Pioneer Seafood opens in Redwood City

Pennisi with the help of his family is selling the seafood, so far including halibut, sea bass and clams, off his trawling boat and alongside a trailer serving dishes such as fish and chips, rice bowls with halibut and fish tacos. DJs and bands are also there to entertain customers while in line.

Within weeks, Pennisi plans to offer at least 40 different types of seafood and bring in cooks to help prepare a wider variety of lunch dishes.

Just a week ago, Pennisi thought his business would have to shutter after losing his longtime dock space in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf and failing to find a new home for months.

“I called over 30 different harbors and marinas. I usually got shut down at the first sentence when I said ‘hi I have a commercial fishing boat.’ Nobody seemed to want us,” he said. “I was at a point where I thought I’d be tying up my boat and walking away.”

But when he delivered his pitch to Port of Redwood City officials, he got a different answer.

“They said, ‘oh that’s great’ and absolutely shocked me,” Pennisi said. “I almost fell out of my chair.”

Pennisi employs unique and sustainable fishing techniques, having partnered with environmental organizations to innovate new nets and “light touch” trawl gear to eliminate by-catch.

“We practice 100% retention, which is way above the rules for a traditional trawler. Everything is recorded and not one fish is unaccounted for,” Pennisi said. “No one fishes as clean as us.”

Pennisi was driven to employ such techniques since fishing as a young boy and seeing the unfortunately large numbers of juvenile fish that had to be discarded because they were too small.

“Watching the little fish die on the trawl as a kid — that always bothered me,” he said. “You want the juvenile fish to live because they’re your future.”

Pennisi said his innovative netting system divides the fish based on size and species, which helps ensure they’re fresh because it prevents fish with features such as hard spines from puncturing softer fish. He also offloads his catches at night to keep the sun off the fish, further ensuring freshness.

Pennisi is eager to show his customers fish cleaning techniques and share cooking recipes, many of which can be found on his active social media accounts.

“It’s great for me to see people appreciate fresh fish,” he said. “I love it so much when I see people light up and try this stuff.”

Pioneer Seafoods can be found at 459 Seaport Court, F Dock on weekends and often on weekdays between Monday and Wednesday depending on availability of seafood. Visit facebook.com/pioneerseafoods for more information.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102