Despite reported poor weather over the past few weeks, the Humboldt Dockside Market debuted in Eureka’s Madaket Plaza on Saturday, June 7, at 9 a.m., selling out of fish within the first 30 minutes.
Megan Kenney, director of the North Coast Growers Association’s Harvest Hub, said the market opened with fewer fishers participating than expected due to the heavy winds that kept the boats docked.
“This whole week the seas have been super, super rough,” Kenney said. “So, we haven’t wanted to ask our fishermen to go out just for safety reasons.”
The only fisher who showed up with fresh catch at the market was Tony Burris, whose boat left the docks at 3 p.m. the day before, returning at around 7 a.m. market day. His boat brought back around 30 rockfish and 40 crabs to sell at the market. Burris said that he went out despite the harsh weather conditions in hopes of seeing the market succeed.
“It was really rough all night last night,” Burris said. “We had to fight our way down to the cape and stay on anchor as long as we can and just try to catch as many fish as we can. It ended up turning out pretty good. We wish we could’ve caught more, of course.”
Kenney said that the conditions for fishing are always unpredictable, but with better weather the market can expect more fishers to show up in the future. She said there are currently between 10 and 15 processed applicants for fishers at the market.
The market held a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. with members of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce in attendance. Ashley Vellis, owner of Ashley Seafood and a major force behind the dockside market, gave a speech highlighting her desire to support local fishers and the work she put into the market. She also noted the market received grant funding from Coast Central Credit Union.
Chris Nelson, a member of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce and Coast Central Credit Union chamber ambassador, said he looked forward to the economic growth potential of the market and how it could allow the seafood food scene to expand in Humboldt County.
“This will be more like a ground-up or a grassroots movement where if you start to grow this and you start to grow demand, then other things are gonna happen. Not only will you end up with fish vendors, you’ll probably end up with fish preparers,” including food trucks, Nelson said.
Vellis, who worked the processing station at the market, said the processing fee for the crab or fish was $4 per item, but the cost could vary depending on the type of fish, with more labor-intensive species like albacore coming in at $5.
James Wood, a local resident who came with his family, bought two large Dungeness crabs from Burris and had them processed on the spot. He said this would be his first time trying fresh crab straight from the shell.
While customers can have their fish prepared in any way they want, whether filleted or gutted and gilled, Vellis said she encourages people to make use of what would otherwise be waste, like the head.
“It’s a beautiful resource that we have, fish waste,” Vellis said. “Some people put it in their gardens. Some people use it for fish stock. Some of our commercial fishermen will use it for bait, for crab fishing.”
Kenney said the leftover fish waste from the market is available to be used by fishers for crab bait or by farmers as fertilizer. She added there are also discussions with someone from Cal Poly Humboldt about the development of a kelp fertilizer.
Arcata Pizza and Deli also took up a stall at the dockside market, selling albacore poké, rockfish ceviche and smoked salmon chowder made from local fish. Owner Josh Auckland incorporates the fish he catches on his boat the Markit 8 in the restaurant’s — and now the stall’s — menu. He debuted the menu items at Friday Night Market the night before, saying these items would currently be exclusive for market events.
Auckland, who also plans to sell fresh fish, said he feels reassured seeing the amount of interest people had in purchasing at the market.
“I was actually surprised that so many people showed up, so that gives me hope that when we do show up with a fresh load of fish, that we’re gonna sell it,” he said. “My worry is if we show up with a few hundred pounds of fish and then nobody comes to buy it. So, it makes me feel good that people came, so you know it’s worth the risk to go out and catch some fish and bring it here and there’s a really good chance we’ll sell out.”
Auckland said that much of the seafood in Humboldt restaurants and supermarkets are sourced from outside of the area. He said there aren’t many large fishing boats in Humboldt County, with most of the local fleet being small fishers who struggle to compete against bigger boats that can catch more and sell it cheaper.
“It’s really tough for what we’re doing,” he said. “There’s a lot of regulations and stuff for small boats and not a lot of people do it ’cause they don’t really have a market for the fish. So, we’ve created our own market with our restaurant — that way we can try to make a little more off of the fish.It is not easy to do. That’s why there isn’t very many people doing it.”
John Lafargue, owner of Migration Fishing Co., was also at the market selling ocean-themed clothing like T-shirts and fish-embroidered hats. Lafargue also had mats upcycled from crab lines and tote bags his wife made from weather gear, life rafts and survival suits.
Longtime Humboldt County residents Brad Thompson and Karen Shepherd just missed the chance to buy fish at the market, having arrived after the stock sold out. However, they said they were excited for the event’s future.
“It’s a great idea for us because we don’t have a car and we can’t get out to Woodley Island where you can buy directly from the boats,” Shepherd said. “So, something we can just take the bus or walk up to is just more advantageous.”
The next dockside market will be Saturday, June 21, at 9 a.m.
Anne To (she/her) is a California Local News Fellow placed with North Coast Journal, Inc. Reach her at anne@northcoastjournal.com. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
This article appears in Wide Open.
I ate that crab, it was fantastic, pays to be 1st in line 🙂
We will be there for the next one 💯💕
Can someone explain to me how pur government managed to set up a system where most of the seafood sold & eaten even on the coast is imported & our local fishers can’t compete with this??? What a ridiculous, backwards, illogical system! We have fresh fish right off our cosdts, we have people who have ability to catch these fresh fish but we’ve managed to make it so a company from another country can catch fish, process pay for the shipping & import it cheaper than a local fishermen can who can go out catch the fish thst day & sell the healthiest, freshest fish possible? Its unbelievable…