Remembering the L.A. Retail Fish Association

Nov. 27, 2024 • Chelsea Shi-Chao Liu

Sixty years ago to this day, twenty-one fishmen posed with their trucks along the wharf of San Pedro Harbor for a dramatic, panoramic photo, captured by Jack Iwata. The men were members of the Los Angeles Retail Fish Association, a.k.a. the Los Angeles Japanese Fish Peddlers Association, an important but little-known organization formed in the early 1960s by Nikkei fish truck operators: drivers who delivered fresh seafood, mochi, rice, tofu, candies, and other Japanese treats to the doors of Nikkei …