A significant port on California’s north-central coast, San Francisco was home to one of the original 21 missions established by the Spanish during colonization. Although the settlement of San Francisco wasn’t established until 1776, the land San Francisco occupies has been an important area for the Ohlone people for thousands of years. The Mission Dolores in San Francisco became one of the largest settlements in all of Spanish California.
Later incorporated as a US city in 1850, the port has been the region’s most important port of entry and shipping port since the California Gold Rush. Fishing became a mainstay of the local economy as the gold rush ended and has maintained importance to this day. The port’s fishing industry, like most in southern California, was established by the area’s diverse immigrant populations, who brought a variety of fishing. Fishing has remained one of San Francisco’s most important sectors both economically and culturally, although the fisheries on which it has been most dependent have shifted over time.
Currently, important fisheries for the port include Dungeness crab, herring, groundfish, swordfish, salmon and market squid. Although salmon remains a significant species for local fishers, landings have decreased since the mid-1980s as a result of declining fish returns and more restrictive management measures. Herring, a historically important fishery, has been on the decline since the late 1990s whereas market squid is a relatively new fishery to the port and rapidly growing in importance. Groundfish was once an important year-round fishery for the port, however, the West Coast-wide fishery was declared a federal fishery disaster in 2000 following a sharp decline in landings of these species and overcapitalization in the fishery (Source).
San Francisco was affected by the implementation of the Federal Pacific Coast Groundfish Buyback Program in 2003 to remove trawl vessels from the fishery and lost three groundfish trawlers. From 1999 to 2021, the number of fish business licenses active in San Francisco has decreased by one-third. The number of commercial fishing licenses associated with the port has decreased from 189 in 2001 to 88 in 2021. Currently, Dungeness crab is the port’s primary fishery in terms of ex-vessel value, and herring is the primary fishery by weight. Landings at San Francisco accounted for 2% of total landed weight and 3% of total ex-vessel value in California.
By the Numbers
Commercial Fishing (2021)
| Total | Port Rank | Percent of State Total | Primary Fisheries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Weight |
2,732,107 lbs. | 11 of 82 | 2% | Dungeness Crab, Market Squid, Salmon, Groundfish |
 Value |
$6,353,216 | 11 of 82 | 3% | Dungeness Crab, Salmon, California Halibut, Market Squid |
 Vessels Homeported |
 Fishing Licenses |
 Fishing Businesses |
| 203 of 3,148 | 88 of 6,650 | 98 |
Recreational Fishing (2021)
| Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) |
State Total | Percent of State Total | Primary Fisheries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Trips |
1,526 | 35,046 | 4.4% | Rockfish, Dungeness Crab, Salmon, California Halibut |
 Vessels Homeported |
30 | 622 | 5% | |