The seafood section on some menus have been slim these days. Restaurants across the country are pulling dishes like crab croquettes or seared sea scallops from their offerings. That’s because prices are too high right now, thanks to major delays in the supply chain just as consumer demand for a nice seafood dinner is soaring.
"A pound of halibut before the pandemic might have gone for $16, now it’s $28. The worst example we're hearing is about scallops," says Kate Krader, food editor at Bloomberg News. "Scallops are getting pulled from menus across the country. They've gone up to about $42 a pound. Chefs were buying them for $28 pre-pandemic."
Prices have also gone up because of transportation delays and a labor shortage. "Docks are definitely missing workers, so everything from unpacking supplies to moving it along, to getting it shipped. There's a lack of truck drivers, so even if the seafood does land on the dock and get processed, it's not always being transported."
These conditions have affected the price of food so much that restaurants are cancelling orders — or turning to items like shrimp to replace other seafood.