Commercial and Recreational Harvest of Albacore Tuna (Thunnus Alalunga) in Oregon
2021 Annual Report
Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) is a highly migratory species found worldwide in temperate seas. Albacore caught off Oregon belong to the North Pacific stock and are generally juvenile or sub-adult fish that have not spawned. During their trans-Pacific migrations, vessels of several nations target albacore including the United States, Canada, Taiwan, and Japan. The United States West Coast fishery harvests this stock during the summer and early fall months.
Albacore Tuna Fishery Newsletter
The 2021 season was slow to start. Nearly a month later than is considered normal, fishing came on strong in August with 1.7 million pounds landed, or 53% of the total for the year. Newport had the highest albacore landings of any Oregon port in 2021, with 45% of the total weight. Charleston landed 31% of the total weight, followed by Garibaldi. The only other port with landings of over 100,000 pounds was Astoria. The average size of all albacore landings in 2021 was 6,441 pounds, similar to the average landing size from 2013-2020 of 6,201 pounds. This indicates that vessels of all sizes were able to make trips this season and there were no substantial limiting factors, such as weather or distance to the fishing grounds, that kept the smaller vessels in port.
