Opening weekend at San Diego’s Tuna Harbor outdoor fish market draws larger than expected crowd

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [US San Diego] by Bradley J. Fikes – August 4, 2014

With the help of hundreds of San Diegans who waited patiently Saturday morning, San Diego’s once-dominant seafood industry opened a new chapter.

On a long-unused pier just north of Seaport Village, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market opened at 8 a.m, providing an open-air seafood market that carries overtones of Pike’s Market in Seattle or Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The Port of San Diego and the county worked with local fishers to get the market legally certified and launched in just a couple of weeks.

Working under overcast skies, fishers directly unloaded the catch, including yellowfin, bluefin, black cod, sea urchin, octopus and rock, razor and box crab, from boats to stands. Whole fish as well as fillets were spread out on ice. Live crabs and sea urchins were kept in tanks.

The market is set to operate each Saturday, from 8 a.m. until the seafood sells out.

While the market is a novelty in 21st-century San Diego, buying fresh fish from those who caught it was part of life for the early- to mid-20th century residents. The city’s large fishing fleet would pull up to the Embarcadero, where locals could take their pick of fresh-caught seafood.

At that time, San Diego was known as the “Tuna Capital” of the world. The market moved around during those decades, from Broadway to what is now Seaport Village, and to where Chesapeake Fish Co. is now.

But increasing competition from other countries hollowed out the fishing fleet, causing the loss of many jobs locally.

Saturday’s launch showed today’s San Diegans what they’d been missing out on.

People reportedly began lining up around 6 a.m. By 9 a.m., the line had surpassed 220 people, some carrying or wheeling large coolers to haul away their catch. Around 10:30 the crowd was told the supply was beginning to run out.

Sea urchin was on the mind of one of the cooler-wheeling shoppers, Kristine Ortiguerra of San Diego. The market provides a great addition to the region, Ortiguerra said while waiting toward the back of the line.

“We’d like for this to be routine,” Ortiguerra said. “My parents would drive up to San Pedro for fresh seafood. Hopefully, that is what it’s going to be like.”

Near the front, Michelle Ashbaugh, also of San Diego, said she had been waiting in line for about two hours, starting a little after 7 a.m. Ashbaugh and her friend, Staci Marshall, were looking for crab and yellowtail.

Marshall said the market’s seafood had two advantages.

“It’s fresh, and you don’t have to pay the overhead,” Marshall said.

Bluefin listed for $8 a pound; rock crab for $2.50 a pound; sea urchin at $5 a pound; and sheepshead, famous or infamous for having human-like teeth, for $7 a pound.
The names of the boats each fish came from were displayed with the prices.

Sellers indicated their surprise at the unexpectedly large turnout.

“The crowd’s a lot larger than we had anticipated. This is better than anybody could have asked for on the first day,” said Dwight Colton, vice president of operations for Fish Market Restaurants.

“The goal is to make Saturday mornings at the dockside market the place to go for seafood here in San Diego,” Colton said. “On Saturday mornings, go here, then off to a farmer’s market.”

Availability of whole fish distinguishes the dockside market from other outlets, Colton said.

“Local albacore, rock fish — you can buy them whole,” Colton said. “You can’t get that in any of the markets.”

Live sea urchins, known as uni in sushi-speak, also distinguish the market. The savory echinoderms are available at sushi restaurants in limited quantities at irregular intervals.

The market is intended to operate year-round if there’s sufficient demand, Colton said.

“We’re working with the port, we’re working with the local fishermen to establish what everybody can bring each week,” he said. “A lot depends on what comes out of the ocean. Summertime is a peak season for varieties of seafood. But there’s a steady flow of fresh seafood coming out of our local waters throughout the year.”

The market is meant not only to stimulate the local fishing industry, but to provide fresh and healthy food for the county’s residents. It’s also an example of cooperation between local fishers, said the County of San Diego and the Port District, which owns the pier.

County Supervisor Greg Cox credited the county’s Department of Environment Health for cutting red tape to get the market certified and opened in less than two weeks, along with the Port of San Diego, and the fishers for making the market possible. Local fishermen Zack Roach Jr. and Luke Halmay were leaders in organizing the market.

Cox, whose district includes the pier, said at a brief ceremony that the new market marks a revival of fortunes for the local fishing fleet.

“This market is definitely going to help our local fishing industry and our ‘blue economy’ by allowing fisherman to sell the catch to you, the public, without any middlemen,” Cox said. “The market will also turn a quiet, unused pier, into a vibrant attraction for local residents and for tourists.”

The market also provides more healthy eating options, Cox said, consistent with the county’s “Live Well San Diego,” aimed at getting people to eat a more healthy diet, exercise more and not use tobacco products.

Port Chairman Bob Nelson told shoppers that the agency was “overwhelmed” at the response to the new market. He credited the San Diego Maritime Alliance and the California Coastal Conservancy with helping get the market off the ground.

Photo Credit: UT San Diego

Republished with permission from Seafoodnews.com. Read the original post here.