MEMORANDUM August 9, 2013 TO: FROM: MEMBERS, PORT COMMISSION Hon. Doreen Woo Ho, President Hon. Kimberly Brandon, Vice President Hon. Willie Adams Hon. Leslie Katz Hon. Mel Murphy Monique Moyer Executive Director SUBJECT: In celebration of the Port s 150 th Anniversary: Presentation on Commercial Fishing and Fish Processing Business at the Port of San Francisco DIRECTOR S RECOMMENDATION: Information Only Background On April 24, 2013, the Port of San Francisco marked 150 years since its founding by Legislative action of the State of California. At the request of Port Commission President Doreen Woo Ho, as part of the Port s year-long celebration, at one Port Commission meeting per month, staff is giving a presentation highlighting a unique aspect of the many public benefits and contributions the Port makes to San Francisco and the Bay region. This month's presentation will highlight the Port s Fishing Industry and environs at Fisherman's Wharf. This presentation also complies with Commissioner Willie Adams' request to profile a significant maritime tenant on a regular basis. THIS PRINT COVERS CALENDAR ITEM NO. 9B
Virtually any white-tablecloth restaurant in San Francisco that offers crab, fresh salmon or a number of other seafood specialties, offers seafood that was either caught, received, or processed at the Port of San Francisco. The continued presence of a healthy fishing industry is essential to maintaining the colorful ambiance and the economic well-being of Fisherman s Wharf as well as serving a huge local demand for seafood. The Port is the leading fishing industry center in San Francisco Bay and home to close to 20 fish processors and receivers and 165 commercial fishing vessels. The Port is also home to 14 sport-fishing boats that are generally located along Jefferson Street. These vessels offer sport fishing trips and Bay tours to visitors and locals alike. Pier 45 houses the largest concentration of fish processors of any port in California. A 2001 Port economic impact study of the San Francisco fishing industry prepared by Martin Associates shows that the fishing industry creates over 1,500 direct jobs, of which over 50% are filled by San Francisco residents. Those businesses create over $176 million of economic impacts to the region, generating $1 million annually in City taxes. The Port earns $2.35 million dollars, excluding the Port s operating costs, in annual rents and berthing fees from fish processors, receivers, and fishing boats. Many of the Port's fishing industry tenants have been customers of the Port for four generations. Crab, Herring and Salmon The primary catches handled in San Francisco are Dungeness crab, wild salmon, and herring. Perhaps the Wharf s most famous catch is Dungeness crab whose season runs from about Thanksgiving through June. Crab fishermen have earned an average of $30.4 million per year in the past ten seasons Statewide, maintaining Dungeness crab as one of the most valuable fisheries in California. Beginning as early as October and continuing as late as April, millions of fertile herring swim under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay to spawn. Herring Fishery in San Francisco is one of the nation s last urban fisheries. While herring lay their eggs on almost any surface, many will coat seaweed called kelp with layers of small, rubbery eggs. Within hours, the egg-frosted kelp is harvested, then pickled in brine. Much of the crop is exported to Japan, where it is consumed as a delicacy. Salmon have traditionally been the mainstay of Pacific Coast fishing. The salmon fishery is impacted directly by climate and tends to thrive after wet, snowy winters that add to the fresh water volumes in the river system. Wild salmon is a delicacy that our fleet brings to restaurants and dinner tables throughout the region. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in 2011, eleven million pounds of seafood with a value of over $21 million was landed in the Port of San Francisco. The fishing industry in San Francisco is important for many reasons. Its heritage predates the founding of the Port. It represents a food source that is closely managed for sustainability and, since most of the local catch is consumed locally, has a low carbon footprint. It serves a tremendous local demand for seafood. It employs a wide range of San Franciscans and Bay Area natives and it generates strong gross revenues to the -2-
Port. In an effort to preserve this significant public resource, the Port has undertaken major efforts to keep the fish in Fisherman s Wharf. Unlike so many ports that have converted almost all of their assets to container cargo operations, the Port is committed to maintaining its fishing and fish processing assets to serve the people of San Francisco and the Bay Area. History People had been making a living fishing and crabbing in San Francisco Bay for years prior to the Port s official founding in 1863. In the early days of the Port, San Francisco fishing fleet was comprised of lateen-rigged sailboats, called feluccas. They were built in the same style as the boats the local Italian fishermen knew in their native land.. In the late 1800s, San Francisco Bay and the Delta constituted the largest fishing center in California. Salmon, shad, striped bass, and sturgeon were in abundance. Nineteen canneries on the Delta annually canned 200,000 cases of salmon. Bay oysters were also harvested, luring oyster pirates like a young Jack London, who later wrote about the experience. A century ago, crabs were in plentiful supply from the Straits of Carquinez, on the inland reaches of San Francisco Bay to the shorelines off Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda. Today, the crabbers must drop their crab pots out near the Farallon Islands, in 18 to 35 fathoms (i.e., 108-210 feet) of ocean water. -3-
At the turn of the Century a "second generation" of fishing boats - Monterey hull boats - arrived with the introduction of gasoline engines. The gas engines made it possible to fish more days of the year, gave a wider range for operation in ocean water, and provided power to haul in the nets or lines. Today, several Monterey-type boats remain as a part of the Port's fishing fleet. In 1900, Fisherman s Wharf was moved from the foot of Union Street at approximately the location of Pier 17 today, to its current location. Stalls were built in three buildings along Taylor Street and were numbered from one to nine. The fish processing stalls morphed into restaurants stretching north from Jefferson Street, hence their current names of Alioto s No. 8, Fisherman s Grotto No. 9, etc. Fisherman s Wharf began as an authentic working wharf, where locals and visitors alike could watch the fleets come into the harbor laden with fish or crab. Fishermen would be tending their nets, repairing their boats and selling their catch to the local receivers and restaurants. For decades the industry flourished and Fisherman's Wharf became the world famous attraction that it is today. But environmental damage caused by overfishing, development, pollution and non-native species took a heavy toll on the fishing industry. Over time, commercial fishing faded away or was banned inside the Bay. Fisherman s Wharf was neglected by the Port and the City. Renewal After decades of neglect, the Wharf infrastructure needed significant reinvestment or risk losing the commercial fishing industry. In 1974, Mayor Joseph Alioto formed a Citizens Committee for the Preservation and Beatification of Fisherman s Wharf. The Committee focused on the need for the City and Port to improve the Wharf s infrastructure and facilities or risk the loss of one of San Francisco s most important historical industries. The committee s first suggestion was to build a much needed breakwater to solve the vexing problem of surge that damaged boats. It took until October1986, largely through the efforts of then Mayor Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, for the completion of the badly needed 1200- foot breakwater, creating a 30-acre protected commercial harbor in which facilities could be rebuilt. Soon thereafter, ambitious plans were brought to the Port Commission to turn back years of neglect and make Fisherman s Wharf again one of the nation s most modern and vibrant seafood centers. A modern fishing harbor at Hyde Street was proposed to accommodate the newest and largest boats of the fishing fleet. The idea of developing Pier 45 as a new seafood-handling and processing center of the Port was pursued. There were additional threats along the way, with proposals for hotels and other intense commercial developments. The then Port Commission and community rejected those plans and looked to protect and enhance the commercial fishing industry. -4-
Natural Disaster The Loma Prieta earthquake altered the timeline for renewal. Pier 45, the planned location for a new Seafood Center, suffered significant damage from the earthquake, practically chasing away the last of a dwindling number of fish-handling companies doing business at the Port. The industry s future was in peril. The repair costs for Pier 45 skyrocketed and, for a moment, it seemed that there might no longer be any fishing in Fisherman s Wharf. Even in face of such a calamity, the then Port Commission directed Port staff to continue working on the above-mentioned goals. Using Federal, State and Port money, the Port began a $14 million earthquake repair project at Pier 45 which when completed, turned a decrepit, seismically unsafe pier into a modern fish-receiving and processing center. Pundits at the time said that the industry was too far gone and that even if built, the industry would never again centralize in San Francisco. A new seismically-safe and modern seafood center with improved environmental features opened in 1995. The receiving and processing companies flocked back to Fisherman's Wharf and the sheds were leased to capacity almost immediately. Today Pier 45 has 108,000 square feet of modern fish handling and distribution space, leased to about 20 fish processors and receivers and is Northern California s leading seafood center. The Project improvements addressed many but not all of the difficulties that the industry faced in the congested Fisherman's Wharf surroundings. Hyde Street Harbor The next major infrastructure project aimed at revitalizing the Port s commercial fishing industry was the construction of the new Hyde Street Harbor, built with approximately $7 million of State and Port funds to provide berthing for the larger, more modern fishing vessels. Opening in 2001, the harbor has 62 larger berths that provide modern amenities and access to allow larger transient boats seeking seasonal catches a safe harbor. With Salmon season now in full swing, the harbor provides the fleet safe berthing, amenities, showers, fuel, and nearby buyers. This fall will see the crab boat owners gear up with crab pots waiting for that season to commence, again with the knowledge of nearby buyers ready to market and distribute the catch. -5-
Recent Improvements In 2012, a new $2 million Harbor Office and Joint Operations Facility (housed by safety personnel and first-responders) was completed at the entrance to Hyde Street Harbor. Funded by State security grants and Port capital funds, a 50-year old aluminum shed was transformed and now provides amenities for local and visiting commercial fishermen and boaters, including public restrooms with showers, storage areas for oil, waste oil disposal, oil clean-up equipment, and bilge pumps. A new accessible Port harbor office was constructed and is now manned by Port wharfinger staff. The new harbor facility also houses the San Francisco Police Department Marine Unit, Dive Team and San Francisco Fire Department fast response crews. The fully equipped dive locker jointly serves SFPD, SFFD and Port dive teams. The facility is the Port s Alternate Department Operations Center (DOC). Additionally, a $900,000 rebuild of Wharf J-4 in the inner lagoon was undertaken and completed by the Port Maintenance Division. Conclusion Commercial fishing and processing in San Francisco predates the Port. It is a vital maritime industry that requires continual nurturing and attention from the Port, City and community. Wild salmon, crab, sand dabs, and other seafood delicacies do not magically appear in grocery stores and on restaurant menus. Fishermen and their families sail the Pacific and Bay searching for their catch, while receivers and processors market and distribute to the region. The Port greatly values the fishing industry and understands our role to nurture and protect this vital industry. The Port is proud to maintain this historical service on behalf of our City and our region. Prepared by: Peter Dailey Deputy Director, Maritime -6-