Newport Beach’s historic Dory Fleet keeps century-old seafood tradition alive
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With lines forming as early as 3:30 a.m., the Dory Fleet in Newport Beach sells out of its catches within hours as chefs and seafood-loving locals swarm to the historic venue.
For many community members, the market, which opens at 5:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, is not just a place for buying and selling. It also evokes the historic charm of Newport Beach, holding memories and family tradition.
“I’ve been coming here since I was probably 8 years old, so I’ve seen this place change a lot. It’s been like a family tradition,” said Fred Salēmi, a Newport Beach local, on a morning out with his son, Marcelino.
“I love it so much ’cause of the tradition, because me and my dad usually come out here and it’s been our little thing for quite some time now. I just enjoy the sea air,” Marcelino said.
Dorymen, fishermen who operate small, flat-bottomed boats with high flaring sides, sharp bows and deep V-shaped transoms, known as dories, have been selling their catches of assorted seafood out of the historic Dory Fleet Fish Market since its establishment in 1891.
The market was created when one fisherman decided that he was finished selling his goods to wholesalers, and instead decided to pull his boat up to the beach and sell to the general public, according to the Dory Fishing Fleet and Market website.
Dorymen historically sold their goods directly out of their boats, which eventually turned into the open air markets seen on the coasts today; in 1902, the Newport dorymen made the switch, building a marketplace to sit just north of the Newport Pier. By 1969, the Dory Fleet was recognized by the Newport Beach Historical Society as a permanent local historic landmark.
Twenty years later, in 1989, the establishment was rebuilt into the structure it is now, including its rustic wooden framing, fishermen’s lockers, dory boats and personal stands for the fishermen to sell from.
However, as time has gone on, the once dozens of fishermen selling at the Fleet dwindled, leaving just four steady vendors to sell out of the market every weekend.
Among this small, steady bunch is “Crabby” Steve Escobar, who has been selling out of the Fleet for 36 years.
“I think we’re unique. There’s a lot of swap meets and farmers markets where people buy fish and sell it, but we’re the one where we actually catch the fish and sell to the public and I think [the public] likes buying directly from the fishermen,” Escobar said. “There’s a need for it, and we’re fortunate that the city of Newport Beach gave us this spot. It’s recognized as a historic landmark, and it doesn’t change hands very often as fishermen, so we’ve all been around forever.”
buyers to ask about his catch of lobsters and crabs through signs placed around his stall.
Escobar, as suggested by his given nickname, “Crabby” Steve, sells a variety of crustaceans including rock crabs, spider crabs, sea snails, otherwise known as whelk, and lobsters.
Escobar also introduced longtime seller Pierre Charest, owner and operator of Santa Barbara Live Seafood, to the market. Charest, a sea urchin fisherman who dives for the invertebrate off of the Santa Barbara coast, has been selling at the market for 10 of his 43 years as a fisherman.
“Why do I enjoy it? Because it’s a lifestyle and it gives me a lot of freedom,” Charest said. “I dive one day a week and market one day a week, so that’s enabled me to do a lot and have a life other than work.”
Catching between 2 and 3 million pounds of sea urchin in his lifetime as a fisherman, Charest has proven his decades of experience with both catching and selling the small, spiky sea creatures. For this reason, the upcoming fishing season has made him nervous as winter waters continue to warm due to the super El Niño weather pattern.
customers at the Dory Fleet in Newport Beach early on a Saturday morning.
“We are very worried about this upcoming winter coming because with the water temperatures being so high, nothing around here is used to that high temps. The other day, I hit 72 degrees at 60 feet [deep], and in my 43 years, the highest temperature I’d seen at that depth before was 70 [degrees],” Charest said. Plus, that year it rained so hard that this year, I don’t think California is even ready for what’s coming; not to be the black cloud guy, but also the realist, because I’ve seen it before, and here it comes.”
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service at NOAA, because El Niño occurs in the Pacific Ocean basin, the West Coast typically experiences the most direct impacts, including elevated sea levels and unusually warmer ocean temperatures. While this brings in more warm-water fish, such as wahoo and striped marlin, it also has the possibility of bringing in more harmful algal blooms.
For cool water fish and the kelp forests off the Southern California coast, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego adds that increased temperature of the water will add stress to the ocean life and coolwater species will become less common.
But despite the long days and upcoming challenges of the season, for fishermen like Escobar and Charest, selling out of the wooden, seaside establishment is more than a lifestyle, it’s a dream they have no intent of stopping.
“Oh, I’ll probably take a week or two off before I die,” said Escobar when asked when he planned to retire. “I like the sunrises, the sunsets, and customers, and it’s interesting, you never know what’s going to come up in a trap. Yeah, it’s hard work, but it’s rewarding. And then, hey, you’re providing stuff for people to enjoy, and it’s delicious, and there’s a lot of reasons, being at sea is wonderful. I couldn’t imagine anything else ... no regrets.”
— Carroll is a contributor to the Daily Pilot.
