The fishing isn't as good as it used to be for the commercial fishermen working the waters off Southern California.
Their landings of squid are barely more than a quarter of what they were in 2000. Seasonal quotas on other seafood are so low that they can be reached in as little as a week.
Still, the most problematic catch for what's left of a once-flourishing fleet is sometimes encountered on land.
The fishermen's hauls -- mainly squid, sardines and mackerel -- are bound for Asia. But first they must be flash-frozen, and freezer space is in short supply, forcing some fishermen to roam as far inland as downtown Los Angeles in search of it.
"You come in with a couple of hundred tons of fish and then you have to beg other companies for space to freeze it," said Ron Misetich, a 69-year-old retired fisherman who helps out around his son-in-law's business, Western Fish Co. on Terminal Island.
"You're always worried about not having enough," Misetich said. "And when the squid fishing is hot, you want your boats out every day. You don't want them waiting around."
Within the next year or so, however, the local fishing industry might have one less worry. The Port of Los Angeles plans to build a 30,000-square-foot flash freezer on an empty lot near Tuna and Cannery, streets named in an era when the location was home to the largest commercial fishing fleet in the nation.
Misetich, who can trace his family's fishing heritage back three generations in the U.S. -- and before that to the waters off the Croatian island of Brac -- is thrilled with the idea. Small wonder: The freezer, when built, would be almost next door to his son-in-law's business.
"That freezer would be a big deal," Misetich said. "It would save us money and time. We wouldn't have transport costs. And in an economy like this, it would mean a few more local jobs running it too."
The idea has been pushed by Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, who sees the freezer as a way to help preserve and strengthen what's left of the industry. With cargo revenues tenuous amid the global economic downturn, Knatz also sees it as a way to boost port income.
"This will be the first time that we have made a commitment to the commercial fishing industry in decades. This blast freezer will be totally devoted to the fish-processing facilities here at the port," she said.
