The Fishing Vessel Owners' Association is a trade association which was formed in December of 1914. The Association was formed to represent the needs of halibut boat owners involved in longline fishing in the North Pacific. Until the 1940's, the halibut fishery was the only American bottomfish industry of major consequence on the West Coast and can easily claim to be the first American bottomfish industry on the West Coast. The fishery began in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. between 1870 and 1874 when halibut was shipped fresh to San Francisco on steamers. It wasn't until 1888, when the Northern Pacific Railway was completed that the halibut fishery came into its own and markets were opened eastward to Chicago.
The Association's members today are longline fishermen. The principal species harvested are halibut, sablefish, pacific cod, rockfish and turbot. The Association is proud of its past history, both on international and domestic issues. The Association was one of the original organizations that helped consolidate Canadian and U.S. fishermen to form the International Pacific Halibut Commission in 1924. The Association was also significantly involved in the original negotiations that formed the International Pacific Fisheries Commission between Japan, Canada and the U.S. in 1952.