Around 15 years ago Scott Rouhier and his father Tom decided to make their hobby their career, bought a boat, the F/V Tidepoint, and learned the trade of commercial fishing on the fly.

Alan founded Real Good Fish (formerly Local Catch Monterey Bay in 2012) as a solution to reconnect our communities to the ocean and local fisheries. Alan was honored at the White House in 2016 as a “Champion of Change” for innovations in Sustainable Seafood.

Sabina Duran has worked in the seafood industry since 1992 when she started at Del Mar Seafoods. In 2001, she joined the team at Deyerle Brothers Seafood. With nearly 30 years of experience, Duran’s knowledge of the physiology of fish from the Monterey Bay might rival the scientists.

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.

While a proneness to seasickness kept Elaine Pennisi, 75, off the water, she has been involved with almost every other aspect of commercial fishing in Monterey. Pennisi has also experienced a tragedy every fishingmom fears the most—losing a son at sea.

Robbie Torrise has run his namesake seafood business on the wharf since 2000 and has been in the industry for more than 35 years — with a few years early on hauling in the catch before he took to the tidelands, connecting fishermen and chefs.

He planned to become a teacher but upon entering the workforce during the Great Recession he had to pivot and went from lifeguard, to EMT, firefighter and finally to a member of the Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol in 2009.

Tim Obert skippers two Dungeness crab boats and a commercial salmon outfit along the coast of California. At age 35, he shoulders a lot of responsibility, but he’s never considered doing anything else.

Coco and her husband Tom Faulk, who together live in Aptos, own the F/V Aqua Leo that fishes out of Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Their daughter Valerie has stuck with the family business and works on deck with the couple. The family harvests salmon, crab, albacore tuna and catches groundfish by hook and line.

For Monterey Harbormaster John Haynes, it’s a great vantage point on life: tides ebb and flood, tourists stroll along the waterfront, and people work on their boats for both pleasure and livelihood. In his job he must balance the interests of everyone.

Ricketts has remained a steadfast champion of commercial fishermen and sustainable fisheries. He is currently the president of the Monterey Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “I’m not gonna retire, I’m gonna fish until I die,” Ricketts says with a laugh. “I enjoy it, what else would I do?”

At nearly 70 years old, Sicily native and Monterey-based fisherman Giovannia Nevoloso, has been refining his craft since he began fishing on the Mediterranean Sea when he was just 6. Although its still hard hard work, through a lifetime of effort he’s become enamored with and found an efficiency in his practice.

In the three decades Bruno has owned the boatyard, he’s seen a lot change in Monterey fisheries. He’s kept Monterey’s fishing fleet afloat and he’s optimistic about the future and sees the local fishing economy rebounding and moving in the right direction.

Joeleen lives off both land and sea. When she’s not working on her ranch in Carmel Valley, she’s wrangling the team on the light touch trawler, the F/V Pioneer, alongside childhood friend Giusseppe ‘Joe’ Pennisi. She’s a relative new commer to the industry but picked up the ropes very quickly. Her potent combination of determination and charm is hard to forget.

Andrew Hippert, manager of Moss Landing Boat Works, provides a tour of his boatyard and discusses projects underway and large investments in local infrastructure in the pipeline.

Dr. Mike Graham, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories professor and owner of Monterey Bay Seaweeds, shows how aquaculture can complement commercial fishing in Moss Landing.

Vicki Crow can be found on Dock A in Moss Landing most days selling fish and crab from her boat, the Beticia. She tries to carry what’s in season but has a freezer stocked with the local catch to keep up the supply when fishing’s slow.

At Wild Fish in Pacific Grove there’s never any question about where your seafood comes from: the name of the boat and, often, the name of the captain are included in a fish’s description on the menu.

Fisherman

Walter Deyerle is the quintessential waterman. When the 30-year-old is not making a living catching halibut, rockfish, sablefish and Dungeness crab on the Monterey Bay, he’s surfing, diving, boating and sport fishing. He’s even paddled out and caught waves at Mavericks, a monstrous break just north of Half Moon Bay.