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STATUS REPORT: NORTH PACIFIC ALBACORE 



by 



Earl Weber 



Southwest Fisheries Center 



Oceanic Fisheries Resources Division 



La Jon a, California 



ABSTRACT 



The North Pacific albacore stock is harvested primarily by the 

 Japanese surface and longline, and North American surface fleets. Catches 

 of these fleets have been in the vicinity of 100,000 mt in recent years, 

 with a record catch of nearly 124,000 mt in 1976. The North American 

 surface fishery, comprised primarily of U.S. troll vessels, landed an 

 annual average catch of approximately 20,000 mt during the period of 1969 

 through 1978 but landed less than 5,000 mt in 1979. The U.S. imports an 

 additional 80,000 to 90,000 mt of albacore to meet domestic demand and a 

 substantial part of this originates from the North Pacific stock. 



Although heavily harvested, the stock is considered healthy. Effort 

 levels in recent years have been below those required to produce maximum 

 average sustainable yields (MASY). Yield-per-recruit (Y/R) analyses 

 indicated a decrease in Y/R following the expansion of the Japanese surface 

 fishery. Slight gains in Y/R are possible through increased effort on 

 larger fish but substantial gains are unlikely with the fishery in its 

 present configuration. Catch rates for all three major fleets have shown 

 gradual decreasing trends. 



