Pacific Northwest Whole Foods locations are featuring local wild albacore tuna during the last two weeks of August.
On the weekends of 22-23 and 29-30 August, shoppers at stores in Seattle and Oregon will be able to pick a fresh, white tuna from an ice truck and have it filleted in front of them. Chefs will also be on hand to provide samples and cooking tips.
The tuna is troll-caught using a barbless hook-and-line method.
“Everyone stands to gain from increased local demand on this great tuna,” said Wayne Heikkila, Western Fishboat Owners Association (WFOA) executive director. “Until recently 80 percent of local albacore was shipped overseas to Europe and Japan, while thousands of tons of foreign albacore is still consumed in the U.S. every year. We want U.S. consumers to know that there is plenty of local, sustainable product available, and presenting it in Whole Foods is a great way to do that.”
