Pacifica Pier
Encyclopedia
Pacifica Pier is a fishing
pier
in Pacifica
, in western San Mateo County, California
. The L shaped pier spans out into the Pacific Ocean
for a quarter mile from the City of Pacifica. Its official name is the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pacifica Pier.
The pier has been closed on occasion for both repairs (1993) and during high surf.
, its primary purpose has been for fishing. The pier is famous for salmon runs where hundreds of salmon are caught in a single day. When this occurs there is a frenzy of activity where every available space is used to catch fish and hundreds of anglers are fishing shoulder to shoulder.
Other Recreation
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
in Pacifica
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...
, in western San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
. The L shaped pier spans out into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
for a quarter mile from the City of Pacifica. Its official name is the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pacifica Pier.
History
The quarter mile pier was built in 1973 as part of the city of Pacifica's sewer system. It carries a 28 inches (711.2 mm) pipe that continues one quarter mile offshore through which sewage was pumped into the Pacific Ocean. This ended with the creation of a new water treatment facility in 2004.The pier has been closed on occasion for both repairs (1993) and during high surf.
- Funding Sources
- The pier was built as a cooperative development of the City of Pacifica, the Wildlife Conservation Board and the California Department of Fish and Game.
- The Pacifica Pier municipal Pier Repair Project is funded in part by a grant from the state Coastal Conservancy.
- The Pier is operated by the Department of Parks, Beaches and Recreation of the city of Pacifica, CA
Fishing
Since the pier was no longer being used to pump wastewater into the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, its primary purpose has been for fishing. The pier is famous for salmon runs where hundreds of salmon are caught in a single day. When this occurs there is a frenzy of activity where every available space is used to catch fish and hundreds of anglers are fishing shoulder to shoulder.
- Primary species caught at the pier
- Jack SmeltSilverside (fish)The Old World silversides are a family, Atherinidae, of fish in the order Atheriniformes. They occur worldwide in tropical and temperate waters...
- White croakerWhite croakerWhite croaker is a species of croaker occurring in the Eastern Pacific. White croakers have been taken from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but are not abundant north of San Francisco. White croakers swim in loose schools at or near the bottom of sandy areas...
- Dungeness CrabDungeness crabThe Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister , is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America. It typically grows to across the carapace and is a popular seafood...
- SalmonSalmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
- Striped BassStriped bassThe striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
- Jack Smelt
Other Recreation
- The pier is a good place from which to view whales during their biannual migrationFish migrationMany types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...
.