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 cumulated 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! Try it & See.
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
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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
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 [...]
LOCALS EMBRACE ‘BIG BLUE LIVE’ OPPORTUNITIES
MONTEREY >> “Big Blue Live,” the live multimedia television event, is doing more than exposing millions of viewers to the mostly clandestine world of the sea life that inhabits the Monterey Bay. The ground-breaking PBS/BBC project, which premiered Sunday in the UK, has galvanized local individuals, businesses, scientists, schools and organizations who are collaborating with [...]
CHEFS: PLEASE STOP CALLING IT “TRASH FISH”
I’m all for the spirit of the Trash Fish movement; getting lesser known species that were once discarded into the hands of skillful chefs who make them shine. I just don’t like the name. Chefs Collaborative has been holding “Trash Fish” dinners around the county since 2013 and they’ve started a seafood trend. I was [...]
CSUMB STUDY BACKS TARGETED BOTTOM TRAWLING
Monterey >> The icy standoff between fishermen and environmentalists over trawling may thaw a bit thanks to new and more targeted research on its effects. James Lindholm, a professor of marine science and policy at CSU Monterey Bay, partnered with commercial fishermen and conservationists to study the effects of bottom trawling near Morro Bay.
A FISHERY ON THE REBOUND: ON THE WEST COAST, FISHERMEN SHOW THEY CAN BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE SEA. EDF SOLUTIONS, VO.45, NO.4 / FALL 2014
How to fix America's troubled fisheries is a question of passionate debate around the country. when West Coast fishermen were given greater control over their business, a remarkable thing happened: The fishery started to recover . Solutions senior writer Rod Griffin reports from California, where fishermen have joined EDF to help chart a more sustainable [...]