What is it like to fish for albacore?
How do you catch albacore?
What do you do once you've caught a fish?
Do albacore look like abalone?
Are albacore the same as tuna?
How can you tell if the tuna in the can is troll-caught?
What is the difference between trolling and long-lining?
How is your albacore different from the brands I see in the supermarket?
How is your albacore different from all the other private labels?
Where can I go for more albacore information?
On a totally different note...
What is it like to fish for albacore?
Judy says: For 25 years on the EZ1, Harvey and I began our season in the Spring off the Pacific Coast. We headed from a hundred or so miles offshore to as far as north of Midway Island ... about halfway across the North Pacific. Our longest trip was two months.
Since selling the EZ1 and now fishing the smaller Koko, we will not go as far or stay out as long. I guess that's what we'd call 'semi-retired.' The fish themselves are the same, though. Albacore like water temperatures of in the low '60s, so we go until we find it.
We fish from dawn to dark, so it is a long day during the middle of summer, about 16 hours. We fit meals in when we can.We stay out until we have a boatload or need food or fuel. The summer weather is usually pretty nice, although the occasional storm can come up and bounce us around a bit. I keep trying to get impressive pictures of waves coming over the bow, but it never looks as wet and wild as it feels at the time.
How do you catch albacore?
We troll (drag) 12 barbless hooks (jigs) behind the boat. Each jig has colorful material around the hook to attract the fish. When an albacore grabs a hook, we tug the line into a slot in our ‘pinch puller.’ The pinch puller is like the reel you use on your fishing pole to reel in trout, with a couple of differences. Our puller is about 10 inches in diameter, is mounted on the back railing of the boat, and is hydraulically powered.
We turn on the puller and it reels the fish within a few yards of the back of the boat where we then take the line and pull it by hand, dragging the fish closer and then lifting it over the rail.We don’t let the reel bring the fish too close to the back of the boat, because we find we can adjust the tension of the line better by hand as the boat lifts and drops on the swell. The albacore line can really cut up our hands, especially if it slips, so we use ‘gloves’: motorcycle inner tubes Harvey cuts into strips that go around our palms and fingers. Harvey gets teased a lot about being old-fashioned because he won't use store-bought gloves. But what do those young 'uns know anyway? Even with our 'gloves', we always have multiple cuts and calluses within a few weeks. When a fish pulls strongly, the line sometimes slips and cuts our hands. And of course there are hooks and fish teeth. We use disinfectant (bleachy hand wash) every evening to prevent problems.
What do you do once you've caught a fish?
An albacore's internal temperature is very high, much higher than ambient air or water temperature, so we quickly bleed the fish and then place them in the shade under a spray of sea water to cool for awhile.Then we hang it by its tail in the -40 degree fish hold, where it freezes quickly. Later, we take them down and stack them.
Do albacore look like abalone?
We're often asked if albacore and abalone are the same thing. Nope. Abalone live along the shore, clinging to rocks with their muscular feet. Their shells make beautiful jewelry, and they are extremely tasty. Unfortunately, abalone is facing some challenges as more and more are being picked out of the sea.
This is what an albacore looks like:
Are albacore the same as tuna?
Albacore is one type of tuna. ‘Tuna’ is the common name for a variety of fish in the Scombridae (tuna and mackerel) family. There are several types of tuna in the mackerel family. To see the list, go to Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia and scroll down to the link about tuna. The links on the right will take you to more information. We REALLY would like articles about 'tuna' to discriminate between the different types. There are significant differences in methods of catching, sustainability, and the product itself.
How can you tell if the tuna in the can is troll-caught?
It's easy! Just look at the nutrition label for the fat content. Troll-caught albacore has much more fat (approx. 5g per 2 oz serving) than the long-lined fish (approx 1g fat per 2 oz serving).
What is the difference between trolling and long-lining?
Trolling is the kind of fishing we do. We take 12 hooks, tie them onto 12 lines, and throw them over the side of the boat. Each hook has a jig - some brightly colored material that lures the fish. These hooks are dragged behind the boat at a staggered distance of 4 to 21 fathoms (a fathom = 6 feet). When a fish hits the hook it pulls on the line and a bell on the back deck rings. Before the ring from the bell has faded from our ears, someone (usually Harvey, he's the fastest) is on the back deck pulling up the line. He pulls it in with a powered reel called a pinch puller, then brings the fish aboard by hand. The fish is killed and bled immediately then sent to the front deck to cool under a steady stream of seawater. After it's cooled, it is hung by its tail to freeze in the -40 degree fish hold. Later, it is brought down and stacked.
In short, trolling for albacore means that:
- The albacore we can for you goes from alive to frozen as quickly as possible.
- The hooks we throw into the water seldom attract other kinds of fish
- We fish at a very shallow depth (not much below the surface, really) so that the albacore attracted to the lures are the younger, higher fat fish that contain more omega-3 and less mercury.
Long-lining for albacore is usually done by foreign boats. It works like this: A boat drops one end of a long line into the ocean. The line can be up to 30 miles long. Off this big line are many little lines with hooks attached. The hooks float in waters along the thermocline, sometimes as deep as 300 feet. This is where the big albacore hang out.
Once hooked, the fish's movements attract other fish and sharks in the area. After 12 hours or so, depending on the weather, the boat returns to the beginning of the line and picks it up. Any albacore or by-catch that has been caught is brought on board at this time. Depending on how long the albacore or by-catch has been hooked, it may or may not still be alive when brought on board.
Long-lined albacore tends to be the older, bigger fish. These older fish have lived longer and have accumulated more pollutants in their flesh, and therefore tend to have higher mercury levels than troll-caught fish.
In short, long-lining for albacore means that:
- Albacore can die slowly and wait for hours until cooled
- There is by-catch
- The older, bigger, lower-fat fish caught at depth are higher in mercury and lower in Omega-3s.
How is your albacore different from the brands I see in the supermarket?
First, most albacore bought for big brands is the long-lined fish. Some troll-caught fish is bought during the season, but how much and from whom is always in flux.
Second, big brand albacore has most likely been cooked twice — once before it goes into the can and again during the canning process. We prefer to cook the albacore only once — when it is in the can — ensuring that its natural oils make it to your salad or sandwich.
How is your albacore different from all the other private labels?
Troll-caught albacore that has been canned in a microcannery will vary from brand to brand because of individual canning techniques and the recipes used. We encourage you to find a troll-caught albacore brand that suits your palate from a company you enjoy doing business with. If you do this you'll be supporting the U.S. fisher families who make up the troll-caught industry and helping to keep our oceans healthy. Our hope, of course, is that you'll try our Wild Pacific Albacore and like it.
Where can I go for more albacore information?
We think the Western Fishboat Owners Association (WFOA) website is the best for overall information about albacore. The WFOA is the ALBACORE tuna fishermen’s association.
On a totally different note
Did you know that if the weather gets bad enough you can literally walk up the walls of the cabin? Ever wonder how fast can a ten-year-old who had just seen Jaws can inflate his rubber raft when he thinks the boat is sinking (it wasn’t)? How desperate would you have to be before you stole a shower in the Bering Sea? If you are interested in stories of the fishing life (albacore and other fisheries during the past 40 years), let me know and I’ll put some up.
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One of my favorite images at the Columbia Winery Winterfest is of a man walking quickly around the edges of the room with his wine glass in one hand and his free hand busy getting samples. At our table he reached between two people and took a tiny cup of albacore. He started walking briskly away, tipped his head back and popped the albacore into his mouth. In mid-stride he swung around and took long steps back toward us. “What IS that? he asked, his eyes busily scanning our table, “That’s REALLY GOOD!” It took a while to convince him it really was ‘tuna.’
Nice words — "You folks have been very responsive to my orders and I have received them promptly. Keep up the great work." Thanks, Georgia