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Oregon Coast Albacore Tuna Has Arrived

Local Family Taking Tuna Business To The Web

It’s been 10 long months for northwest tuna lovers, but they have finally made it to the North Coast on their summer migration across the Pacific. Each year millions of younger Albacore travel up the Oregon coast in mainly August and September to feed on sardines and other smaller fish. Because of their short life span, (11-12 years) they grow very rapidly and will eat 10-25% of their body weight everyday and can swim through the ocean at 30 mph.

Once waters off the Oregon Coast warm up to 63 degrees, fishermen like Stuart Arnold head out to sea to track them down. This week the largest schools of Albacore were about 80 miles west of Newport. Most tuna fishermen deliver their catch to local canneries, but some have developed a niche market and are selling their fresh catch right to consumers. This works out well for both because the fishermen can sell them for more than the canneries will pay and the public can buy them for less than at the market. Buyers also know exactly what they are buying, how old the fish are and who caught it.

Sunday morning was the first opportunity for Arnold to offer his catch to the public. He left earlier in the week and wife Tami and daughter Heather had about 1200 pounds pre-sold before he even arrived.

Mercury Scare

The amount of tuna consumed in the U.S. has taken a hit since there were reports of tuna having mercury levels that may be unsafe. While some canned tuna may have levels a bit high, tuna caught off the Oregon and Washington coast are far lower than the average tuna – this according to Michael Morrissey of Oregon State University.

Morrissey and colleagues tested 91 albacore tuna caught in waters from southern California to British Columbia. The average mercury concentration was 0.14 parts per million, well below the limit of 1.00 part per million set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Tuna that are larger and many times end up on the supermarket shelves are closer to .36 parts per million.

The Catch

Tuna are caught by local fishermen with “jigs” that they tow behind the boat at sea. Arnold used 12 lines and each had a hook surrounded by a rubber like material that resembled a squid or sardine. Each line also has a paddle a few feet up the line that skips along the water. Once a tuna is on the line the paddle will sink in the water. This tells Matt Brause, Arnold’s Deckhand, that there is a fish on and the tuna are reeled in by hand one-by-one. Each one is then bled and packed on ice – this keeps the tuna between 31 and 32 degrees until delivery.

Surfin the web for Tuna

This is the first year that the Arnold family has their own website ~ Oregontuna.com. They try to update it as much as possible in order to keep their customers informed. Many travel from Portland and Seattle and want to make sure they don’t waste a trip. Arnold also has a “Captains Blog” where he posts updates and tuna tips. Internet users can also put in an order or give their email address for catch numbers, prices and updates.

This weekend Arnold was selling Albacore for $1.75 per pound. By Oregon law he must sell the tuna whole. He can also loin them, but it must be treated as a separate transaction. This year’s tuna are a bit bigger than in years past with most averaging from 16 to 20 pounds. Loined tuna produce about a 50% yield and Arnold charges $6 per fish.

Most of Arnold’s customers commented that they will be home canning them in jars, although there are many other uses for fresh tuna. According to the website, Arnold’s boat, the Lihue II, will be in again next Monday. Click here to sign up for email updates or to place a pre-order. Arnold’s boat is normally docked at the Warrenton Marina.

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