Historic Cannery Row

While the majority of Monterey's commercial fishermen in the 1930s were Sicilian, about 10 percent of the fleet were Japanese nationals, some of whom has been fishing the bay since 1900. These Issei - first generation Japanese - came as single men from the Inland Sea coast of Honshu. In the early days of the cannery industry, the Issei were the principal suppliers of abalone and salmon. Ineligible for American citizenship, they encountered increasing social and regulatory discrimination. Many relocated to southern California. Some who remained formed cooperatives, fishing with half-ring and purse seiner boats, and earning wages based on shares of the catch.

The sardine season in Monterey ran from August to February and ranged from the Big Sur coast to San Francisco. The Issei fished at night, when they could see the phosphorescent glimmers on the schools of fishes below the water's surface. Since bright light prevented them from seeing those glimmers, they didn't fish during the full moon. Nor did they fish on Saturday nights in observance of the Sabbath. A number of Monterey Japanese were Presbyterians and formed their own church in 1925.

Active participation in the Monterey fishing industry ended for the Japanese at the outset of World War II, when their boats were impounded, and they were forcibly relocated to interment camps for the duration of the conflict.

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