It’s not accurate to call Catalina Offshore Products a secret. The local seafood purveyor has been in business for more than 25 years, and during that time it’s grown to be one of the largest seafood import and export companies in California. Still, for many reasons, it feels like a hidden gem. First there’s its location – tucked away in the industrial enclave west of Morena Boulevard, near the southern end. You’d never find it unless you were trying. Indeed wholesalers and restaurants make up the bulk of Catalina’s customers. Walk in the front doors, and there’s no sign of any retail operation. It feels like you’ve intruded upon an office (albeit one scented with the briny aroma of fresh fish.) But if Catalina doesn’t cater to retail consumers, it does sell to them. Put on a gauzy hairnet, and an employee will lead you back through hallways and other offices, into the bustling warehouse.
Here too there 
are no glass-fronted display cases. Instead your guide might take you into one of the coolers or lead you to chilled bins to show you what’s fresh. When I did this yesterday with a few friends who’d never been there before, we were shown glistening piles of grouper in 2 basics sizes — huge and substantial. We asked for a couple of the latter and were also tempted by the sushi-grade yellowtail, which tasted fresh and buttery when we sliced it into sashimi several hours later. We also swooned over the sea urchin roe (uni), which is Catalina’s biggest product. Company founder Dave Rudie started as a local urchin diver back in the late 1970s, and in the early days he sold the orange delicacy to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Today San Diego sushi restaurants consume most of the product, which is famous for its taste and quality.
I’ve visited the Tsukiji Market twice, and it makes me a little sad that we have nothing like it in the U.S. On the other hand, I realize that a staggering profusion of maritime bounty comes at a high environmental cost. In contrast, the team at Catalina has long been committed to sustainable practices. And if the choices are much more limited than what you see at Tsukiji, the simple facilities and freshness of th
e products makes them feel like kindred operations. If there’s a better source for San Diego seafood, I’m not aware of it.
Although most of its products come from fishermen in San Diego and Baja California, Catalina also offers frozen items from farther afield. One way to get an idea what’s available is from the website: http://www.catalinaop.com. Another is just to walk in; the address is 5202 Lovelock Street. Walk-in hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
