Cutting Out the Red Tape is Always a Good Thing in Fishing and Investing

As we have seen with the rise of local farmer’s markets, Californians want fresh, local food direct from the source. And they don’t just want their produce this way; they want their seafood direct from the hands that catch it too. In the past, we haven’t really had the opportunity to have fishermen’s markets here in California because of the way the state laws were set up. Fishermen’s markets were not defined in state law or regulatory code and not included in the definition of “food facilities.”

The definition of “food preparation” did not allow fishermen to clean freshly caught fish for direct sales to the public. California Retail Food Code required each individual fisherman to have proper permits to sell their catch to the public and markets were not even allowed to have an open front. Because of this, it has been nearly impossible to organize fishermen’s markets and most fishermen have been forced to work through middlemen who take a cut of the profits. However, in October Governor Jerry Brown signed State Assembly Bill 226, nicknamed Pacific to Plate, to rectify that.

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About the Bill

The Pacific to Plate bill amends the current law and regulatory code to enable fishermen to set up markets to sell directly to the public and establishes and imposes food safety and sanitation requirements upon the market. These changes allow fishermen’s markets to operate as a type of nonpermanent food facility.

 A new chapter has been added to state law which specifies the operational requirements for such facilities. The market must be operated by a licensed commercial fisherman, a registered aquaculturist, or an entity representing California seafood producers. No longer does each individual vendor need to go through the arduous permitting process; it has been streamlined so that only one permit is required for the entire market. To get a permit, an application and site plan need to be submitted to the local enforcement agency at least two weeks prior to operation.

 A fishermen’s market can only sell raw fresh or fresh-frozen fish, legally caught by California-licensed commercial fishermen or harvested by California-registered aquaculturists. Previously, the law did not allow for fishermen to clean their fish for direct sale, but that has been updated as well. The evisceration of raw fresh fish has been exempted from the definition of food preparation.

Other changes Assembly Bill 226 makes to current law:

• Adds “edible aquatic plants” to the definition of fish

• Adds a definition for “fresh-frozen”

• Allows eviscerating fish as partial food preparation

• Allows shucking oysters as partial food preparation
• Whole or eviscerated raw fresh fish may be placed on ice while on display for sale

Food facilities selling whole fresh caught fish can have an open front, they no longer require full enclosure

 What It Means to You

The public wants fresh, sustainable seafood and they want to know where it comes from and how it is caught or harvested. The state legislature has heard them and with the Pacific to Plate bill has removed the barriers that have prevented this in the past. This is a great win for the public, but an even bigger win for fishermen. We are no longer required to have middlemen digging into our profits but are free to organize and sell directly to our consumers. This is an amazing opportunity that will bring greater transparency and profitability to the California seafood industry.

 How Does This Relate to Investing?

Just like the Pacific to Plate bill cuts out the middlemen allowing fishermen to retain more of their profits and consumers to enjoy a better lower cost product, I take a similar approach to investing. I cut out the unnecessary cost associated with big insurance companies or Wall St. brokerage firms and work directly with my clients.  By cutting out the red tape, we are able to provide a more personalized, lower cost portfolio management solution.

 We work with institutional money managers that provide access to the world’s investment markets through a Nobel Prize winning common sense approach. This approach has been utilized by many of the largest pension plans for years. Because of their size and buying power, they have always had access to the best providers at the lowest costs. Cutting out the red tape and providing access to efficient, logical, institutional class investing is what I do for my clients. Without commissions or unnecessary high transaction fees, you keep more of your money invested, allowing you to build wealth at a faster rate.

If you’re interested in learning more about my investment philosophy and how you can keep more of your hard-earned money for yourself, let’s set a time to get together. 

Have questions? Call our office at 949-481-1807 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Meet Rick

Over a 25-year career in financial services, Rick has helped hundreds of business and personal clients meet their investment goals by developing risk-efficient portfolio management strategies. He holds degrees in Economics and Psychology from the University of California, Irvine.

The water is Rick's second home: He and his family have been fishing Southern California and Baja going on four generations. In the 1940s, his grandmother worked at the Cannery Restaurant in Newport Beach—when it was an actual Albacore cannery. In the 1950s, his father was on the crew that built two of the boats still in service at Dana Wharf Sportfishing.

To schedule a complimentary wealth consultation or to get a second opinion on your financial plan, contact Sportfishing Financial today. To learn more about Rick, visit his website and connect with him on Facebook. To ask a question or get our list of upcoming fishing trips, call 949-481-1807 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..