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A wide-ranging member of the tuna family, albacore roam tropical and temperate waters throughout the world. Smaller albacore are mostly canned, while the larger fish are either frozen or sold fresh. Worldwide, more than 200, 000 metric tons of albacore are caught each year, making albacore the third most valuable tuna resource after yellowfin and skipjack.

Big albacore from Hawaii and the South Pacific, where it is called tombo, has very pink, almost red meat. As a rule, fresh tombo loins are available for about $2lb. less than yellowfin ahi or bigeye ahi loins. Think of it as ahi, but at a bargain price.

How good is Dungeness? Lets just say that its Julia Childs favorite crab. Named after Dungeness Bay in Washington state on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Dungeness is a seafood staple on the West Coast. These days, though, the secrets out and sweet-tasting Dungeness can be found on menus from New York to Shanghai.

Dungeness are found only in the eastern North Pacific, ranging from Alaskas Aleutian Islands to Southern California.

Dungeness are in greatest abundance off the coasts of northern California, Oregon and Washington. The ocean fishery off these states produces about 70% of the North American Dungeness harvest each year.

Most Dungeness are landed from December through February, when the crabs are actively feeding after molting. Generally, meat yields will improve as the season progresses.

Typically, Dungeness prices are at their lowest point of the year in December, when landings are at their peak shortly after the season opens.

Other significant Dungeness fisheries take place in Puget Sound in the inside waters of Washington state, Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.

Dungeness harvests normally follow a 7-year cycle of abundance, ranging from a low of about 15, 000 tons to a high of almost 30, 000 tons.

Widely distributed in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, snow crab is the crab that keeps the crab houses cranking and the retail cash registers ringing.

The name snow crab is a marketing name for Chinoecetes opilio, a species that is found in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. The largest commercial fisheries for snow crab are in the winter off Alaska and in the summer off Newfoundland.

In Alaska, both Chinoecetes opilio and the larger C. bairdi, which is fished only off Alaska, are called tanner crab on the fishing grounds. In Canada, snow crab are also called queen crab.

Think of Alaska pollock as the fish that doesnt get any respect. Almost everybody eats it, but hardly anybody knows it. Pollock are the favorite fish of fast-food fryers, which serve it up as fish n chips, fish sandwiches and now even fish tacos. And, of course, pollock are the stuff of surimi, the ubiquitous fish paste that is used to make seafood analogs, the ersatz shellfish products that look and taste a lot like the real thing at a fraction of the price. Alaska pollock is the largest food fish resource in the world.