Fast Facts: Tuna Fishing in Little Italy

SAN DIEGO一 Walking through Little Italy, located in Downtown San Diego, there is a series of murals hung on walls and fences depicting the history of fishing and canaries in Little Italy. The murals are painted with bright colors and soft lines that give a simplistic view of the fishing industry throughout the 20th century. The murals take you step-by-step beginning with a 1900 Italian fishing boat looking for tuna off the coast of San Diego to the late 1950’s modern purse seiner that began to replace bait boats in the area. In 2018 the Log wrote an article about San Diego, and the birth of tuna fisheries. In response to that article, a gentleman reached out and asked about the Italian and Sicilian fishermen that participated in the industry. In the 2018 article, it was noted that the fishing industry in San Diego can be traced back to 1903 when a sardine packer in San Pedro began canning albacore and the positive feedback from consumers led to fishing fleets in San Diego and San Pedro. The industry became popular with consumers and became the third-largest industry in San Diego. By the mid-1930s canneries employed over 1,000 people. By the 1920s, Little Italy had attracted over...