Pacifica Pier is a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

in Pacifica, in western

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. The L-shaped pier spans out into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

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 pipe that continues one quarter mile offshore through which treated wastewater 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, California

Fishing

Since 2004, the pier's primary purpose has been for fishing and crabbing. 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: File:Jack Silverside.jpg,

Jacksmelt ''Atherinopsis californiensis'', the jack silverside or jacksmelt,Leo PinkasCalifornia Marine Fish Landings For 1972 and Designated Common Names of Certain Marine Organisms of California fish bulletin 161, Marine Resources Region, 1974 is a speci ...

File:Genyonemus lineatus mspc102.jpg,

White croaker White croaker (''Genyonemus lineatus'') is a species of croaker occurring in the Eastern Pacific. White croakers have been taken from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but are not abundant north of San Fra ...

File:Morone saxatilis SI2.jpg,

Striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

File:OncorhynchusTschawytscha2.jpg,

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...

File:Dungeness Crab - Flickr - brewbooks.jpg,

Dungeness crab The Dungeness crab (''Metacarcinus magister'') makes up one of the most important seafood industries along the west coast of North America. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, Califo ...

Other Recreation

*The pier is a good place from which to view

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

during their biannual

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

External links

official Pacifica Pier websiteQuickTime panorama of the pier.
{{Authority control Piers in California Pacifica, California Parks in San Mateo County, California Transportation buildings and structures in San Mateo County, California Fishing piers