Our Community

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.

A few years before community-supported fisheries (CSFs) even became a thing, Heidi Rhodes was offering locally caught fish at farmers markets in Santa Cruz. Fast-forward nearly two decades, Rhodes is still selling fish at farmers markets but is also managing a CSF, a fish market at Santa Cruz Harbor, and Shucked Raw Bar — a seafood catering business.

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.

Being the spouse of a commercial fisherman or woman is not easy: They’ll be gone for long hours if not days, income can vary wildly from year-to-year, and they make their living in one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. But for Kristen Deyerle, the challenges of being the better half of a commercial fisherman have been tempered by the adventure, community, and tradition of commercial fishing in Monterey Bay.

Jacobo, 33, grew up in Michoacán, Mexico and came to the United States when he was 19 years old. He now lives in Salinas with his wife and two children. He has worked for the Deyerle family for 8 years and has been a manager for 5 years.

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.

Seventeen years ago, before seafood was called “sustainable”, fisherman Hans Haveman was selling his catch at Monterey Peninsula farmers' markets and telling people why they should buy local fish. “I saw that there was real passion in organic food,” he said. “And I liked being a part of that.”

Few people in the Monterey Bay fishing community have a resumé quite like Kathy Fosmark. Feeling that fishermen weren’t adequately educating themselves about their rights and how to navigate the complex web of bureaucracy that directly affected their livelihoods, she quickly became a fearless and respected advocate of fishermen.

Scott Fosmark is a fifth generation commercial fisherman from Monterey. He came of age learning how to wrestle salmon, albacore tuna, and even swordfish onto the deck and into the hold.

The first line of this National Fisherman story on Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust board member Bob Dooley says exactly what we know about him: ”People tend to repeat certain words when they talk about Bob Dooley: generous, humble, knowledgeable, smart, nice, friend.”

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.