Meet Roger Whitney, Fish Buyer (VIDEO)
Roger Whitney, Owner of Bay Fresh Seafood. Photo: TrimTab Media
#KnowYourFisherman
Roger Whitney
Bay Fresh Seafoods
Moss Landing, CA
Roger has been working in the fishing community for close to 50 years. He’s encouraged to see the next generation of fisherman coming up.
“I've always loved what I've done. I may be here another five, 10 years, or I may be here another year. I'm not sure yet. It just depends on how things go.” — Roger Whitney
Roger is the owner of Bay Fresh seafood. His father was a commercial fisherman for 50 years. After working on fishing boats, he became a fish buyer in his late twenties, working at General Fish Co. He started Bay Fresh Seafood in 1992, and has been working in the Monterey Bay Fishing Community for close to 50 years now.
“Back then, I decided I wanted to get on the other side of it, stay home with my family, so I wouldn't be out in the ocean all the time. It's a tough life out there,” says Roger. “I think it'd be a good idea for a fisherman to be a fish buyer for a year or two. And I think it's good for a fish buyer to go fishing for a year to two, just to see it's difficult on both sides. But I love what I do. I may be here another five, 10 years, or I may be here another year. I'm not sure yet. It just depends on how things go.”
Roger in his office at Bay Fresh Seafood in Moss Landing, CA. Photo: TrimTab Media
Over the years, Roger has seen many things change - from the boom and bust cycles of fishing that California has experienced, to changing regulations and shifting consumer demand. With an aging fleet and many fishermen retiring, the community he’s known for so long is also changing. He’s hopeful though, that fishing can continue to be a viable way of life.
”When we first started here, we really were busy. I mean, I put a million pounds of salmon over the dock one year, 800 ton of albacore, and we were still [offloading] black cod and drag boats too. With the regulations that they put on us, it really took away from the business. So now we're hoping that with these [new] restrictions, they're letting up a little bit. We're hoping that we can get the younger generation in it and continue on.”
“It's really good to see also that we do have some younger people starting to get into the industry. For a while there was none really coming up because of all the regulations, and the permits cost so much to go fishing. It's pretty tough to get started. But I have noticed over the last two years, we've had more younger people coming into the industry. I'm just about to the time of my retirement, and I'm really happy to see that, that hopefully [fishing] can keep going on,” says Roger.
Depending on the season, Bay Fresh Seafood is offloading King Salmon, Halibut, Dungeness Crab, Black Cod, and other species, and selling to wholesalers who distribute to fish markets, grocery stores and restaurants. They even sell whole fish direct to consumers, by appointment only.
Guadalupe “Lupe” Villalobos unloading salmon at Bay Fresh Seafood in Moss Landing, CA. Photo: TrimTab Media
“I love it when I see people buying our local fish and I love it when I hear people asking when they go into restaurants, "Is this fish local? Where's it from?" They're starting to learn now that they need to ask these questions.” says Roger.
In a time when almost 90% of the seafood Americans eat is imported, Roger strives to keep his fish local. “I don't do any exporting here at all. Most of my fish stays here locally. I mean, some of it may go to San Francisco, maybe some to Ventura and those areas, but we'd like to have local fish available for the local people to eat,” says Roger.
Roger’s nephew, Jerid Rold, holds up a large King Salmon offloaded in June 2020. Photo: TrimTab Media