WILD PACIFIC ALBACORE: HISTORY

 

The commercial jig albacore fishery in the U.S. began as a coastal fishery in southern California and northern Mexico during the early part of the century. Canneries began canning albacore on an experimental basis in 1903, after which the processing and canning of all tunas became one of the largest seafood businesses in the world.

During the 1940s and into the mid-1960s the coastal fishery began to flourish. Canneries began processing albacore not only in southern California but also in northern areas such as Astoria, Oregon, and other places along the coast. The fleet expanded, too, as the new fishery expanded.

Many new vessels were built -- and, for the first time, refrigerated -- in order to freeze the catch and remain at sea until the boat was full. The coastal production occurred between 20 and 200 miles off the coast, with very little effort outside this zone.

The early 1960s saw lower production in the northern areas, and increased production farther down south, in central and southern California. However, in 1968 the fleet enjoyed the largest troll and bait-caught season of all time. Most of the production was again in Oregon and Washington.

From 1974 through about 1981, the fishery dropped off in production and vessels began exploring offshore areas of the Pacific Ocean. This new fishery began in the mid-1970s and became worthwhile, but the logistics of distance and long times at sea made it impractical for most of the fleet.

The bottom fell out in 1991, with the lowest catches ever. Speculation on the reasons for this centered on factors such as Asian high seas driftnet boats that began fishing for albacore and other pelagics in 1981. By international agreement, the high seas nets were banned in 1991. From 1991 until 1996, the albacore production by U.S. boats steadily increased to a near-record year in 1996.

During 1996 the feed patterns and ocean conditions offshore set up in a near-perfect season, and per-day catches were reported as high as any time in history.

Prior to 1997, the major U.S. canners purchased over 90 percent of the U.S. albacore catch. However, they grew more dependent on Asian longline-caught albacore, and moved their operations offshore. In 2002 most U.S. caught albacore was canned in Spain or sold in sashimi markets in Canada, Japan, and the U.S.

During the 1990s many smaller specialty "custom" canners began operations along the coast. They supplied small quantities to speciality markets such as health food stores and upscale supermarkets.

Albacore marketing over the last century has evolved from an experiment to a major business, and lately to a fish product with many varied uses. In 1996 the vessels of WFOA provided more than 121.6 million servings of albacore to consumers worldwide. The future of albacore troll fishermen now depends on the consumers in the United States to play a larger role in partnering with the U.S. fishing fleet.

The Western Fishboat Owners Association (WFOA) is a non-profit group representing about 400 albacore troll vessel owners based in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand, and British Columbia. These family-owned boats fish for albacore during summer and fall, and some fish the South Pacific from January through April.

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