Hawai'i's fish industry is heading into its busiest time of the year when a rush of customers eager for fresh New Year's 'ahi sashimi can push up prices.

Supply dictates cost, and with only four days to go until Jan. 1, it's unclear how much 'ahi will be available. However, several wholesalers say they are optimistic 'ahi will not be in short supply.

"The word that we have is our fleets are going to come in with seven to nine boats a day and then it's just going to stay kind of nice and affordable," said Bob Fram, president of Garden and Valley Isle Seafood.

Last year abundant supplies kept prices stable, with most medium- to high-grade 'ahi selling for less than $20 a pound. But 'ahi prices can vary widely depending on the grade. A year ago they ranged from about $9 a pound to more than $30 a pound.

Many residents ring in the new year by serving the best sashimi they can afford. According to tradition, the Japanese dish of thin slices of raw fish symbolizes happiness and prosperity and ensures good luck for the new year.

"It's tradition," said Skip Kawakami, a 61-year-old dentist from Hawai'i Kai. "You need little bit of sashimi on the plate, unfortunately, no matter what the cost is."

Kawakami said he usually spends $16 to $17 a pound for the delicacy and buys it on Dec. 29 or Dec. 30 because any later "it just becomes a zoo."

Fish sellers can move as much product in the week before New Year's as they do in a full month earlier in the year.

TJ Kraft/Norpac, a fish distributor and processing house, will make about 5,600 trays and 2,200 platters of sashimi Friday and Saturday for Costco; the company makes about 800 trays for a normal weekend.

TJ Kraft President Tom Kraft is predicting a "good, strong supply" of fish, which would likely keep prices on par with last year.

"We have more boats fishing," he said. "The fish are close; (the boats) are doing the short trips to get in before the new year. Unless that should change suddenly, but I don't see a reason why it would, I think that we'll see these boats continue to come in."

Fram of Garden and Valley Isle Seafood added, "The outlook's pretty bright. The fleet is producing pretty good amounts of fish."

Fram, whose customers mostly are restaurants and hotels, expects prices to be lower than the average over the past 10 years. But he said a stronger tourism industry has helped drive up demand, which will be a factor in pricing.

"It's really hard to say because you still have actually Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday," Fram said. "And boy, it's so funny. If there's only 30,000 or 40,000 (fish) these next four days, it's going to go through the roof."

Guy Tamashiro, fish buyer and vice president of Tamashiro Market, said yesterday's supply was good, but it's still too early to tell what the prices are going to be for New Year's.

This Christmas is an example of how unpredictable the 'ahi market can be: Last week fish supplies were steady through Dec. 23, but on Christmas Eve only one fishing boat came in, Tamashiro said. "It really was a curve ball," he said.

Tamashiro also said slightly more fishing boats are dropping off fish on the Big Island, pulling supply away from O'ahu.

Brian Yamamoto, manager of Yama's Fish Market, also said prices are unpredictable.

"As far as fish prices go, we never know what's going to happen until it gets very close," he said. "We're taking orders and we have to tell the customers, 'I can't give you a price because we don't have the fish yet.' ... There have been some years when prices actually went down on New Year's because there were so many boats coming in. So you never know."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.