Albacore: The Chicken Of The Sea | WWF

We use cookies to analyse how visitors use our website and to help us provide the best possible experience for users. View our Cookie Policy. (I accept)

• Discover
  • About WWF
  • Climate & Energy
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Forests
  • Freshwater
  • Oceans
  • Wildlife
  • People & conservation
  • Knowledge Hub
• Act
  • Donate to WWF
  • Take Action
  • Partner with WWF
  • Plastic Pollution Treaty
• Latest
  • WWF news
  • Press centre
  • WWF Independent review

• ×
• English
  • English
  • Español
• SHOP
• DONATE TO WWF

Albacore: the chicken of the sea

Posted on December, 15 2011

The albacore - that flash of metallic dark blue and silvery white that slices through the Pacific Ocean at breakneck speed. Hunted down for its top dollar "white" meat, the "chicken of the sea" is one of the four tuna species in the Pacific that demand our attention. The remaining species include skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna. The albacore - that flash of metallic dark blue and silvery white that slices through the Pacific Ocean at breakneck speed. Hunted down for its top dollar "white" meat, the "chicken of the sea" is one of the four tuna species in the Pacific that demand our attention. The remaining species include skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna. Who is the Yatuloa? For centuries many itaukei fishermen that forayed into the Pacific and encountered the albacore often mistook its metallic dark blue upper side for black. The name yatuloa stuck. But even well before it was baptised with its Fijian name, the albacore had been part of the Pacific Ocean for thousands of years. One of nature's grand migrants, it travels in large schools usually stretching several miles; swimming south during summer and north in the winter, feeding on squid, crustaceans and smaller fish. Bullet-shaped, the albacore can swim up to an impressive speed of 80 km/hr and has been recorded to weigh 45kg as an adult with a maximum life span of 12 years. In 1903, it was the first tuna to be canned in Southern California and is the only fish to be bestowed with the label: "white meat tuna". It is highly prized for its choice white tasty meat and is largely sold in fresh and frozen forms for markets in Japan, USA, China, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and American Samoa. Recently, Fiji's re-entry into the EU has opened another big opportunity for export. Locally, the albacore is predominantly caught by longline and has been reported to make up approximately 40,000 metric tonnes of the tuna catch that is landed and processed through Suva and Levuka on an annual basis. Near threatened The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently compiled a report that ranked the albacore as "near threatened". This means that while the stock may currently appear to be in a reasonably good shape, it could potentially be threatened with extinction in the near future if overfishing continues. This could be due to, among other things, the introduction of enhanced and sophisticated fishing methods and/or over-capacity from numerous fishing vessels raking through the Pacific Ocean hunting for the last remaining healthy tuna stock in the world. The implications The albacore makes up around 70 - 80 per cent of the tuna catch recorded in Fiji. That fairly represents a large portion of the tuna export earnings. It also means that at least 2000 people who rely on the tuna fisheries for their livelihoods have a viable source of income. Imagine the impact of a depleted stock of albacore on the economy! Think sustainable While it's fantastic that export markets are opening up again in European countries, the rush to meet the demand should never compromise the sustainability of the resource. More and more people at the market end of the supply chain are now increasingly demanding for sustainable fish products, which is a great incentive for source countries like Fiji to improve on their fishing practices. The Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association (FTBOA) is taking the lead in this direction and they should be saluted for setting the benchmark for others in the industry. The FTBOA albacore tuna longline fishery has entered full assessment for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. The process will examine the sustainability of the albacore stock, the environmental impact of fishing operations and the management and governance systems that are in place. Once certified, the albacore product originating from FTBOA would carry a blue MSC ecolabel to show the buyer that the fish comes from a certified and sustainable source. WWF is committed to working collaboratively with industry players to promote sustainable seafood, from sustainable and responsible fishing, to protect the ocean and ensure a continued supply of seafood into the future. * Seini Tawakelevu is the fisheries research intern at the WWF-South Pacific office in Suva Albacore tuna, also known as 'white' meat, at market © roaming the planet Albacore tuna, also known as 'white' meat, at market © roaming the planet Share it facebook X linkedin