Tag Archives: San Pedro

Retired Commercial Fisherman Bernard J. Mattera of San Pedro, California, has passed away

It is with heavy hearts to announce the peaceful passing of our beloved Father. Bernard J. Mattera, born and raised in San Pedro, California, on July 17, 1933, passed away on July 3, 2023, surrounded by his loving family, just 14 days short of his 90th birthday. Benny was a retired Commercial Fisherman of 55 years. He was a proud owner of several fishing boats, including bait and tuna boats. He was most proud of FV Pioneer, which he captained and engineered alongside his son John. Dad enjoyed his family immensely, especially his great-grandchildren. Benny was a prayerful man and would pray up to 15 complete Rosaries a day for his family and whoever had a request and need. >click to read< 10:32

San Pedro fisherman pulls up a mammoth relic from the past

Talk about an epic haul. It was a beautiful fall day in mid-November when San Pedro fishing boat skipper Vince “Enzo” Lauro and his five-man crew on the 70-foot-long St. Joseph headed out for what was to be a routine day collecting squid. But what they wound up hauling onboard nearly rolled the vessel: An old, 8,000-pound anchor that had been sucked down long ago into the ocean floor several miles off the Long Beach breakwater opening. Lauro, 59, described the find succinctly: “Crazy.” 6 photos, >click to read< 14:58

The Lost Japanese Fishing Community from San Pedro

Beginning in the early 1940s, 3,000 first and second-generation Japanese made their homes in an area of Terminal Island known as East San Pedro. The Japanese Fishing Village was next to Fish Harbor, and many of the locals worked in the fishing industry. When a dozen Japanese fishermen settled on Terminal Island at the turn of the twentieth century, it was still a rural stretch of land with around 200 homes. Originally known as Rattlesnake Island due to the snakes that would gather after torrential storms, it had recently been renamed after its new owner, the Los Angeles Terminal Railway. Approximately 250 fishing boats were owned and operated by the residents. Most of the local people, not working on the boats, worked in the many fish canneries clustered together on Terminal Island.  >click to read < 17:26

I’m Desireé – Woman Reunites With Her Rescuers 35 Years After They Saved Her Life

In 1986, Desireé Rodriguez and her family went on a day trip on their family boat. What started as a carefree day trip soon turned into tragedy. At the time, Rodriguez, who was 9-years-old, had fallen asleep next to her little sister at a table on the boat’s lower deck. She was awakened by her father’s orders to get out of the ship because it was sinking. “One by one, her family members just let go of life. All hope seemed lost, but then a group of fishermen spotted her. Paul Strasser and Mark Pisano are two long-time fishermen based out of San Pedro. Great story, with an emotional video. >click to read< 07:33

Tri Marine Group sells plant to Silver Bay Seafoods

US tuna supplier Tri Marine Group has struck a deal to sell a plant in California. Tri Marine said the sale of the pelagic-processing factory to Alaska-based salmon-to-squid supplier Silver Bay Seafoods was subject to approval of the facility’s ground lease by the Port of Los Angeles. ,,, Silver Bay said the acquisition of the plant, located in San Pedro, meant it has unloading and processing facilities in the north and south of California. >click to read<14:28

Where is the lost fishing boat Tammy? Two wreck hunters think they know.

Calm seas and clear weather greeted the fishing boat Tammy as it set out from San Pedro on July 11, 1994, to cast its nets for sea cucumbers — and then disappeared. The 40-foot, steel-hulled vessel carried a crew of four Vietnamese fishermen that night. Two of their bodies were found the next day in the shipping lanes off Newport Beach. The others were never recovered. “To this day, we do not have even a death certificate for my dad because they never found him,” Thai Minh Ta said of Cong Minh Ta, the boat’s owner. Now, more than two decades later, two men with extensive experience in researching and identifying submerged wrecks think the long-lost fishing boat might rest on the ocean floor in 70 feet of water near the entrance to the Port of Long Beach. click here to read the story 20:10

Fisherman dies after being pulled from commercial boat in San Pedro

A man died after being pulled off a small commercial fishing boat Tuesday at the rock breakwater near the Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse in San Pedro, but it was not clear how he was hurt. Port police say they received a distress call from the boat. Firefighters were dispatched at 1:21 p.m. where they found an unconscious man on the boat, near the San Pedro harbor entrance, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Read the rest here 13:09