San Diego fishermen sell local catch at Saturday dockside market

On San Diego’s waterfront, the fish market operates like a farmers market with saltwater on the tables. Every Saturday, rain or shine, fishermen sell the day’s local catch directly to shoppers at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, where the weekly selection changes with season, weather, quotas and other conditions.

The market opened in 2014 after roughly three years of organizing and regulatory work, and San Diego marked its 10-year anniversary in 2024. Its first day brought about 1,500 customers and only three fishermen, Peter Halmay said: “The first day it opened up, we had 1500 customers and three fishermen.” Today, the Saturday crowd includes hundreds of shoppers, local households and chefs drawn to the open-air market at Seaport Village on Tuna Harbor Pier.

The Port of San Diego says the market is designed to let the public buy fresh seafood directly from local fishermen, without middlemen, while helping buyers try species they might not otherwise purchase. The market rotates through more than 70 species of fish and shellfish caught seasonally in San Diego waters, a range that organizers say helps show off the diversity of the local fishery. The San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group, which says it represents 130 captains of commercial fishing boats in San Diego Bay, operates the market with the Port.

The model has broader economic stakes for the city’s fishing fleet. Direct sales keep more of the retail value with working fishermen, while the visible dockside setup gives shoppers a clearer view of where their seafood comes from and how it was caught. Fishermen say that direct connection to buyers strengthens the relationship between the harbor and the people who eat from it.

San Diego’s commercial fishing history gives the market added weight. The Port says the city’s first cannery opened in 1909, and in the 1960s tuna was San Diego’s third-largest industry, with almost 40,000 employees involved in catching, selling or processing fish. Against that backdrop, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market has become both a retail outlet and a reminder that local seafood still has an economic foothold in a city once built around it.

The market also serves prepared food and education alongside the fresh catch. Fish cutting is available, and shoppers can buy poke, fish and chips and ceviche, making the Saturday dockside stop as much about learning local seafood as taking it home.