Info Box:

Community support and quick thinking kept Chula Seafood in Point Loma going during COVID until the commercial fishery was able to develop a successful new business model to get it through the long haul.

“We went to bed on a Monday night when COVID hit, and when we woke up on Tuesday morning, we had absolutely no customers – all the restaurants had closed,” said Jimmy Silveira of their family business, that started with his wife Amy’s parents, the Heflins, in Arizona. “So we literally woke up on Tuesday morning with 1,500 pounds of fish (a 3- or 4-day supply) that we needed to sell and no buyers.”

To cope, the Silveiras tried a novel solution to extricate themselves from their unanticipated dilemma.

“We turned to social media, friends, and family to get the word out that, ‘Hey, we have fish, and we’re willing to sell directly to the public at wholesale prices,’” noted Jimmy, a third-generation Peninsula resident. “And the public showed up. They saved us during COVID. They kept us in business. We were not going to turn our back on them after what they did for us.”

Between restaurants eventually switching to offering grab-and-go meals, and Chula Seafood adding home delivery, Silveira noted the fishery was able to not only stay afloat but explore fresh marketing waters. “What that really did for us was to open the channel to our customers,” he said. “We got a whole different interaction once we started selling to the public.”

“It was a really neat way to make a unique connection with customers, who really enjoyed the products they were getting from us, as well as our store and menu items that they were trying out at home,” agreed Amy Silveira. “Now we work directly with the local fishing boats building that market.”

Established in 2009, Chula Seafood at 4904 N. Harbor Drive in Point Loma has been family owned and operated all along. In August of 2015, the family recognized the need for fresh fish in the desert and began delivering straight from their boat to Arizona.

This led to the opening of Chula Seafood’s first fish market and restaurant in South Scottsdale. The family business has since grown to include not only the Silveiras but their relations in Arizona as well.

Of their expanded and improved business model, Jimmy Silveira said, “We’re a quality-driven shop selling to fish markets and local restaurants like the Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill, Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern, The Marine Room, and La Jolla Shores Hotel in La Jolla.”

The fishery purveys high-quality, fresh fish from the Pacific coast from their fishing vessel named Chula. They specialize in harpoon-caught and deep-set buoy swordfish, in addition to species off the California coast.

That technique is considered one of the most sustainable forms of fishing, as it involves dropping fishing lines below the turtle layer, with fish being brought to the surface alive.

This fishing technique is a distinct improvement as, historically, much of the swordfish harvested on the U.S. West Coast has come from drift gill nets. Such nets are extremely indiscriminate in what they catch, and have an inexcusably high bycatch rate, entangling large numbers of other species in the process.

Harvested fish species marketed wholesale direct by Chula Seafood include albacore, black cod, grouper, halibut, kama, salmon, yellowtail tuna, swordfish, monchong, frozen octopus, opah, sea urchin, scallops, salmon, smoked tuna, swordfish loin, white seabass, yellowfin tuna, San Diego yellowtail and 16/20 Mexican shrimp.

FV Chula is docked in Point Loma near where Chula Seafood Wholesale is located. The business off-loads directly from its boat and processes its catch, before selling to local California restaurants, other distributors, and the public.

“Because of years of commercial fishing and close relationships with the local fisherman, we are able to supply the best of the best,” concludes Chula Seafood at chulaseafood.com.

CHULA SEAFOOD

Where: 4904 North Harbor Drive, No. 101

Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Contact: chulaseafood.com, call or text 619-820-5140 for pricing and availability.