Japanese abalone fishermen, first arrived in Monterey in the mid-1890s, they began commercially harvesting abalone, primarily for markets in Japan. Those first divers, were known as ama and dove into the cold waters of Monterey Bay in nothing but thin cotton outfits, and a pair of goggles. Because there is about a 15-degree colder water temperature difference between Monterey Bay and Japan, this proved to be challenging! In less than a year of arriving, they began to import helmet technology with heavy canvas suits and brass helmets.
In the spring of 1908, A German restaurateur named, “Pop” Ernest Doelter created the abalone steak in his Monterey restaurant. This invention transformed something once described as “like eating a rubber boot” into an international epicurean delight and creating a whole new market. In 1916, over 600,000 pounds of red abalone were unloaded at the Monterey Wharf.

By 1929, the California abalone industry was generating close to a million dollars in revenue, of which 75 percent came out of Monterey Bay. Monterey had become the true abalone capitol of the world.

Tim Thomas, fourth-generation native of the Monterey area, is a fisheries historian who has researched the fisheries of Monterey Bay for over twenty-five years. He has researched, written and lectured extensively on Monterey’s fishing communities and for sixteen years was the Historian/Curator for the Monterey Maritime Museum. Tim is the co-author of Monterey’s Waterfront, published in 2006, author of the Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula, published in 2010 and author of The Abalone King of Monterey: “Pop” Ernest Doelter, Pioneering Japanese Fishermen & The Culinary Classic that Saved an Industry, published in 2014.He is Project Director and Editor of the J.B. Phillips Historical Fisheries Report. A project that produces lectures, symposia’s and a publication that focus on the history, the science, the people and the status of the fisheries of the Monterey Bay.Tim is also the historical consultant for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and has worked and developed programs for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and California State Parks. Tim has been featured on PBS, BBC and on C-span. He is also on the board of directors of the Monterey Japanese American Citizens League and curator of Japanese American Heritage Center. He has traveled and lectured extensively on the Monterey Japanese community both here and in Japan. In 2008 Tim was the guest curator for the exhibit "Abalone as Food and Beauty" at the Awa Museum in Tateyama

Maritime Education for Students of the Sea (MESS)

The MESS (Maritime Education for Students of the Sea) are informal lunchtime lectures meant to showcase a wide array of maritime knowledge, research and skills. Subjects in the past have included shipwreck survival, Louise Boyd: Arctic explorer, rope walks and maritime fine arts. Lectures usually last around 40 minutes with time for questions afterwards.

The MESS lectures seek to amplify new voices, honor experience and respect the diversity of maritime culture. Each lecture is live broadcasted from this webpage and available for viewing. The MESS lectures are sponsored by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association to help showcase the collection of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

The ongoing lecture series takes place on the last Thursday of every month at 11AM (PST).

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Closed Captioning is available here.

MESS Library Lecture: Next Date TBA