Harbor & Seafood Festival will showcase fishing industry and maritime history of Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 19th annual Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival Saturday (Oct. 15) will be a chance for the public to meet those who work daily in the fishing industry and learn more about the historic waterfront maritime industry.

The event will have interactive experiences to learn about the fishing industry, fish inspired meals for sale, music and tours.

The Santa Barbara Harbor is one of the strongest economic drivers in the city.   It is estimated the annual fishing sales worldwide contributes $30-million to the local economy and beyond.    Millions of pounds of fish are brought in each year for local sales and distribution to other areas.

Waterfront Information Officer Chris Bell says, "It is  a great economic impact."

There are several distribution points from the daily and weekly haul from the commercial fishing industry.
"The seafood product from here goes worldwide. A large chunk of lobster goes to China," said Bell. Urchins often go to Japan.

Many in the fishing industry sell regularly on Saturday mornings in a popular market and that will be part of the larger festival taking place throughout the harbor. Fisherman Paul Teall said, "it's an opportunity to get the healthiest food you can possibly find fresh off the boat and talked to the guy that  caught it."

 Those looking for a taste of the harbor will find fish tacos, oysters, mussels, barbequed albacore, clam chowder, and seafood paella.

"We have live crab, live lobsters there's fresh fish. We have a special where we sell fresh shellfish to the public here on the pier and they have them cooked and then they can walk away with them, sit at a table and comfortably eat their crabs and drink a beer." said Teall.

Representatives from the City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Department, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, Inc., and the Santa Barbara Harbor Merchants’ Association, The Harbor Patrol, The U.S. Coast Guard and various community partners and volunteers will be on hand to meet the public.

"The Harbor Patrol will do a few demonstrations which is always fun.  It is quite the display," said Bell. There will be some free boat rides and a close up with research vessels.

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will also be open to the public for a discounted fee.

 The festival takes place from 10  a.m.to 5 p.m. and it is free.

Visit HarborFestival for more details.