Albacore Thunnas alalunga Commercially Caught Albacore Albacore landed into Washington state are almost exclusively troll caught. An albacore troller ranges anywhere from 40-65 feet in size and usually pulls 10 to 20 jigs through the water at a slow speed. Even though albacore can swim up to 50 mph for short distances, a slower troll speed of 10-12 mph is usually best for catching them. Commercially caught albacore in Washington make up about 90% of the total albacore catch landed into Washington. Commercial albacore landings into Washington can range from 2,000 metric tons to 11,000 metric tons annually. The total annual landings into Washington across the last ten years has averaged around 5,200 metric tons.   The majority of Washington’s albacore are landed into Ilwaco and Westport. Other ports of landing include, but are not limited to, Bellingham, La Push, Port Angeles, and Seattle. Albacore less than 6 years of age tend to spend much of their time living and feeding in the upper water columns and in slightly cooler waters. But older albacore, 6 years and up, spend more of their time in the deeper waters of the tropics. This behavior creates a difference in the marketing of troll caught versus longline caught albacore. Since younger albacore tend to spend more of their time closer to the surface they are most readily caught by trollers. These albacore are typically smaller, less than 40 lbs., and are higher in fat. It is the fat that contains the omega 3s, therefore, the troll caught albacore have higher omega 3s and since they are young their meat is a usually a better quality meat. Longline caught albacore tend to be larger and have a lower fat content. Consequently, they have lower omega 3s and their meat isn’t considered to be high a quality as the younger albacore. For more information or questions, Please contact Carol Henry.