L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2026 L'Italo-Americano T h e d a y o f t e n starts much earli- e r t h a n p e o p l e think, along the C a l i f o r n i a n coast. While storefronts remain closed and waterfront prome- nades are still quiet, working boats return to their moor- i n g s a n d c r e w s s o r t t h e i r c a t c h i n t o c r a t e s w h i l e s p r e a d i n g n e t s a l o n g t h e docks to dry; for more than a century, routines like these shaped daily life in several Pacific ports, and many of t h e m o w e t h e i r f o r m t o i m m i g r a n t s w h o h a d already learned their trade on the shores of their home- l a n d ' s s e a s . A m o n g t h e m were many Italian fisher- men whose experience in the Mediterranean influenced how fish were caught, han- dled, and ultimately distrib- uted throughout the region. Pacific fisheries developed a t a m o m e n t w h e n s k i l l s arriving from abroad helped improve and redefine local practice: by the late nine- teenth century, California's coast had already become a shared working environment inhabited by Chinese, Japan- ese, Portuguese, and other m a r i t i m e c o m m u n i t i e s , which the Italians joined, adding their specialized expe- r i e n c e t o m a n a g i n g s m a l l boats and fragile catches in d e m a n d i n g w a t e r s t o a n already proficient migrant workforce. Many came from Liguria and Sicily, where fishing required adaptable equipment and careful coor- dination among workers. And if it were true that, in Califor- nia, fish species were differ- ent and sea currents unfamil- i a r , t h e w a y t h e y w o r k e d translated readily, and once a d a p t e d , p r o v e d e f f e c t i v e enough to be widely adopted. Nowhere is this clearer than in Monterey, which developed its early twentieth- century reputation as a fish- i n g h u b f o r s a r d i n e s . B e c a u s e t h e y w o u l d s p o i l q u i c k l y , c a t c h i n g t h e m d e p e n d e d o n c o o r d i n a t e d n i g h t f i s h i n g a n d s p e e d , through methods that no one knew and applied as effec- t i v e l y a s f i s h e r m e n f r o m Western Sicily. Back home, they had already been famil- iar with similar conditions. They also introduced a sys- tem using lampara nets and light to draw schools toward the surface, which, after being adjusted for local waters, produced reliable landings. Soon, a simple rou- tine was established: boats left after sunset, offshore lights flickered through the night, and workers waited on the docks before dawn, as f i s h w e r e u n l o a d e d , v e r y m u c h a s i t s t i l l h a p p e n s today. Reliable catches soon attracted investors willing to process the fish on a larger scale, so processing plants appeared along the water- front for salting, cooking, and sealing sardines in cans des- tined for distant markets. What later generations would remember as Cannery Row began as a working industrial shoreline sustained by practi- cal knowledge often intro- duced by migrant fishermen, including Italians. Another hallmark of Monterey's fish- ing world – though certainly not exclusive to Italians – was the central role of fami- ly. Crews were often made up of fathers, sons, cousins, and brothers who worked the same boat year after year, learning the trade together. In that setting, ownership and labor were inseparable, and knowledge moved from one generation to the next. And even after the sardine industry declined in the mid- t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , l o c a l memory continued to associ- ate Monterey's development with the maritime expertise carried there by immigrant fishermen. Farther south, San Diego developed along a slightly different course, though it ultimately reached much the same place. Its waters held a w i d e r r a n g e o f f i s h , a n d many of the crews – a large number coming from Lig- uria – relied on techniques they had already practiced a l o n g t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n coast. Historical accounts talk especially about the use of trammel nets for halibut and other bottom fish, gear that required patience and a practiced hand to haul in without ruining the catch. The boats worked close to shore, and the waterfront s l o w l y b e c a m e a l i v e w i t h activity, also social, around repair sheds and drying nets, w i t h f i s h e r m e n l i n g e r i n g along the docks comparing weather, currents, and the day's haul. Back then, the rhythm of life near the seafront fol- l o w e d a n a t u r a l s e a s o n a l rhythm, often affected by tra- ditional religious and mar- itime celebrations, as well as festivals held for the patron saints of sailors and fisher- men. The Monterey Bay Area still hosts two annual cele- brations that reflect this his- tory: the annual Festa Italia and the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. The first is held to celebrate the contri- butions of Italian immigrants who settled in the Monterey Bay Area and helped develop t h e c o m m e r c i a l f i s h i n g industry; the second is cen- tered around the blessings of fishermen and their vessels. Both rooted in the maritime past of the area – a multicul- tural past, as we said, where Italians played an essential r o l e – t h e s e c e l e b r a t i o n s introduce a strong element of community cohesiveness and historical continuity. Food, too, kept the mem- o r y o f t h a t w o r l d a l i v e , although it began in the most practical way possible. Fish- e r m e n a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s cooked what could not be sold, using mixed catches to prepare simple broths and stews eaten on boats or along the docks at the end of long days. Over time, those meals found their way into local kitchens and eventually onto r e s t a u r a n t m e n u s , w h e r e they came to represent the c o a s t i t s e l f . T h e r e g i o n ' s seafood reputation, however, rested first on the work that made such cooking possible: the skill of catching, sorting, and preserving fish in suffi- cient quantity to supply both local tables and distant mar- kets. Without the routines developed by the crews who worked those waters, includ- ing the Italian's, the dishes that later defined the area would likely never have taken shape in quite the same way. It is for these reasons that t h e I t a l i a n i n f l u e n c e a n d presence on the West Coast should be seen as structural: in ports such as Monterey and San Diego, their routines helped create markets, form neighborhoods, and left a memory that still frames how t h e s e p l a c e s u n d e r s t a n d themselves. Technology cer- tainly changed the boats and modernized the work, yet the organization of the water- front continues to follow pat- terns first laid down by fish- ermen who brought their k n o w l e d g e a c r o s s t h e Atlantic and adjusted it to a new coastline. The vessels that return to the docks today m a y l o o k d i f f e r e n t f r o m those of earlier generations, but the rhythm of the harbor remains the same that our ancestors created. CHIARA D'ALESSIO LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS The Fishermen who changed the West Coast: Italy's maritime legacy in California Fishermen from Liguria and Sicily brought fishing methods and techniques to the West Coast still in use today (Image created with DALL-E 2); bottom right, Italian fishermen on a wharf in San Francisco (By Unknown author. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. https://commons.wikimedia.org/. Public Domain)

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