The live fish market has been growing rapidly. It has spread northward, starting in California (San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and is now moving into Oregon and Washington. This market caters to Asian stores and gourmet restaurants. Much of the domestic demand for live fish in the PNW comes from Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. However, there is also a live market along the coast of Oregon. The Vancouver, Canada, market is being filled by both wild and farmed animals.

Some individuals in the aquaculture industry are wary of venturing into the live market because they believe it is approaching maximum utilization and may be too much of a specialty market. For example, one to three farms may saturate the rockfish live market (Rust 2001). Mark Barnes at Premium Pacific Seafoods in Port Orford, Oregon, has been involved in the live fisheries market since the mid-1990's and foresees the market declining (2003). Others believe there is still room for growth, which may present long-term opportunities. For instance, there is interest in shipping the live animals and eggs directly to Asia.

An obvious hurdle of participating in the live market is transporting the live animals to a market and then having facilities available to keep them alive. As of late 2001, Nor Cal had plans to build a live fish storage area in Port Orford, Oregon, with twenty, 10,000-gallon tanks able to store up to 100,000 pounds of fish (Summers 2001). In addition, Nor Cal has plans to buy a station in Gold Beach for a similar purpose. Premium Pacific Seafoods also has a holding station in Port Orford. (Photo by Magic Valley Heli-Arc & Mfg., Inc.)

Fishers that catch 100 pounds of fish per day can make a decent living (Summers 2001). In Port Orford, Oregon, the typical breakdown of species that are sent to the live market are:
40% cabezon
15% lingcod
25% sea trout or kelp greenling
20% rockfish (such as China, copper, and quillback)

The price for a live fish varies with season. This is something that an aquaculture venture can capitalize on by selling during seasons when the animals are not being supplied from the wild fishery. This may increase the price of the species. Recent prices (2003) for live fish at Port Orford were:
$5.75 per pound for cabezon
$6.50 per pound for China rockfish (which sell for up to $11 per pound retail)

Finally, there has been recent talk that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will begin limiting entry into the wild caught live fishery market due to high fishing pressure. This may provide more opportunity for aquaculture to supply this market.