New fish in town

Distributor to also operate a fish market

“We Americans have to eat more fish,” says Marcos Won as he points to a locally caught rockfish at Top Blue Marine. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

So it is with hagfish, one of the main exports of Top Blue Marine, a fish exportation business and fish market opening soon in Crescent City.

“Asia demands a lot of fish, and there’s a lot of fish that Americans don’t even touch,” said Marcos Won, CEO of Top Blue Marine.

Hagfish, an eel-like, bottom-feeding fish found in deep, cold waters, are plentiful on the North Coast and much less regulated here than in Asia, where they are popular cuisine — fried, barbecued or as sushi.

One local employee said he’s developed a taste for them off the grill.

Top Blue Marine will keep the slimy creatures alive until they reach their destinations in South Korea, Japan and China. Won said he has been selling live fish for more than 30 years.

Hagfish will be far from the only fresh offering at Top Blue Marine’s fish market, Won said. Working with local fishermen, Won plans on selling a variety, including skate, lingcod, black cod, rockfish, spider crabs and even shipped-in oysters from Humboldt Bay.

He hopes to open the market around the first of next year.

“We Americans have to eat more fish over some of these red meats,” Won said. “We’re selling a product that’s very healthy.”

Once 2 tons of hagfish are collected, they’ll be trucked to Portland or San Francisco for shipping to South Korea, Japan and China. They’ll also be sold locally. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

“Hopefully this aquarium tub is going to bring a lot of tourists out here,” Won said. “They’ll be curious to see what local fish are out there.”

Top Blue Marine is on Front Street in the old Surfside Grill and Brewery building, which is owned by the Small Business Administration and the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority.

Won has made an offer to buy the building for $350,000, giving the Tri-Agency a chance to recoup some of its $130,000 invested in the building, although most of it would go to the SBA, which is the principal lender, said Bill Renfroe, executive director of the Tri-Agency.

Before purchasing, however, Top Blue Marine has to get past these first few months. The city Planning Commission only granted a temporary use permit to evaluate how the business suits the building.

Planning Commissioner Rick Nolan preferred a temporary use permit based on the company’s problems with the city of Toledo, Ore., where it had a similar operation.

The city of Toledo revoked the owners’ business license for having sporadic fish market hours and an incident where fish-related  wastewater ran off the property.

“The thing was just in the wrong place,” said Toledo City Councilwoman Jill Lyon. “If he would have been in a light industrial area, I don’t think any of the problems would have occurred.”

Despite the issues in Toledo, the Crescent City Planning Commission was willing to take a chance.

“One of things in town that people have always expressed an interest in, is a fish market for a town on the ocean, and we’ve always struggled in having that,” Nolan said.

Toledo wasn’t welcoming to outsiders, Won said, and he’s happy to be in Crescent City where he thinks the weather is better.

He hopes to “educate the American consumer” on different types of edible fish that are not commonly consumed here — like hagfish.

Local fishermen generally don’t seek hagfish, and some curse them for getting inside bigger fish, thus spoiling that catch.

Top Blue Marine’s main market for hagfish is South Korea, where they are considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. They are caught with 5-gallon buckets modified so “the hags come in, but they can’t get out,” Won said.

The hagfish are then stored in large tubs, where the temperature and salinity is frequently checked to keep them alive. Workers clean out a mucus-like slime that the fish excrete when agitated.  Some scientists believe the slime is a defense mechanism that blocks predators’ gills.

Once they have 2 tons of large hagfish, the fish will be trucked to San Francisco or Portland then flown to their Asian market — still alive.

“A lot of people are used to fresh fish and don't go back,” Won said.  “Nothing else is ever going to taste like fresh."

Hmong residents of Del Norte have told Won they drive to Sacramento for their fresh fish, Won said.

Won is already working with five outside fishing boat crews to catch hagfish and eventually stock the fish market with a variety of fish.

Top Blue Marine is also hiring people for the fish market, shipping, and to work the boats.

Since the main markets are overseas, Won said the operation is bringing in new dollars to the United States.

“We’re not competing with anyone here, but generating new income for Crescent City,” Won said. “What we're doing is going to be good for the community for everybody.”