The Bay Area is blessed with some of the freshest, most extraordinary seafood in the country—and just about any time of the year locals can enjoy the luxury of a truly fresh catch.

The best purveyors of seafood know how every fish is caught, prioritizing trap-caught, hook-and-line or “top-of-the-trip” fish—the freshest portion of a vessel’s haul. Knowing each captain ensures transparency, quality and respect for the sea.

But sourcing in the Bay Area isn’t as simple as casting a net anytime. “We don’t rely solely on local fisheries, as that would be very limited in selection and availability,” says Mike Weinberg-Lynn of Osprey Seafood in Napa. “There are many days and even weeks when there is no local fish due to closures or weather,” or migration patterns. To supplement the local catch, he reaches out to other fisheries.

That’s why relationships matter. Kenny Belov, coowner of Fish restaurant in Sausalito and wholesaler TwoXSea, works directly with small-boat fishers like Tony Largo and Marshall Korss in Marin, and Dungeness crabber Christian Cavanaugh of the Chasin’ Crustacean. When local waters go quiet, they turn to trusted partners farther north—like Dustin and Evie Dickerson in Homer, Alaska, who supply Pacific cod, and Matt Laurie in Sitka, whose coho salmon is pressurebled and flash-frozen within minutes of the catch.

We hooked some of the most recognized seafood purveyors in the Bay Area and plied them with questions about keeping the Bay Area’s seafood scene vibrant—forging connections between ocean, land and community.

FISH & TWOXSEA

Bill Foss and Kenny Belov opened Fish in Sausalito in April 2004 with the goal of creating a restaurant centered on a single protein: seafood. Early on, they discovered that most wholesalers couldn’t say how fish were caught or even name the fisherpeople who caught them. They began sourcing directly from locals and eventually purchased their own boat. By 2008, the partners launched a wholesale company—TwoXSea, based on Pier 45 at Fishermen’s Wharf in San Francisco—which connects chefs directly with sustainable fisheries, ensuring full transparency from boat to plate while empowering a more responsible seafood system.

The Catch: At the fish counter in the Sausalito restaurant is their signature plant- -fed, farm-raised McFarland Springs trout, in addition to Pacific rockfish, black cod, Dungeness crab, halibut, albacore tuna and other wild-caught species when in season.

350 Harbor Dr, Sausalito
331fish.com; shop.twoxsea.com

FISHETARIAN FISH MARKET

Fishetarian Fish Market was founded in 2012 by Dana and Shane Lucas. At the time, Dana was a new mother with an entrepreneurial spark and Shane had spent more than a decade selling seafood wholesale for North Coast Fisheries. They started small—with a simple menu of fish and chips, tacos and chowder. Within a year, demand grew, and so did their commitment to serving up sustainably sourced seafood. Fourteen years later, Fishetarian employs a team of 35 and is a beloved casual, community-focused coastal restaurant with an interior fish counter selling the local catch. All seafood is sourced from local waters whenever possible—or from trusted fisheries along the West Coast.

The Catch: Crab, oysters, prawns, clams, mussels, scallops, calamari and an array of local fish such as salmon, petrale sole, halibut, black cod and rockfish.

599 CA-1, Bodega Bay
fishetarianfishmarket.com

HOG ISLAND OYSTER CO.

Founded in 1983 by three marine biologists with a five-acre shellfish lease in Tomales Bay, Hog Island Oyster Co. has grown into one of the country’s premier producers of certified sustainable shellfish. Today, founders John Finger and Terry Sawyer oversee 250 acres across Tomales and Humboldt Bays, harvesting over five million oysters and Manila clams each year. Hog Island has six restaurant locations throughout the Bay Area.

The Catch: Hog Island Sweetwaters, Highwaters, Earthquake Bays, Atlantics, Kumamotos, French Hogs and Olympias, along with Manila clams. Also, Mediterranean mussels, red abalone, spot prawns, Monterey Bay squid, California spiny lobster, Dungeness crab and local finfish such as halibut, rockfish and lingcod.

Purchase oysters to-go at any of Hog Island’s six restaurant locations in the Bay Area, or visit their Marshall farm’s General Store and Hog Shack (20215 Shoreline Hwy, Marshall) or Petaluma Pickup Window (419 1st St, Ste B, Petaluma). hogislandoysters.com

OSPREY SEAFOOD

Founded in 1977 by Peter Bird, who aimed to bring the highest-quality East Coast fish to the West (at the time, most seafood shipped cross-country arrived in questionable condition). Current owner Mike Weinberg-Lynn met Bird while living in Haight-Ashbury. Weinberg-Lynn, needed a job badly, and Bird offered to let him drive the delivery truck. “I fell in love with the business from the very start,” says Weinberg- Lynn, who eventually became Bird’s partner and then the sole owner in 1989. Today, he and his brother Pat run Osprey’s Napa retail shop on Wine Country Avenue.

The Catch: Most of Osprey’s fish is sourced directly from local or East Coast fishers, with the selection changing based on what’s brought in fresh each day.

1014 Wine Country Ave, Napa
ospreyseafood.com

SANTA ROSA SEAFOOD

Santa Rosa Seafood has been open since 2002, founded by the late Michael Svedise, who began boating in 1976. His three sons—Salvatore, Nicholas and Joseph— have carried his legacy and continue to provide fresh and local seafood. Their catch is offered at local farmers markets— San Rafael, Calistoga, Windsor, Alamo, Santa Rosa, Napa and St. Helena—and they own four boats that operate out of Bodega Bay and the Sonoma County coastline. “Our mission is to uplift other businesses supporting us and have our father’s hard-earned business known,” says Salvatore Svedise.

The Catch: Locally caught black cod, halibut, king salmon, and Dungeness crab, and sourcing of salmon, tuna, swordfish, wahoo, ono, mahi mahi, clams, mussels, and oysters.

946 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa
santarosaseafood.com

ANNA’S SEAFOOD

Founded in 2016 by third-generation fisherman Anna Svedise, Anna’s Seafood began in her aunt and uncle’s garage, where Anna hand-packed, smoked and filled every order. With roots in the Svedise San Francisco fishing family, she built the business to honor her family’s heritage. Local catches are sourced from Bodega Bay, Fort Bragg, Half Moon Bay, Eureka and San Diego, mostly from hook-and-line fishing. The company has since grown into a brick-and-mortar space in Petaluma, with a soon-to-open storefront in Santa Rosa.

The Catch: More than 200 seafood items, including Pacific wild king salmon, petrale sole, ahi and bluefin tuna, hamachi, rockfish, clams, oysters, uni, geoduck, spot prawns and scallops.

901 Lakeville St, Petaluma
Also available at Sausalito, Larkspur and Santa Rosa farmers’ markets.
shopannasseafood.com