduced because commercial fishermen got a late start because of the coronavirus, further reducing the supply.
Like most businesses, schools and organizations, commercial fishing operations were shuttered for about two months starting in mid-March under state safer-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. That meant fewer perch in freezers after the fisheries shut down in November.
LeClair gets his perch from commercial fishermen on the Bay of Green Bay, where, he said, the season went well, once they could get out onto the waters in July. He said he has enough yellow perch on hand to supply his regular customers, including a handful of Manitowoc and Two Rivers pubs, restaurants as well as retail customers, but he doesn’t plan to sell to anyone else.
He and other seafood distributors expect diners will order less fish overall this Lenten season because many restaurants have limited or no dine-in options. But those who do go out should expect to pay premium prices.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge to find American perch,” LeClair said, as opposed to the European lake perch some restaurants sell. “I’m encouraging people to try whitefish or walleye. They really are quite tasty.”
In West Bend at Timmer’s Resort, the yellow perch comes from Canadian waters, a restaurant employee said, and there have been weeks when it hasn’t been available at all. Because of the scarcity, the perch is listed as market price on the menu — recently, the yellow perch entree at the finer-dining restaurant was $24.
Tight supply, higher prices
Paul Becker, who owns Riverside Foods in Two Rivers, has been forecasting Great Lakes fish supplies to vendors and customers for the past 17 years and watching yellow perch numbers for the past 33.
About 90% of Great Lakes perch consumed locally comes from the Canadian side of Lake Erie, he said. There, the yellow perch quota was 3 million pounds for 2020, but only 55% was caught because of last year’s shortened fishing season.
“There’s perch out there,” Becker said. “We’re in better shape than we were last year. We just have to wait until May for fishermen to get out there and get it.”
Because supply is tight, wholesale prices are about $1 a pound more than last year. The increased cost, passed on to restaurant diners, might lead people to switch to another fish, he said.
Canada limits the perch commercial fishermen can catch to allow more opportunities for recreational anglers.
Other longer-term influences that led to a sharp decline in Great Lakes perch remain in place, he added. Walleye, pollution and invasive species all limit perch numbers.
“Walleye has become popular with people who fish recreationally, so the Canadian Ministry allowed them to grow,” Becker said. “Now, there are so many of them, they have decimated the smelt and are moving on to the next food source. So until the top predator is cut back, this is what we will see.”
From time to time, Lake Erie also has had dead zones — or areas where a lack of oxygen drives off or kills fish, often caused by weeds or invasive species. These areas have been growing in each of the past five years and are having an increasingly negative impact, Becker said.
Another problem fishermen face is stronger-than-average winds and currents. Fishermen typically set their nets crosswise to current, but with high currents they must set their nets lengthwise, yielding smaller catches. Canadian laws also have increased net mesh sizes in some areas of the Great Lakes from 3 inches to 3.75 inches, which makes catching smaller perch a challenge.
Lake Ontario has its own unique problem. Historically, it was home to 25,000 to 50,000 nesting pairs of cormorants. Today, it is estimated there are 125,000 to 150,000 nesting pairs of this voracious fish-eater. Double-crested cormorants are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Becker said one cormorant eats about 1.1 pounds of fish a day, and 17% of their diet is yellow lake perch.
“With a biostructure as big as the Great Lakes, there’s no easy fix,” Becker said.
Mike Parkinson, owner of Blue Harbor Fish and Seafood in Green Bay, said he’s stored up some yellow perch to sell to current customers, but there aren’t surpluses or deals to be found. He said wholesale prices have jumped from around $12 to $13 a pound of Great Lakes perch to $15 a pound. Those are costs restaurant owners likely will have to pass on to customers.
Some chefs will instead batter and fry perch from European or Russian lakes, he said. Experts can tell the difference in taste, but the average diners likely won’t notice. At around $8 a pound wholesale, restaurants are getting a good price and consumers will be overpaying if they’re charged at the same rate they would be for the Great Lakes stuff.
“It’s like paying for Crown Royal when you’re getting rail whiskey,” Becker said. “European perch is perfectly good fish, but honest people should let you know you’re getting the European and not the premium.”
LeClair said perch prices may drop a bit in summer when fishermen catch what they couldn’t last year.
“Will my prices plummet? No,” he said. “I think we’ll continue to see high prices for a while.”
Contact Patti Zarling at pzarling@ gannett.com. Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.