A big haul of albacore tuna was being unloaded today in San Diego’s Tuna Harbor. Huge boxes were being filled with albacore from the fishing vessel Piky, to be promptly shipped to Oregon for canning.
As their website states: This is small-batch seafood in its purest form. Every fish is sustainably caught by pole and line, one at a time, by people who know the sea and respect its rhythms. No factory fleets. No shortcuts. Just honest fish, responsibly harvested by our own hands.
Also: Our albacore is wild-caught exclusively in U.S. waters by a U.S.-flagged vessel using pole-and-line fishing, a highly selective and sustainable method that eliminates bycatch.
Very cool!
Considering all those huge boxes, that was a whole lot of fishing!
I see you can purchase the canned, high-quality albacore tuna on their website. Click here!
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A big event is being held this coming Saturday, June 14, 2025 in San Diego!
Celebrated chefs and local fishermen will greet the public at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market as an amazing new cookbook is launched that celebrates seafood and fishing history in San Diego!
San Diego Seafood: Then & Now contains over 75 excellent recipes, and includes the contributions of over a hundred people from the San Diego community, such as historians and fishing boat captains.
The book is curated by California Sea Grant, a unique partnership that unites the resources of the federal government, the State of California and universities across the state to create knowledge, products and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of California.
In addition to recipes, the cookbook contains many great photographs, stories and essays concerning the rich history of fishing in San Diego. Those who’ve contributed to our fishing history include the Kumeyaay, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Italians and Mexicans. Many immigrants settled in San Diego because of our long-time status as tuna fishing capital of the world. You’ve heard of Little Italy, right?
As the Amazon page concerning the book explains: San Diego Seafood: Then & Now blends local history and cuisine to celebrate the region’s rich maritime heritage and culinary diversity. More than a cookbook, this volume features colorful stories from past and present, stunning visuals, and helpful tips on buying, storing and preparing seafood, in addition to over 75 recipes that showcase local catch– from widely-known favorites, like tuna and halibut, to lesser-known treasures, like black cod and spiny lobster...
At Tuna Harbor Dockside Market next Saturday, there will be book signings and a meet and greet. The public can rub elbows with book project participants, working fishermen and renowned chefs. And there will be seafood tastings!
If you’ve never been to Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, it’s where fishermen sell freshly caught seafood directly to the public and restaurants. It’s open Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm or sold out. Look for the many canopies on the pier just north of Seaport Village, next to Tuna Harbor.
Even if you have no interest in buying freshly caught fish, crabs or sea urchins, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is a bustling and fascinating place to experience. (I’ve blogged about it many times over the years, including the day of its grand opening!) There are usually sea lions playing and barking nearby. You can watch fishermen at work on their boats. And you can also buy and eat fish and chips on the pier!
Some past photos…
Here are some friendly folks from California Sea Grant that I once met…
If you want to be part of the San Diego Seafood: Then & Now book launch celebration next Saturday, and perhaps purchase a signed copy, look for the first canopy on the pier!
For well over a year, the Research and Development District (RaDD) has been rising on downtown San Diego’s waterfront. I’ve been watching the ongoing construction of this project and have posted photographs from time to time. In June I posted these.
I rode the Coronado ferry last weekend and got a good look at how San Diego’s skyline has been altered by RaDD, as seen from across the bay. (The above photo shows the long Tuna Harbor pier in the foreground.)
RaDD is a project of IQHQ. It’s described as a life science district–five new buildings occupying six city blocks–the largest urban commercial waterfront site on the West Coast. It appears to be nearing completion.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A large crowd has gathered on San Diego Bay today for Lobsterfest!
The big extravaganza for lobster lovers is taking place this morning on the pier between Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor–the same pier where the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is held every Saturday.
Spiny lobsters on ice, freshly caught by local fishermen, are for sale to the public under a row of canopies.
Lobsters are also being prepared for eaters sitting at shady tables. The smell of lobsters on the grill is mouth-watering!
There’s even a band playing live music!
I walked along the pier this morning as Lobsterfest got underway and captured these photos…
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
I spent a couple hours today reading by the water and strolling along San Diego’s sunny Embarcadero. When I reached Ruocco Park, I was entertained by the above Lone Sound Ranger and decided–what the heck–I’ll continue to take photographs.
Nothing too unusual here. Just a typical day along San Diego’s waterfront.
Bay views . . . boats . . . street entertainers . . . vendor carts . . . monuments . . . downtown buildings rising to one side. It’s mid-January, so no huge crowds.
These photos were taken as I continued my way north, past Tuna Harbor and the USS Midway. You’ll probably recognize the Embracing Peace “kiss” statue.
My final shots were taken out on Broadway Pier, and then a few steps north of it where another street musician was singing with a big smile.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Today I sat on one of the benches in Ruocco Park reading a book. As I stood up and looked around, I discovered a plaque in nearby greenery that I’d never noticed before. It reads:
In loving memory of Deborah Hoffman, of The San Diego Foundation.
Instrumental in bringing together private philanthropy and the public sector to create a park for future generations.
Here’s an article that explains how the idea of Ruocco Park originated in the minds of architect Lloyd Ruocco and his wife, Ilse, art professor at San Diego State University. It then explains how Deborah Hoffman, senior vice president for the San Diego Foundation, worked continuously for five years to meld the Ruocco fund with assistance from local governments, particularly the Unified Port of San Diego, which controls the land.
I’ve spent many hours over many years sitting in this fine park, reading, writing, listening to street musicians, gazing at people walking down the boardwalk past Tuna Harbor and its picturesque fishing boats.
All I can say is thank you.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Look at all the activity today at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market!
Every Saturday morning, local fishermen bring their fresh catches to the pier between Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor, and lovers of seafood line up to buy fish and crabs and sea urchins and other edibles found in the ocean off San Diego.
I walked out on the pier this morning, marveling at how this outdoor fish market has grown. Can you believe it? Eight years have already passed since Tuna Harbor Dockside Market’s grand opening.
Anyone into photography would love strolling through this market with camera in hand.
There’s the whirl of life all around: diverse people from every walk of life rubbing elbows; families at tables devouring fish and chips; the picturesque commercial fishing boats; the human ebb and flow of commerce; circling gulls; playful sea lions barking down in the bay (I observed none today); and all those different species of fish, some of which can appear quite strange…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
At the Embarcadero’s picturesque Tuna Harbor, photography is easy. Aim your camera in almost any direction and you’ll capture light, life and fascinating complexity.
I walked around Tuna Harbor late this afternoon and pointed my camera at workers loading equipment onto Gutsy Lady 4 (near a cool vintage truck), the usual crowd of commercial fishing boats docked side-by-side, and youth fishing on the pier by Seaport Village.
(In the final photograph you can glimpse three active aircraft carriers in the distance. Docked across San Diego Bay at North Island are the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Abraham Lincoln, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt.)
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I took these photographs this afternoon during a long, slow walk along the Embarcadero.
It’s early winter. On such a pleasant January day, during an ordinary year, one would expect to see more people about. But the COVID-19 pandemic has altered life on San Diego Bay.
Closed attractions. Fewer tourists. Few boats on the water. A quiet boardwalk and sleepy Seaport Village. An almost empty fishing pier…
A lone sailboat passes the presently closed Maritime Museum of San Diego.From the boardwalk I took a photo of Star of India’s cathead. This sturdy beam, used to raise and lower the ship’s anchor, has a cat’s head!Walking past a mostly closed Portside Pier.Many empty benches and tables can now be found along the Embarcadero.Light sparkles from the wake of a turning Coronado Ferry.Play of light on rippled water, reflected onto the hull of the USS Midway.Hanging out on the grass, gazing across the bay.I raised my camera to take this photo of the USS Midway aircraft carrier’s island. The USS Midway Museum is also closed now.Long shadows cast by the two figures in Seward Johnson’s sculpture Unconditional Surrender, which is now more often called Embracing Peace.Walking by the water.Cool photo taken of Tuna Harbor.Bright floats on a rusty fishing boat.A family walks along near Seaport Village. Few people are about this sunny January afternoon.A kite zips around making fast aerial circles, to the delight of both young and old.Quietly reading on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.A fine day for riding bicycles!Marriott Marquis tower reflects bright sunlight into the hotel’s marina.I’m still getting used to Seaport Village’s new color scheme. It’s growing on me.Looking skyward.A snowy egret searches for dinner in shallow water at the edge of the Marriott Marina.More walkers, and a runner.Light makes for an interesting photo at the Marriott Marina.The San Diego Symphony’s new outdoor concert venue, The Shell, seems nearly complete. I believe you’ll walk up here to buy tickets.Beyond the ticket office you can see the acoustically designed structure where the musicians will play.Walking out on the pier at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Not much fishing activity today.From one end of the pier I took this photo of The Shell. A grassy slope descends toward the concert stage. Structures for lighting and speakers have also been erected.Turning on the almost empty pier, facing the Coronado Bay Bridge.Another guy quietly walking along. A perfect day for that.But this pelican will have to wait a long time if it’s expecting a free morsel!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
If you’ve followed Cool San Diego Sights for a few years, you probably know I love to walk out on the G Street Pier. One can take fantastic photos of downtown San Diego, Coronado, and sailboats passing across the sparkling water. But my favorite thing to photograph is the pier’s crazy clutter!
Along one edge of the G Street Pier one can always find stacked lobster traps, colorful floats, tangled ropes, and piles of weathered objects used on commercial fishing boats.
Today as I walked along the Embarcadero I noticed the G Street Pier was open. So I walked out on it.
Look at all the squares, circles and rectangles my camera found! (Some triangles and a starfish, too!)
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 