Our Partner Boats & Farms

A 66-foot steel boat built in 1979. It started life as a shrimper in Louisiana before making the trip to California where it has been ever since.

Captain: Steve Fitz

Bio: Steve Fitz is a native of Massachusetts where he was raised while fishing the local waters. He started out trawling, gill netting and seining for cod along the East Coast before moving to California in 1993 to fish with his uncle, also named Steve Fitz. Today he splits his time between fishing, maintaining the Mr. Morgan, managing the Mr. Morgan Fisheries Inc. and spending time with his wife and daughter at their home in Montana.

Fishing Method: Scottish Seine. The F/V Mr. Morgan is the only vessel in the United States that is still using the Scottish Seine fishing technique. This method is considered more environmentally benign than other fishing boats that operate under a trawl permit. Scottish Seining requires fishing exclusively over sandy bottoms. It uses lighter gear without the steel cables and heavy trawl doors that are used on a typical trawler. Since the gear cannot be towed over large areas of complex ocean habitat which results in less habitat disturbance on the seafloor. In addition the F/V Mr. Morgan fishes under voluntary requirements set by the Nature Conservancy who play a part in managing the boat's fishing permit and quotas.

Targeted Species: Petrale Sole, Chilipepper Rockfish, Sanddabs, Skate and Dungeness Crab

The Sea Harvest fleet is comprised of several boats. They favor larger Boston Whalers for their stability, wide open deck space, reliability and speed.

Captains: Rich, Dan, Walter and Calder Deyerle

Bio: The Deyerles have been fishing commercially in and around the Monterey Bay for many decades. They grew up in Pacific Grove on the Monterey peninsula. They started Sea Harvest after finding it difficult selling their fish to wholesalers and have since grown the business to include several restaurants, fish markets, a fleet of boats and a fish wholesaling business.

Fishing Method: Fish Trap & Bottom Set Line. This method uses a line of large baited cages that are left to soak, typically for a day. The traps allow the fish and crabs to enter and not exit. Bottom set line refers to a long line of baited hooks. In some areas this method results in high amounts of unwanted bycatch, longlining for swordfish comes to mind. When targeting Sablefish in this area the bycatch is very low and results in very little environmental disturbance.

Targeted Species: Sablefish, Rockfish, Lingcod, Halibut & Dungeness Crab

Bio: Starbird Mariculture was founded in 2007 by marine biologist Chris Starbird.

Farming Method: They cultivate Black Mussels & specialty Hatsu oysters by hand, from tiny seeds to the full-grown oysters on your plate. The oyster seeds start the growing process in Humboldt Bay, feeding on the cool, algae-rich waters until they reach a specific size. They are then transplanted into frames that are suspended from a barge in the deep waters of Tomales Bay, where the fast-moving waters with a constant flow of nutrient-rich algae provides the ideal environment for oyster growth. The oysters are also able to expend less energy growing their shells and more energy growing their meat. Starbird Mariculture's proprietary suspension and tumbling method ensures their Oysters and Mussels never come in contact with mud, sand, or silt allowing them to develop crisp, clean flavors and a soft tenderness that only improves with cooking.

Raised Species: Hatsu Oysters & Black Mussels