The Pennisi family has a long tradition of fishing and has been trawling in the waters off of California for sustainably caught seafood since the early 1900s.
Giuseppe “Joe” Pennisi started fishing in California when he was seven years old. Beginning his career working on his father’s boats, he has made a career fishing everywhere from Monterey to the Bering Sea. In 2000 he purchased his boat the Pioneer and launched Pioneer Seafoods.
Trawl Innovations
Pioneer Seafoods has partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to modify and enhance our trawling gear. This is has culminated in the development of Pioneer’s “light touch” trawl gear. By modifying the weight and size of our nets, this trawl gear barely touches the seafloor. We estimate that these modifications reduce bottom contact by about 95 percent. Sustainably Caught Seafood is essential to preserving Earth’s ocean ecosystems.
Pioneer Seafood & Guiseppe on the side of a Bus!
Nothing Beats the Taste of a TRULY FRESH fish! Click Here To See Our Calendar.
Pioneer Seafoods and Guiseppe Pennisi are Sustaining the Seas
Being a Fisherman is Hard Work! Would YOU Want to Do This?
Pioneer at Scomas Dock
Oceanna Visitors on Board
Sorting Fish
Pioneer Fish on deck
Get all the Latest News & Events Right Here
See the story on Channel 7 News about Pioneer Selling Fish off the Boat
Find Out When We Are Going Fishing!
And More Importantly – When We Are Coming Back in Loaded With Fish!
FEATURED ARTICLES
“Big Blue Live, Episode 2“
Aired on PBS, September 1, 2015. (Fast forward to 45:54 for the segment on Monterey’s commercial fisheries and Giuseppe’s innovative trawl gear).
“Gear Workshop Highlights Innovators in West Coast Fishery”
By Shems Jud. EDFish Blog.
“The West Coast Groundfish Recovery: The Best Fish News You Haven’t Heard Yet”
By Maria Finn. Civil Eats.
“Monterey Bay Fisherman Experiments with Nets”
By Erin E. Ross. The Californian.
Check Out the Latest Posts from Our Blog
OVEN-FRIED FISH
You'll find this Oven-Fried Fish recipe surprisingly tasty and crunchy. It's a delicious preparation that will please the fish lovers in your family and it's ready in 30 minutes. OVEN-FRIED FISH - - butter or margarine melted, large eggs beaten, milk or water, ALBERS® Yellow Corn Meal, all-purpose flour, paprika, garlic powder, fresh or frozen [...]
HEALTHY PARMESAN GARLIC CRUMBED FISH
The general rule of thumb is to cook fish at 400F/200C for 10 minutes per 1 inch/2.5 cm thickness (measured at the thickest part of the fish). However this recipe calls for the fish to be cooked for 6 minutes 30 seconds in total because the heat from the fry pan continues to cook the [...]
GEAR WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS INNOVATORS IN WEST COAST FISHERY
“The best way to get something done is to tell a fisherman it can’t be done.” – Bob Dooley, veteran fisherman and industry leader With support from a Saltonstall-Kennedy grant and the Packard Foundation, EDF’s Pacific team joined with an all-star Steering Committee this month to convene a Gear Modification Workshop in Newport, Oregon. More [...]
THE WEST COAST GROUNDFISH RECOVERY: THE BEST FISH NEWS YOU HAVEN’T HEARD YET
Monterey, California, used to be an epicenter in the West Coast commercial fishing industry. These days, it’s still a working port, but many visitors know more about Steinbeck than Market Squid deliveries. And the city’s waterfront is full of restaurants serving shrimp and tilapia imported from China. And it’s not the only place doing so. [...]
MONTEREY BAY FISHERMAN EXPERIMENTS WITH NETS
At first, Pennisi was just trying to make nets lighter. It began when the California government passed regulations requiring fishermen to use small foot rope nets when trawling in shallow water. Foot ropes make up bottom edge of a trawl net. Because small foot rope nets take up less space, they are supposed to disturb [...]
GOPRO CAPTURES SUSTAINABLE FISHING 600 FEET UNDER THE SEA
When the Monterey Bay Aquarium was first getting underway, local fisherman Giuseppe “Joey” Pennisi helped catch some of the octopus and ling cod to put in the tanks. But then, he says, his relationship with the aquarium soured with the launch of the Seafood Watch program. Many of the species he caught were on the [...]