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The Log • August 1-14, 2014 • 9
San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox announced the creation of a new outdoor fish market near Seaport Village on July 16. The market will open Aug. 2.
San Diego welcomes outdoor fish market
A dockside seafood venue pro- vides fresh seasonal fish every Saturday.
By John W. Scafetta
SAN DIEGO — Persistency among local fisherman, coupled with the sup- port of San Diego’s county supervisor, has paid off as a new outdoor fish mar- ket is set to open near Seaport Village Aug. 2.
The venue, which will be operated
by Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, will have three vendors selling seafood from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday. Zack Roach Jr., the group’s treasurer, said the marketplace will offer a wide- variety of seasonal fish, including yel- lowtail, tuna, mahi and lobster. He added that sea urchin and live
crabs will be staple selections, as well as year-round rockfish. “Now people have the option to
purchase fresher fish than the super- market,” Roach said. “They’re getting it from a local source, not coming up from Mexico or imported from Fiji. Because it’s coming directly from the fisherman, the prices will be lower than your typical retail market.” But creating the market didn’t come
easy.
After selling fish directly on their boats for some time, fisherman sought a landside operation. Subsequent to unsuccessful attempts in obtaining proper land permits, County Supervisor Greg Cox, a member of the California Coastal Commission, made it a priority to assist the fisherman in finding a home. “Commercial fishing is as synony- mous with San Diego as beach towels and fighter jets, and equally important to the culture and quality of life we enjoy,” Cox said in a letter to the Board of Supervisors. “Generations of fami- lies have made a decent living fishing
and made San Diego at one point the Tuna Capital of the country…with this effort, the county is supporting access to healthy eating options that con- tribute to the local economy and pro- vide a unique experience for residents visiting the waterfront.” Cox’s spokesman, Luis Monteagudo
Jr., said once the group of fisherman formed an LLC, they quickly ran into red tape. “Basically, our county’s Department
of Environmental Health, which regu- lates restaurants and dining establish- ments that sell food, didn’t have any kind of permit for what they were look- ing for,” Monteagudo said. “The other problem was the land they wanted to use for the market was on the pier, which is on the port tidelands, operat- ed by the Port of San Diego. We, the county of San Diego, did not have authority to tell them that they could open up.” When Cox read of the group’s trials
and tribulations in a local publication, his staff contacted the Department of Environmental Health and the Port of San Diego to form a resolution. “The temporary solution was that
the Department of Environmental Health was able to give them a permit for a year,” Monteagudo said. “It sort of treats them like a street fair.” Staff was also able to convince the
port of the venue’s merit, and gave them a one-year permit on July 11. “Seattle has its Pike Place Market
and obviously that’s world famous,” Monteagudo said. “We’re not going to be that. But if we can start to slowly build up to some level of that that would be great. It’s a way to create jobs and help feed local industry.” The group can renew its permit fol-
lowing the duration of the year. On July 29, Cox will meet with the county’s Board of Supervisors to introduce a proposal to make the market more permanent.
See the new 32RS at the Lido Boat Show Sept 18-21
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