FIRSTS
Fish Tales A face behind the catch by
Megan Waldrep
I
t’s cold and foggy morning at the Santa Barbara Harbor, just after seven, and a line for the Fishermen’s Market is already cued up. I walk to the end of the dock (also known as the Navy Pier), find the Ocean Rose tent, and ask the guy behind the table if fisherman Garrett Rose is around. He cracks a smile, then points beyond my shoulder. “Garrett’s the guy in the anchor hat,” Connor Rose said. “The one that looks just like me.” Originally from Cayucos, Garrett Rose is a second-generation commercial fisherman who grew up fishing with his father, David Rose, a thirty-year commercial fisherman who catches salmon to this day. Yet five years ago, with the ink barely dried on his diploma from California Polytechnic State University, Rose decided to level up. He moved to Santa Barbara and bought his first boat, the F/V Prime Time, to troll for California King Salmon along the west coast. (King salmon is also known as “Chinook salmon,” and F/V is short for “fishing vessel”).
Later, Rose purchased a second boat, the F/V Taurus, which he fishes year-round. When you show up to the Ocean Rose tent, you’ll find varieties of short and long spine Pacific rockfish and black cod perfectly laid out on beds of ice and large holding tanks filled with live Pacific rock crab and giant spider crab. Come spring, Dungeness crab and local salmon are available, too. At the tent, alongside Rose, is his brother Conner, who helps the family business when not at his day job, and deckhand, Chase Brubaker, to answer your questions. Not sure how to prepare your seafood? They’ve got you covered. “We provide recipe card options to guide new customers in our favorite directions.” For those intimidated to cut whole fish, you’re in luck. The Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara have a cutting station at the end of the dock where you can get small and large fish filleted or cut into steaks at three and five bucks a pop. For Rose, Pacific black cod is his go-to
meal. “My favorite seafood dish is a miso-marinated black cod that I broil and pair with steamed vegetables and rice.” Sounds delicious and easy enough. And when it comes to eating crab, it’s a roll-up-yoursleeves kind of thing. “When we have crab boils at the house, I like to eat outside in a family-style fashion. Lay everything out on newspaper and get cracking.” Here’s an insider secret: skip the line and pre-order from Ocean Rose Fisheries by text or calling ahead. Or, if you miss the market altogether, just walk to the Santa Barbara Fish Market on Harbor Way, and ask for Garrett’s catch. Find Garrett and Crew at the Santa Barbara Fishermen’s Market on the Navy Pier every Saturday from 6 am - 11 am. For special orders, contact Garrett directly at oceanrosefisheries@gmail.com, text or call (805) 765-1552, or follow along on Instagram at @oceanrose_ fisheries.
