Albacore Tuna

Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) is a relatively slow-growing tuna that can grow up to 140 cm and weigh up to 60 kg.  These tuna have a dark blue back and blue-grey flanks and belly.  The exceptionally long pectoral fins – as much as 30% of the tuna’s total length – are the key feature used to distinguish albacore from other tuna species.

Albacore is a highly migratory species found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. About 40% of the total biomass of albacore is found in the North Pacific Ocean, 27% in the South Pacific, 25% in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and 8% in the Indian Ocean. Two distinct (i.e., non-mixing) stocks of albacore are found in the Pacific Ocean: a North Pacific stock and a South Pacific stock.

The albacore fishery is a significant source of income for Canada’s coastal communities, especially on the Pacific coast. The Canadian fishery catches albacore primarily from the north Pacific stock and is valued at approximately $30 million each year for Canadian harvesters. In 2009, the Canadian catch of north Pacific albacore were 5,685 tonnes.

Due to the vast migrations that albacore undertake within these ocean areas, stocks are managed internationally by four regional fisheries management organizations: the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). The regional management responsibilities are shared as follows:

• North Pacific albacore are managed by the WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific, west of 150° W longitude) and the IATTC (Eastern Pacific, east of 150° W longitude), based on the scientific advice of the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean (ISC);
  
  
• South Pacific albacore are managed primarily by the WCPFC because the majority of biomass occurs west of 150° W longitude;
  
  
• Albacore in the Indian Ocean are managed by the IOTC; and
  
  
• North and South Atlantic albacore are managed by the ICCAT, based on the advice of its Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS).

As albacore migrations in the North Pacific Ocean range across the Convention Areas of both the IATTC and WCPFC, international cooperation in the management of the North Pacific stock is vital.  

North Pacific Albacore Tuna

The most recent North Pacific albacore stock assessment was completed by the ISC in December 2006, using fishery data from 1966 to 2005. The ISC’s Albacore Working Group also conducts a qualitative update of stock status and trends between stock assessments, using the most up to date fisheries data, i.e., data available since the last stock assessment.

The 2006 stock assessment concluded that the current exploitation level of the North Pacific albacore stock was high relative to the most commonly used reference points for contemporary fisheries management, and that fisheries for the stock would have to be reduced. However, since there is no formal guidance on the degree to which, when, and how reductions will occur, the ISC recommended that the current fishing effort not be increased and that all stakeholders adhere to precautionary-based fishing practices. Qualitative updates and limited analysis since the last stock assessment tend to provide more optimistic views of spawning biomass and recruitment in this stock together with current fishing mortality, although this qualitative interpretation of three years of additional data (2006-2008) was not sufficient to change existing conservation advice. 

Both the IATTC and the WCPFC currently have resolutions on albacore conservation and management stating that the total level of fishing effort should not be increased beyond current levels for North Pacific albacore in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (IATTC) and the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, north of the equator (WCPFC). The two organizations also require member countries to take necessary measures to ensure that the level of fishing effort by their vessels fishing for North Pacific albacore is not increased.

Canadians have been fishing albacore since the late 1930s in the North Pacific. Although fishing has been recorded in all months of the year, the fishery primarily occurs from late June through October each year when juvenile albacore are abundant in warm offshore and coastal waters of the United States and Canada. Between 2000 and 2009 the annual catch by the Canadian fleet has averaged 5,779 t and is valued at approximately $30 million per year. As such, improving the conservation and management measures for North Pacific albacore fisheries will continue to be a priority for Canada.

The majority of Canadian vessels fish for albacore within the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Canada and the United States, with more than 80% of the catch in recent years being taken in United States waters off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. Canadian access to these waters is governed by the recently amended Canada-U.S. Pacific Albacore Tuna Treaty. Historically, five to twenty Canadian vessels have fished for North Pacific albacore in waters outside the Canadian and American EEZs, going as far west as 170°E in the North Pacific Ocean, but since 2006 the majority of activities have been taking place in the coastal and adjacent waters of North American east of 150° W longitude.

South Pacific Albacore Tuna

The most recent assessment of the South Pacific albacore stock, conducted for the WCPFC by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in 2008, concluded that current catch levels are likely sustainable even though the impact of fisheries on older albacore is much greater than the impact on younger albacore. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding the current estimates and further improvements to the assessment model are a research priority for Canada.

Since the 1980s, up to five Canadian vessels have participated in a modest Southern Pacific albacore tuna fishery in the sub-tropical convergence zone near French Polynesia. This fishery typically occurs between December and March. These distant-water tuna harvesters have landed catches ranging from 38 to 453 tonnes between 2002 and 2007. No Canadian vessels reported fishing in the South Pacific in 2008 or 2009.

Atlantic Albacore Tuna

The most recent stock assessment of North and South Atlantic albacore tuna was conducted by the SCRS in 2007. The results of this assessment showed that, while catches of the northern stock had exceeded the total allowable catch (TAC) of 34,500 tonnes in both 2005 and 2006, catches of the southern stock over those two years were below 29,900 tonnes TAC. In response, ICCAT set the 2008 TAC for northern albacore at 30,000 tonnes and maintained the southern stock TAC at 29,200 tonnes for each year starting in 2008 and continuing until 2011.

In Atlantic Canada, albacore is found along the edge of the Gulf Stream and Georges Bank, the Scotian Shelf, and the Grand Banks. In 2009, Canada’s landings of Atlantic albacore were almost 11 tonnes, representing a small portion of the overall value of the large pelagic fisheries in Atlantic Canada.

Sources:

Hoyle, S., and Davies, N. 2009. Stock Assessment of Albacore Tuna in the South Pacific Ocean. Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, 5th Science Committee Meeting, 11-21 August 2009, Port Vila, Vanuatu, . Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. WCPFC-SC5-2009/SA-WP-6 . 130 p. 

International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean. 2009. Annex 6. Report of the Albacore Working Group Workshop 14-22 April 2009 Shimizu, Japan).  In.  Plenary Session (15-20 July 2009). Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. 2007. Report of the 2007 ICCAT Albacore Stock Assessment Session (July 5-12, 2007). International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Madrid, Spain. 119 p.