The day starts early for Santa Cruz-native Matt Rockhold, 49. Most days he wakes up before sunrise to motor his boat, F/V Friendliest Catch, out of the Santa Cruz harbor to fish for either rock crab or California halibut and lingcod. By lunchtime his boat is tied up at the dock and he’s off to his other full time job as marketing director for Buell Wetsuits & Surf. If the surfs up, he’ll paddle out before heading home. Learn more about Matt’s many talents and presence in this community.

Women are an integral part of our fishing community, often running the family businesses that bring seafood from the ocean to our tables. Meet Heidi Rhodes, Jenn Gerard Lovewell, and Kristen Deyerle, who all work in local family fishing businesses.

While the commercial fishing industry often attracts those with an independent spirit, creativity, and a sense of entrepreneurship, few embody these traits as fully as Santa Cruz fisherman Khevin Mellegers. He currently fishes for sablefish and Dungeness crab on the F/V Areona.

There are many ways people get into the seafood business. For Jenn Gerard Lovewell of Real Good Fish, an early career providing locally sourced, nutritious meals to school children in cafeterias led her to her current work sourcing sustainable seafood from the Moss Landing docks.

Tuk learned to fish from his father, and began fishing on his boat after his father passed away. Tuk believes fishing is a lifestyle, and continues this work to provide fish for seafood lovers, and to make his father proud.

Roger has been working in the Monterey Bay Fishing Community for close to 50 years. He’s seen the industry change quite a bit, but still loves what he’s doing: providing local seafood for local people to eat.