Tuna Market Glutted -- Two Million Pounds Of Prime Albacore Lie Chilled In Boats At Ilwaco, But There Are More Fish Than Buyers, And Prices Are Low

ILWACO, Pacific County - Down here on the Columbia River, commercial fishermen have a deal for you: Fresh-frozen albacore tuna at $1 a pound. Cheaper, if you dicker.

The same gourmet tuna that Seattle fishmongers sell for $9 per pound - if you can find it. The same tuna that supermarkets sell for $4 per pound canned.

But here's the catch: Fishermen would prefer you bought by the ton, or the boatload.

It is the ultimate buyer's market. Ilwaco's harbor is jammed with nearly 40 oceangoing fishing boats, weighed down by a combined total of about 2 million pounds of prime tuna.

They've steamed hundreds of miles to sell their catch. And all they hear is: Sorry, Charlie. Local seafood buyers are buying only a fraction of what is available.

"We were out for a month and filled the boat," says Seattle fisherman Lawrence Cook, skipper of the troller Tempo. "The fishing was great, but the market has gone south."

One Ilwaco plant is unloading a few tons per day for shipment to Spain. But that's a small fraction of the supply. So frustrated fishermen linger at Columbia River ports, their steel boats moored rail-to-rail, big diesels rumbling round-the-clock to keep the freezers running below decks.

A few have resorted to selling straight from their boats - with or without the required business license.

How this happened is a glimpse into the vagaries of global markets. Fishermen find themselves sandwiched between the collapse of the Japanese yen and the changing tastes of American consumers.

Warm currents bring them north

Albacore tuna is a warm-water fish not usually found in Northwest waters. Weighing 15 to 25 pounds or more, they migrate vast distances across the open Pacific, propelled by powerful, crescent-shaped tails and wing-like pectoral fins.

Unlike other tuna fisheries, albacore is caught with hook-and-line gear, not nets. Most albacore are caught hundreds of miles out in the Pacific and delivered to plants in American Samoa and Fiji, where the fish are canned and sold under labels such as Star-Kist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea.

In recent years, the same warm currents blamed for declining salmon runs have lured migrating albacore closer to Northwest shores, providing fishermen with a chance to make some money in the world tuna market.

"Without salmon runs, albacore has kept us alive," says Bill Thompson, a 72-year-old California fisherman who was one of the few fortunate enough to sell their fish in Ilwaco. "The price isn't great, but there's been lots of fish and markets."

"Until this year."

A generation ago, the tuna industry carved a healthy niche in the American diet with TV ads featuring the likes of cartoon character Charlie Tuna. In recent years, however, many tuna companies have changed ownership, advertising has dropped off and sales have slumped.

The three major U.S. brands plan a new advertising campaign in hopes of boosting sales - especially among young people who, according to one recent survey, aren't even sure how to toss together a tuna salad.

While demand is stagnant, supply is on the increase.

"It's a worldwide glut," says Wayne Moody, an albacore fisherman who serves as vice president of the Western Fishboat Owners' Association.

"Last year, the world supply of albacore was about 210,000 tons. This year it's increased by about 30-40,000 tons."

Asia's troubles play a role, too

A flat market has been aggravated by the economic downturn in Asia. Taiwanese and Japanese fishing boats that normally harvest yellowfin tuna for Japanese markets have switched to albacore. "With the yen in such bad shape, they want U.S. dollars," Moody says.

As a result, the major canneries in Samoa and Fiji are jammed, he said. "Nobody's buying albacore. It's a downward market."

Northwest seafood buyers would love to buy all that fish, but they are subject to the same global market.

Reid McIntyre buys fish at an Astoria company that is advertising frozen albacore for $1.15 per pound - cheaper than hamburger at the supermarket down the street.

"It's been pretty easygoing for the last few years," McIntyre says. "The big international canners tell us to buy fish, and we try to convince boats to come in here and deliver to us.

"But this year is a whole new ballgame."

Nobody has more at stake than Gary and Darlene Guldjord, who operate the 100-foot boat Dalena, tied up at Ilwaco with 160 tons of albacore in its hold.

"Fishing was great!" Guldjord says. "Normally, most boats would offload onto a freezer ship bound to Seattle for cold storage, and then they would ship it to the cannery in Samoa.

"But we usually fish far enough out that we can deliver direct to the cannery."

This time the cannery told them: Don't bother. So they steamed 2,500 miles to the Columbia River in hopes of finding a market.

"It's unfortunate," Guldjord says with a shrug. "These are American companies with American stockholders and American consumers - and yet all they're buying is Asian fish."

In the long run, he says, the solution is alternative markets - vacuum-packed steaks and fillets rather than tin cans.

"Americans need to be educated about seafood," adds Darlene Guldjord. "Most people still think tuna comes in a can. They don't know what to do with it fresh or frozen."

Ross Anderson's phone message number is 206-464-2061. His e-mail address is: rand-new@seatimes.com