This month’s Menu Feature is all about Oregon Albacore tuna! It’s September, which means the fresh Albacore season is in full swing. If you’ve driven by any commercial docks along the Oregon coast, you have probably seen “TUNA FOR SALE” signs. And if you’ve been to Local Ocean, you’ve seen a slew of Albacore tuna specials on the Fresh Sheet.
Albacore form schools, sometimes 15 miles wide! Although there may be thousands of fish together, Oregon fishermen catch each fish by hand, one by one, either by pole and line or by troll. At the Local Ocean Seafood fish market, we source our Albacore from the Newport fleet. A huge thank you to all the hardworking fishermen who risk their lives to bring us this exceptional catch.
Tuna Mignon is Back
With the monthly fishery focus turned to Oregon Albacore tuna, we brought back a seasonal favorite, the Tuna Mignon! It’s made with grilled bacon-wrapped Albacore, sautéed summer vegetables, herb butter, wild mushroom cream, and frizzled onions. Join us at the restaurant to enjoy this fan-favorite. Reservations are encouraged but we do save room for walk-in customers, so if you can't make a reservation for the time you would like, please come anyway! We will add you to the waitlist and text you when a table is ready. Bonus: our patio is still open as weather allows. Make a reservation online or call (541) 574-7959.
Wine Wednesday!
Wine Wednesday is back, which means every Wednesday (all day), Local Ocean Seafoods offers 50% off bottles of wine for dine in. Fish Goddess Amber’s eyes lit up when we asked her to tell us about her favorite bottle: the Capitello 2022 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
This wine offers up fragrant notes of lychee, lemongrass and passionfruit, but the green flavors of green/jalapeno pepper explode in the mouth on your first taste. This Sauvignon Blanc is made here in Oregon by New Zealander Ray Walsh, of Capitello Wines.
Ray and family’s home is in Eugene, where their wines are produced and the tasting room is located, but all head to New Zealand each spring to work harvest and produce additional wines from the Marlborough region. “I learned about grape growing in New Zealand, and I learned about winemaking here in Oregon, so I feel really blessed to be able to produce wines from each distinctive region to showcase the stark contrasts of terroir from opposite ends of the world.” - Ray
Photos by Shawn Linehan
Fisher Focus: Captain Brett Montague
We see a lot of Albacore tuna in our restaurant and fish market! The majority of it comes from Captain Brett Montague of the fishing vessel Jo El.
Captain Brett Montague worked as a deckhand for seven years before buying the Jo El, a 1967 wooden double-ender. She can hold about 12,000 pounds of frozen-at-sea Albacore per load. Brett spends about half the year on the 40’ troller, and keeps his Sirius Satellite Radio tuned in to the Grateful Dead station.
In the fish business, relationships matter. We’re proud to support fishing families and work alongside them to keep local seafood close to home.
Oregon Albacore: a Sustainable Fishery
Let’s talk about sustainability. North Pacific Albacore caught off the coast of Oregon is considered the most robust of all four albacore stocks and a good consumer choice by all seafood sustainability rating bodies. Additionally, Albacore tuna grow quickly and are highly reproductive. Troll or pole and line fishing near the surface of the ocean results in almost zero bycatch of other species. Unlike other tuna, albacore keep to themselves. So, know that when you’re enjoying Oregon Albacore in a dish at Local Ocean Seafoods, you’re supporting a sustainable fishery with healthy stocks!