Still reeling ‘em in after 31 years

Kris O’Donnell

Pearson’s Port, an unobtrusive floating shanty, is a seafood retailer

that has been around since 1971.

The business is a second-generation fresh-fish outlet that sells

live crabs, seasonal lobster, seasonal yellowtail tuna, sea bass,

perch, sheepshead and halibut.

“I catch all the fish by rod and reel,” said 41-year-old owner Tommy Pearson. “I generally go out about 11 p.m. and stay out until I

catch what I need for a couple of days. I never keep any fish longer

than three days.”

The business was started by his father, Roy, who died the day

before Christmas four years ago.

“That was a real black Christmas,” said Pearson, whose mother, Vi,

still works at the store. “I miss him a lot.”

Pearson recalled that in the early days, “We didn’t even have

walls, just a roof to keep out the rain. We also used to steam crabs

and lobsters right here at the window and hand them to the customers,

but the [county] Health Department made us stop because they said

that cooking made us a restaurant and we’d have to put in restrooms

and all kinds of stuff.”

“There are a lot of memories here,” Pearson said. “In 1983, at

about 4 a.m., we got a call from the Harbor Patrol who told us that

our shanty had broken away from pilings, floated toward the coast and

was doing circles in the turning basin. We had to get the boat and

tow it back. The channel narrows here at the bridge and the outgoing

tide causes a strong current. Well, during a storm, in that strong El

Nino year, it [the shanty] broke loose and floated away.”

Inside the shanty, next to the shells, starfish, crab claws and

other trophies from the deep, which are interwoven into old fishing

nets that drape the walls, are pictures of his parents, friends,

special events and large catches.

Pearson’s Port, at 300 E. Coast Highway, maintains many area

wholesale customers.

“Sushi bars buy a lot from us,” said Pearson. “But we also have

longtime customers that come down from Pomona and Redlands to

purchase same-day-caught fish.”

Pearson said that business is still great but that newcomers to

the trade have a tendency to undercut his prices. New laws and

restrictions, overseen by the state Department of Fish and Game, have

also cut into his ability to compete with larger commercial firms.

“I’m not a commercial fisherman who harvests 10,000 pounds or more

of fish, shrimp, and shellfish a year; consequently, restrictions are

tougher on me, but I hope to keep fishing for years,” Pearson said.

“We’re just a mom-and-pop business.”