San Pedro Harbor Fish Market -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

This is a long post, so click on the music while reading about the San Pedro wholesale fish market.



Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Speaking of southern California (see previous post), I have to admit there are some wonderful opportunities in the San Pedro area that even very few of the locals are aware of. I am specifically thinking of the wholesale fish market on the harbor, just down from Ports of Call. (This is not about the 2000-seat restaurant that goes by the same name in Ports of Call. This is about our visit to the wholesale fish market, seen in the picture on the second page of the attached document.)

The market is open only to restaurants and retail businesses during the week, but the market is open to everyone, including tourists like me, from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. every Saturday morning. Yes, that's not a typo: opening just after midnight and closing at dawn.

We found out about the market for the first time this summer (and I've been visiting San Pedro since 1973) and it was only through a casual conversation. So, we went on our last Saturday in San Pedro.

The four of us planned to leave the house at 5:00 a.m. but the younger granddaughter would have nothing of it, so only our older granddaughter and I went, arriving at the market about 5:30.

It was the real deal.

The huge 1930s-looking pink warehouse was right on the harbor. A motley assortment of cars, vans, and semis were in the parking lot, along with a preacher (and no congregation except those walking by to the market) and a half dozen young women soliciting donations for goodwill of some sort.

There were six or so fish companies, each identical in outward appearance, each occupying one of the six two-car-garage-size units. Inside one could buy any kind of sea food one could imagine. There was lots of salmon, tuna, shark, adult octopus and baby octopus. It appeared that the largest catch was mackerel, and/or, squid. Boxes and boxes of both: mackerel and squid.

[Trivia from wikipedia: Pouches of mackerel have become a currency in United States federal prisons after cigarettes, the previous currency, were banned. Comment: I did not know that but will have to verify with a couple of federal prison officers I know. I had not heard this before.]

The prices were phenomenal, as one might expect. I was told that much of the better fish had been sold earlier in the morning, and I needed to be there earlier if I wanted a better selection. Except perhaps for yellowfin tuna, the selection seemed excellent even at 6:00 a.m.  As the 7:00 o'clock hour neared, prices started coming down, so that $1.49/lb squid could be had for $0.49/lb by 6:30. I assume by the time the doors were closing they would have given my granddaughter a bag of squid away for free.

And, yes, this fish market will now become a Saturday morning tradition from now on when visiting San Pedro.

I forgot to write down the names of the six or so fish companies, but I want to thank "Paula" at one of the companies, the young woman at the cash register, who arranged for my granddaughter and I to walk to the rear of the building, to walk outside, and view the harbor, and the seals, sea lions, pelicans, and seagulls waiting for scraps.

I believe my granddaughter was the only non-adult visiting the fish market this particular Saturday. She loved it; the sights, sounds, and smells, did not frighten her, but I'm not sure all children would enjoy the sights or the smells. The male workers (there were only a few women) looked right out of Hollywood casting: big, gruff, but, as usual, "melt" when they interact with a pleasant eight-year-old granddaughter out with her Papa. The mix of shoppers seemed to be 40% Asian, 40% Hispanic, and 20% Caucasian. I think we were the only tourists. The rest seemed serious about their fish selections. We bought salmon and sea bass.

By the way, the Los Angeles Port -- Long Beach Port of San Pedro Harbor handles slightly more than 50% of all port trade coming in / leaving the US. Together the ports are huge.