There should be plenty of ahi available for New Year’s Eve at a reasonable price, according to purveyors, as a year besieged by pandemic-related challenges winds down to a close.

“We have a good amount for the rest of the year,” said Michael Goto, vice president of United Fishing Agency, which runs the Honolulu Fish Auction.

Goto said the auction offered about 120,000 pounds of longline catch — including ahi as well as other kinds of fish — on Tuesday and was expecting about 100,000 pounds today.

“With loads like that, there generally is enough capacity for the entire range of the market,” he said.

It has been a challenging year for the longline fishing industry due to to the pandemic, he said, and even with some help and the city’s “fish to dish” initiative, the industry is still in recovery mode. Celebrations, likewise, are scaled down this year, with gatherings restricted to five or fewer on Oahu.

“It was extremely volatile, more than any other year,” said Goto. “So far, what I’ve seen is it’s not where it normally is, and we know why: lack of tourism, restaurants at half capacity and many closed down, limited family gatherings and the whole thing.”

Still, the end-of-the-year celebration is expected to provide a boost in sales for many restaurants and shops offering sashimi, a tradition for many ringing in the new year in Hawaii.

“We’ll have a pretty good selection.” said Guy Tamashiro, vice president of Tamashiro Market, who was at the auction Tuesday morning.

At the affordable end, there will likely be good-grade ahi for $12.95 a pound, which is expected to go quickly, he said, and at the top end, $39.95 per pound for premium-grade bluefin toro ahi. Those prices from Tuesday are similar to last year.

The longtime, family-run business in Kalihi said its goal is to offer quality, and that all grades can be made into sashimi.

“What’s different is we have the social distancing, so we can’t have the floor as crowded and we have to space it out,” he said.

On Tuesday there was no line outside of the market as has been the case in past years. Customers’ temperatures are screened at the door, and every person entering is carefully spaced apart. Plexiglas barriers are mounted at cash registers.

Tanioka’s Seafoods & Catering in Waipahu this year is offering only curbside pickup for pre-orders on New Year’s Eve.

The family-run business was able to sell only a limited amount of sashimi platters and other popular New Year’s items due to limits brought about by the pandemic, according to Justin Tanioka, and was sold out as of last week.

“We’re just thankful our customers are patient and understanding,” he said. “This year we had to do it a little different. We could only take a limited amount. We do apologize, and I wish we could do more.”

Tanioka’s will then be closed from Friday to Jan. 19, he said, for some cleaning and re-strategizing. It has been a tough year for the business of more than 40 years, with demand for catering dropping dramatically due to cancellations of weddings, graduations and large parties. But Tanioka’s will reopen again in January.

“We are hanging in there,” he said.

Tom Jones, owner of Gyotaku Japanese Restaurants, said sales are not as high as last year’s, but there should still be a little boost for New Year’s Eve festivities — enough to survive.

Instead of larger sashimi platters and pans of yaki­soba, Jones noticed a shift to smaller-scale orders.

“We’re selling a lot more individual meals and bentos,” he said, “which, to me, indicates people are social-distancing and not breaking the rules.”

Small neighborhood businesses like Ethel’s Grill in Kalihi and Hibachi in Kailua were also busy Tuesday afternoon as customers placed their last-minute sashimi orders for New Year’s celebrations.

Ethel’s Grill is nearly sold out of its $100 sashimi platters, according to owner Minaka Urquidi, which are available for pickup only.

“There’s availability,” said Goto of United Fishing Agency. “It’s just a matter of hopefully the industry will see the same support back to fishermen who did continue to go out, even in these uncertain market conditions.”