You head to the seafood counter dreaming of salmon, shrimp, and maybe a splurge-worthy fillet, only to find a few lonely trays staring back at you. Signs might blame weather or “transportation issues,” but that doesn’t help when you’re trying to plan dinner on a budget. Behind those bare spots are real people juggling delivery delays, changing inventories, and quality concerns long before the fish hits the case. The result is a shrinking variety just when you could really use affordable, quick-cooking protein to get through the cold months. The good news is that once you understand how all this works, you can adapt your shopping strategy and still protect your wallet.
