{"id":446766,"date":"2025-12-14T16:09:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/446766\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T16:09:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:09:13","slug":"maritime-museum-dives-deep-into-san-diegos-commercial-fishing-industry-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/446766\/","title":{"rendered":"Maritime Museum dives deep into San Diego\u2019s commercial fishing industry \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Curator\u2019s Words<\/strong> is an occasional series that takes a critical look at current exhibitions through the eyes of curators.<\/p>\n

In the late 1850s, Chinese immigrants who moved to California after the 1848 Gold Rush began settling in San Diego, many flocking here because of the fishing industry.<\/p>\n

In the La Playa neighborhood of San Diego \u2014 nestled along the bay in the Point Loma peninsula \u2014 \u201cthey built a thriving community with shipbuilding, drying racks and abundant catches, especially abalone.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just one of the many historical facts about San Diego\u2019s commercial fishing industry that can be found at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, where a longtime exhibition called \u201cHarvesting the Ocean\u201d recently got a refresh.<\/p>\n

Kevin Sheehan, the Maritime Museum\u2019s collections manager, curator, archivist and librarian, talks about the exhibit and the history of the fishing industry in San Diego.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>In the exhibiting \u201cHarvesting the Ocean,\u201d the Maritime Museum of San Diego explores the history of San Diego\u2019s commercial fishing industry. (Maritime Museum of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Q: The exhibit \u201cHarvesting the Ocean\u201d takes a look at the rise and fall of San Diego\u2019s commercial fishing industry. Briefly tell us what it was like during the heyday of that industry in San Diego.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> In its heyday in the mid-20th century, the commercial fishing industry in San Diego was a major employer, both at sea and also on land. Dozens of fishing boats, with crews that were often associated with specific cultural identities \u2014 for example, Italian or Portuguese \u2014 were homeported here in San Diego.<\/p>\n

The fishermen themselves found inspiration in ancestral labor traditions that had been imported from homelands far away and adapted to a new life in California.<\/p>\n

There was also significant cross-cultural communication and adaptation associated with this industry. For example, the practice of bamboo long-pole fishing was developed and introduced here by Japanese fishermen and then rapidly adopted by others.<\/p>\n

On shore, canneries employed hundreds of workers. Whole families cooperated together, with different generations contributing to one or other aspect of the fishing industry \u2014 catching, cleaning and canning, marketing and sales, as well as boat and net maintenance.<\/p>\n

Looking north along the Embarcadero in front of the County Administration building, you would have seen dozens of fishing boats tied up. That vista is now gone, but the memory lives on in the fishing community of San Diego.<\/p>\n

Q: This exhibit, I hear, is not new but has recently been refreshed. What was done most recently and why?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> The newer aspects of our \u201cHarvesting the Ocean\u201d exhibit focus on the relationship between community, fishing and seafood. The museum has, in fact, been doing this for decades, not only through our exhibits, but also in collecting and preserving material culture associated with the local fishing industry, and publishing extensive histories and narratives in our journal \u201cMains\u2019l Haul.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have indeed been the community memory for generations. This latest iteration of the fishing exhibit seeks to add new life and color to our displays paying tribute to the fishing industry in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Food has a way of creating both identity and also building bridges between peoples of different traditions and customs. The dynamic, adaptive nature of the local seafood industry clearly demonstrates this. Part of the inspiration for this exhibit came from the recent publication of a cookbook that tells the story of seven distinct groups that have been vital in the evolution of fishing and the production of seafood in San Diego: Kumeyaay, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, Mexican and, finally, the multicultural environment we all live in.<\/p>\n

Featuring local fishermen, community leaders, scholars and chefs, \u201cSan Diego Seafood: Then and Now\u201d was produced with the assistance of the California Sea Grant. This cookbook is, in fact, much more than a collection of recipes. It provides a clear overview of the history of the main communities associated with fishing in San Diego and also highlights their seafood cuisine. Its authors also advocate for sustainable fishing and seafood consumption. The cookbook is on sale in the museum gift store.<\/p>\n

Q: What are some of the most surprising things you learned when you were curating this exhibit?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: First up, while I was very much involved as curator, I consider this a community effort. We relied on experts and authors from many different groups. The text, images and material culture we were able to gather and present demonstrate both continuity and also dramatic change and evolution.<\/p>\n

Personally, I never realized the importance of the Chinese and Japanese communities for the development of fishing in Southern California. I also gained a new appreciation for the history and memory associated with what might be considered fairly mundane artifacts \u2014 industrial tools in a sense \u2014 that are currently used in the fishing industry or have been over time.<\/p>\n

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of curating this exhibit was meeting some of the community leaders in the local fishing industry, too \u2014 people like Tommy Gomes and Peter Halmay, for example.<\/p>\n

Q: What do you hope visitors will take away from seeing this exhibit?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I hope visitors come away with a few impressions. Firstly, we have a fairly gritty video playing that shows where the fish on your plate comes from. Fishing is arduous and sometimes dangerous work. Visitors should realize that sustainability is an ongoing challenge, and that they need to look carefully on the labels on their food, informing themselves of where it was caught and by whom.<\/p>\n

Supporting the local fishing industry might be a little more expensive, but the quality and freshness of the catch is guaranteed. Plus, you\u2019re connecting with local people and supporting their commitment to the industry, and their livelihoods.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also hope that the exhibit and the cookbook encourage visitors to be a little adventurous. Try some new recipes and taste something different. Finally, be aware that you\u2019re connecting with many different local traditions, spanning generations, but also very much alive in the present.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>In the exhibiting \u201cHarvesting the Ocean,\u201d the Maritime Museum of San Diego explores the history of San Diego\u2019s commercial fishing industry. (Maritime Museum of San Diego)
\nMaritime Museum of San Diego presents \u201cHarvesting the Ocean\u201d<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last entry at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> 1492 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego<\/p>\n

Tickets:<\/strong> Adults $28; military and seniors 62 and above $20; youth 6 to 17 $15; children 5 and under free.<\/p>\n

Online:<\/strong> sdmaritime.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the Curator\u2019s Words is an occasional series that takes a critical look at current exhibitions through the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":446767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,8315,171,1370,3549,3550,7264,1072,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5548],"class_list":{"0":"post-446766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-downtown-san-diego","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-county","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-things-to-do","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa","24":"tag-visual-arts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}