Something fishy is moving from the Woodley Island Marina's docks across the bay to Eureka's Madaket Plaza, where Humboldt County will have its first fisher's market, starting in May or June.Ashley Vellis, owner of Ashley's Seafood, has been brewing up the idea of a local fish market since late 2019 and is now partnering with the North Coast Grower's Association to organize it, currently working on fundraising to make the new addition to Eureka's waterfront a reality.Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery says he hopes the market will be similar to other events held in Eureka, like Art's Alive and Friday Night Markets, which have been successful in bringing more people into the city."I think it's something our community has been missing for a long time," says Slattery. "We're very supportive of our commercial fishing industry and I think it'll be a good thing."Taking inspiration from dockside markets in Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco, Vellis says that she wants to make it more accessible for people to purchase seafood directly from the source. The vision is that local fishers will have stalls to sell their latest and freshest catch. Residents will then be able to take their fish to be filleted, or gutted and gilled at a processing station on site, before heading home with fish ready to cook. Currently, the plan is for the market to be open every other Saturday through October, when boats begin preparing for the crabbing season.Keep Reading
