Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Troli.
Ryan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was working as a Captain for a charter company in Dana Point Harbor. One of the tough parts about working in the charter industry is that work is seasonal, with summer months being the busiest. The fall, winter, and spring are very slow. I realized after completing my first year captaining boats that I would need to supplement work elsewhere. Given that my work was on boats I spent a lot of time in the harbor and on the water. I saw a lot of commercial fishing taking place, especially offshore when taking my charter groups to target Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna. I witnessed some things that I really didn’t think made sense. For instance, the majority of the commercial fishing I saw first hand was big purse seine boats netting up large schools of these tuna. I started doing a little research on commercial fishing and found that the majority of commercial fishing being done in California was large scale involving nets, traps, or long lines, and a large majority of that fish wasn’t making it to our restaurants. With the major farm to table movement going on in the restaurant industry, and the boom of craft everything I thought up an idea for a company that would be focused on sustainable harvesting practices that would also sell fish directly to our local restaurants. The idea was to directly connect commercial fisherman with local buyers. This would allow restaurants to get fish on their menus faster, which equals a fresher product, but would also give them the most sustainably harvested fish possible. In the beginning of 2016 I started drafting up a business plan for Harbor Fish Company.
I purchased all the necessary licensing I needed, built a website, and got a jump on the social media platforms. In the beginning, it was slow. The reaction I received from a lot of restaurants was not what I expected. For the first two months or so I was rejected by every restaurant I met or spoke with. In May of 2016, I was dining at Craft House in Dana Point and had the opportunity of meeting the Chef/ Proprietor Blake Mellgren. Blake was the first person who gave us a shot. Just a month later we made our first sale to Craft House. We sold them a Yellowtail caught the same day, brought in by a boat located 5 minutes from the restaurant.
Throughout year one, we continued to push our products, and focus on growing our clientele. We received tons of support from the restaurants we were working with, and a man named Paddy Glennon who opened our doors wide open at the end of our first year. Paddy deserves a lot of credit. We would not be here today without the support we received. We are currently operating a full seven days week, providing locally harvested rod and reel caught fish to several restaurants in our direct and surrounding area… We currently have seven boats operating, and seven different captains running those boats.
Has it been a smooth road?
Building clientele has been a challenge. Getting through to restaurants, or chefs to explain what we are doing is very challenging. I understand it though. They are bombarded by sales calls daily so getting a response or message back is very unlikely. The most difficult part of this business is getting the message in front of potentially new restaurants about our system and the difference it makes. For example, we receive a response from 1 out 20 restaurants we contact.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Harbor Fish Company is a business that connects locally harvested rod and reel caught fish to local restaurants. As the owner/operator of a small business, I have several areas I am responsible for. There are tasks on the fishing side of the business, and the sales side. For one, I fish. Most weeks I still find myself out fishing 2-4 of the days. Due to the business growing, and the number of guys I have fishing I’ve cut back on my role as a fisherman in order to manage the business on land. My responsibilities include: communicating with fishermen, communicating with buyers, sales, accounting, marketing, delivering, offloading boats, paying fisherman, invoicing buyers, etc. My role changes daily based on what the business needs.
What I am most proud about this company is our relationship we’ve developed between commercial fishermen and local buyers. It’s been really humbling to see the support and loyalty we have received from the people we work with. What normally would take days to get to restaurants, takes us hours. We might not be doing it the way that makes us the most money, but we are making a difference. Environmentally, and with regards to the quality restaurants are serving. I’m proud of the products we bring to the table.
I believe what sets us apart from other business in this industry is the quality of our products, and our ability to communicate with our buyers. We are rod and reel fishermen, fishing out of local harbors in Orange County. When it comes to our method of harvesting compared to others, we harvest one fish at time. What this allows us to do is put our entire focus and care into that single fish. This ensures that each fish is handled properly, and allows us to bring the best possible product to our buyers. It’s also the most sustainable method of harvesting you will find in the United States. Unlike large scale commercial fishing methods, we harvest pounds compared to tons. On the topic of by-catch, we are able to release any by-catch unharmed back into the ocean. Due to the fact that we are so small scale we can communicate to our buyers either through me, or directly from the boat the moment we have a fish on board. This allows our buyers to know exactly when a fish was caught, and have an idea of what type of fish they will need to plan for. Our goal with our buyers is ensure they have information as if they were working on the boats with us.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe LA/Orange County is a great place for this type of business. We have access to our coastline, and more importantly harbors where boats are fishing daily. This is vital to bringing restaurants the freshest possible product.
We live in an area with great restaurants and very talented chefs. A lot of these restaurants are seeking out small artisan type businesses that can help them make a difference. Chefs and restaurants are always seeking out the freshest products, and if you can provide them with those and have a sustainability factor to go along with it you have a great opportunity at getting their attention.
Understanding your customers clientele is also an important area. I believe that here in LA/Orange County we have some of the most conscience buyers in the world. People want to know where and how their food got on their plate. Understanding this type of buyer is important for our business. There has to be a demand from the people who are the ultimate consumer. Without this we would have no business. I truly see that the consumer in our area is very progressive, and that is a very good thing for this type of business. It’s important to get your information in front of people who share this value.
Contact Info:
- Website: HarborFishCo.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/harborfishcompany
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/harborfishco
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