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The Western Fishboat Owners’ Association (WFOA) is a non-profit association representing albacore troll-vessel owners and supporting businesses in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.  WFOA also maintains a limited membership of fishing vessels in New Zealand and in British Columbia. These family-owned boats fish for Wild Pacific Albacore off the U.S. West Coast from June through October, and in the South Pacific from January through April.

Artisanal hook and line vessels are small boats, often operated by members of the same families over several generations — and these form the core of the Western Fishboat Owners’ Association. Locally available West Coast albacore is a high-quality ocean fish repeatedly recognized by the FDA as nutritionally beneficial and certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

 

 

 

WILD PACIFIC ALBACORE: 
A sustainable premium Pacific tuna

Caught off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington, Wild Pacific Albacore is certified as sustainable by the MSC and is ranked as a “BEST CHOICE” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program list. High in Omega-3s with a firm texture and mild flavor, Wild Pacific Albacore is commonly sold in loins, steaks, and smaller medallions during the season between July and October; fresh-frozen or canned albacore is available year-round.


Wild Pacific albacore tuna are a torpedo-shaped fish with smooth skin, very streamlined fins, and a metallic blue body. Albacore are dark blue on the top with silvery to pale colors along the sides of their bellies. Albacore have very long pectoral fins – the fins along each side of the body – that measure at least half the length of their bodies, with white edges on their tails.

Albacore in the North Pacific spawn between March and July in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. Albacore can swim at 50 mph or more, and they cross vast areas of the ocean during their annual migrations. Albacore have a high metabolism and they prey on schooling stocks of seafood including sardines, anchovies, and squid. They can consume as much as 25 percent of their own weight each day.