From Mike Nichols
Executive Tackle Charters
San Diego, CA
July 14th, 2007

I was told about Five Star about five years ago by one of the boat
Captains I use for local Charters, Ernie Prieto, MV "Chubasco II"
I am a local fisherman, I have fished and worked many boats from 1959
to the present. I have many friends in all walks of the fishing
industry. I am a Scientist by trade but I have been a rod maker and charter
master as a side job to fund my some 78 long range trips over the past
45 yrs. I have used a work associate who has a fish processing
business locally. He is a friend and does pretty good work. However,
I have been disappointed in his results in the last few years. Bags
not sealed well, lost fish, fish spoiling quickly, etc. I therefore decided to
try Ernie's friend Andy's "Five Star". Well, what a refreshing change.
Hard working, very sweet folks, especially the great duo of Sara and Melanie.
They have always been absolutely super helpful, and very courteous to smelly
old fishermen (including this old fisherman!) The girls are so refreshing and
competent, a great greeting party for us when we get off the boat.
Their wonderful smiling faces and get it done attitude are really
appreciated after a long trip.
Best part is the resulting packaged fish. The condition of the fish is
excellent, especially since the advent of RSW on the boats.
2 years ago I caught some Bluefin and had Five Star process it. My
little woman hasn't liked Bluefin in the past, she thought it was
"fishy" tasting. Well, this time when I B B Q'd it, when wanted to
know what was this "incredible" tasting fish? When I told her
Bluefin, she said, " Wow, I'm not giving any of this to the neighbors!!"
And she was right. In June this year, we found some Bluefin still left in our
freezer from last year's catch, processed by Five Star. It had no freezer
burn because of the quality packaging. We tried it, it was very good.
Hard to believe it lasted that long. A testament to the attention to detail
while packaging, by Five Star.

I would like to thank Melanie personally for her assistance to me after
I returned from my 7 day on the Q-105, june 16, '07. I was hurting
badly due to severe Lumbar disc degeneration and Spondylolisthesis
(displacement of a vertebra out of the spine line). This condition
requires surgery, the pain that day was severe. Melanie moved all of my fish, weighed
them, and I didn't have to move an inch, just pay, sign, and go home.
When I picked up my fish later, Sara and Melanie loaded the fish in my
coolers and muscled the coolers into my vehicle. Not just pretty faces, strong too!!

My thanks to Andy and the girls for putting in that extra effort for
me, while I'm on the DL.

If you need a reference, ask anyone to call me at my business #
858.509.1242.

Bill Davis
Reston Virginia
April 2007

Dear Sirs,

I received a fish order earlier this week at IAD airport and wanted to
send a great big thank you to your staff especially Melanie. From the start
she provided me with regular updates and complete information on when,
where and how my fish was being handled. If I had known how economical and
easy your crew was going to make the whole process I would have shipped home
three times as much fish and given it away to my friends and
co-workers.

I've grilled Tuna and Wahoo for my neighbors and family this week. It's
delicious and I look forward to enjoying it for the next couple of
months.

You provide a great quality product, great service, and skilled
communicative people - a rare combination indeed.

Thank you!

Hidetaro Kashima
Chicago, IL
October 2005

"I wanted to drop a letter to thank you for the excellent job that you and your staff have done in delivering my fish. I have been using your company for the last three years and have always been impressed with your product. This year, however, I was a bit concerned b/c I needed my fish to be delivered to Chicago, IL. My anxieties were due to the fact that I had never had fish shipped trhough air cargo. But, like you've always done before, I received my fish as promised and in perfect condition.

Andy, I just finished eating my Ahi and I must tell you that it was "ono" (Hawaiian for "delicious"). Thanks again for a great job, and I look forward to seeing you again next year after my long range trip."

Gary Goerz
June 2003

"I caught my first albacore in 1969. I have no idea how many tuna I have caught since. The June 6th trip on the Royal Star was my ninth long range trip.

I have to admit that I viewed your new fresh fish processing procedure with a healthy amount of skepticism. However we caught so many albacore that I had nothing at risk to try the new process. Five Star delivered the results this morning and we had it for dinner tonight.

I have never tasted albacore like this. I had wondered with all the fish we caught what I was going to do with it all. Now I know. Hoard it!

Congratulations on the new method. Those sushi chefs really do know what they are doing. Thank you.

PS: Do with this note as you wish. If anyone questins that this note was unsolicited have them give me a call."

Refrigerated Salt-Water Storage Serving Up Fresher Fish; New Process Benefits Anglers
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Bill Roecker

FAMILY TRADITION - Three generations of Seraspes can be found at Five-Star Processing: Grandad Lauro, son Andy, and six-year-old grandson Charlie.
Photo by: Bill Roecker
What may be the biggest change in five or 10 years has come to San Diego’s sportfishing industry, and the beneficiary is the angler.

Fresh-caught tuna, yellowtail, dorado, and other species can now stay that way for as long as a week instead of being frozen hard as a nail in a brine-spray tank. For most of us, fresh equals better. Added to the fresh equation is a new fish processor, specializing in fresh fish.

“This is huge,” sportboat skipper Tim Ekstrom said. “This is a far better grade of fish to take home. This will make a difference. We learned how to do it [on the Royal Star] when we were in Panama.”

What’s huge is RSW, or refrigerated salt water fish holds. RSW has already changed the way the long- range fleet goes about keeping fish and will likely affect the day and charter fleets as well. It isn’t new, but it’s an idea whose time has come. RSW is almost as old as California commercial fishing.

Here’s how the whole approach to RSW works on the Royal Star, which has been employing the method longest.

After the “fresh tank” has been readied (it usually serves as a live-bait container on the way to the fishing grounds), rubber mats are placed over the stern deck, where most fishing takes place. The mats cushion the fall of the fish, preventing bruising. The rubber also cushions the feet of the anglers, who say they like the improved comfort and footing.

Fishing begins, and tuna or other species are gaffed aboard on the mat and humanely dispatched with a brain spike to prevent thrashing. Then they’re gilled, gutted, and put down gently into the fresh tank. The chilled seawater in there keeps them at 29-to-32 degrees.

Back at port, the fish are unloaded (again, gently) into slush ice bins that the new Five Star Fish Processing team brings to the dock. The bins are rolled up to the truck, and they go to the nearby plant at 2836 Sherman.

Anglers can accompany their fish to the plant, where a lounge with TV and a stereo system, creature comforts, and a viewing window into the cutting room await.

Anglers relax; the fish go from bin to cutting table, then the vacuum-packer in a few hours at most. Then the processed fish is claimed, stowed, and packed off on ice by the anglers who caught the fish. They take it home and eat, can, or freeze it.

RSW is also changing the way fish are processed. A local family of commercial fishermen and their state-of-the-art packing plant is changing the way sportfishermen and long-range anglers keep and eat their fresh tuna, wahoo, and yellowtail.

Three generations of fishing Seraspes can be found almost any day at Five-Star Fish Processing, on the corner of Sherman and Pickett, near Rosecrans Boulevard and I-5. Granddad Lauro Seraspe put in some 50 years as a commercial fisherman and now works a little for his son Andy Seraspe, one of the company’s two owners.

Andy Seraspe also had a career as a commercial fisherman, specializing in crab, shrimp, and lobster. Andy’s boy Charlie is only six, but he likes working with his dad and can already do some chores, like pack and rack the smoked fish. He likes fishing too.

The three Seraspes were all in the plant recently, after putting in a morning at Fisherman’s Landing, taking on tuna and yellowtail for processing.

With Andy’s partner David Fosbinder, an ex-roadie who now runs the office, the plant was fully staffed, except for a couple of professional fish cutters.

Processing is what the business is all about. Working with never-frozen fish from chilled seawater holds on sportfishing boats isn’t new. It’s been around for years on the East Coast and on some Southern California day boats. But the application is, um, fresh.

Anglers who don’t want to wait for processing can have their fish shipped, said Andy Saraspe. “We can cut and wrap,” he said, “and pack and ship fresh or smoked fish by air or ground.

“We don’t sell fish,” he emphasized. “We only do processing. If it needs to be frozen, we have a freezer room at 15 degrees. We have a refer room that keeps fish at 32 degrees. Our smoker handles up to 300 pounds of finished product, after we put in 600 pounds of fresh.

“It’s a state-of-the-art smoker, a Koch. We have over 5,000 square feet of space here, with the truck bay and the cutting room and upstairs storage,” he said.

Andy Saraspe may be a lucky fisherman. He not only has a clean, nicely and cleverly appointed processing plant and a loving family, but also he has a great notion.

The idea to put better fish on the plates of long-range fishermen seems likely to find a permanent place in the hearts of the same anglers. After all, they enjoy the best fishing the world has to offer. Why wouldn’t they want the best fish to eat?

It should be pointed out that the other fish-packing services permitted to operate at the sportfishing landings are also offering same-day services.

Anglers and sportboat owner-operators alike are giving RSW fish high endorsement.

“I ate some bluefin from the fresh tank, and it was unbelievable,” said Royal Star angler Jim Barber Aug. 23 at Fisherman’s Landing. He was just off a six-day trip with skipper Tim Ekstrom.

“My wife said, ‘Don’t give away any more bluefin.’ And boy, is it easier to process at home! It even freezes better.”

Writing aboard his Royal Polaris on a five-day trip skipper Frank LoPreste made recently noted, “The day started off on the slow side; however, we did have some very good fishing in the afternoon. Our passengers caught plenty of albacore in the 25- to 40-pound class. We hooked a couple of the larger bluefin tuna but managed to catch only a 40-pounder.

“This is also our first trip doing the refrigerated salt-water fish, for those who want to take some fresh fish home,” he said. “Some of you might have noticed that we now have a carpeted deck so that your fish don't get beat up and will stay in beautiful condition. We are planning on having our RSW system working perfectly next season. Meanwhile, we have the highest praise for Randy and Tim of the Royal Star for innovating a system which is the best thing that has happened to this industry in many years.”

Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates said, “We just ran the fresh [RSW] tank. The fish comes out so nice we’ll run all of our short trips for fresh fish exclusively from now on.”

Judging by the speed of the “fresh” concept’s acceptance, next summer season may see as much as half the long-range fleet’s catch come dockside in pristine culinary condition: no thawing; just cook and eat.

Five Star Fish Processing

3826 Sherman Street * San Diego, CA 92110 * 619-299-9996

fivestarfishprocessingservices@yahoo.com