Monterey is set to sign leases on Wharf 2, hoping for a fishing industry comeback.

Famed for its fishing legacy, Monterey nowadays tends to eat someone’s else catch shipped in from elsewhere. A plan to revamp the city’s working waterfront could spell a comeback for local fishing, officials say.

“The fish are out there,” says Janna Aldrete, the city’s property manager, while looking out at Monterey Bay, “and we want to provide it to local restaurants. Just like farm-to-table, this would be ocean-to-table.”

The plan hinges on the city’s selection of tenants for long-term leases at the municipally owned commercial wharf, known as Wharf 2. On March 19, City Council heard presentations from several competing fishing interests, each touting their credentials and visions for the future. The council chamber was so packed with supporters of the prospective tenants that some members of the public had room only to stand.

In August, the city put out requests for proposals for two separate spaces on Wharf 2, with a deadline of Oct. 9. The larger space, which the RFP specified would be dedicated to groundfish buying and processing, drew two qualified proposals. The city hopes that this space will lead to local marketing of species like sablefish, Petrale sole, lingcod and rockfish. The other space, which would allow for wetfish offloading – think squid, anchovies and sardines – received three proposals.

The applicants include several longtime family-run fishing companies, like the Pennisi family’s Royal Seafoods, which has been occupying the two Wharf 2 spaces; partnering with Alaska-based Silver Bay Seafoods, they have a pending application for the wetfish space. Also in contention are Del Mar Seafoods, a Watsonville-based squid stalwart, in partnership with Moss Landing-based Real Good Fish, and Camarillo-based Southern Cal Seafoods, which submitted proposals for both the wetfish and groundfish facilities. The other contender for the groundfish space is Morgan Hill-based Lusamerica Foods, which is run by Monterey’s Frederico family.

City Council could reach a decision as soon as April 2, when they are scheduled to meet in closed session. City staff have already delivered a recommendation on which applicants to select, Aldrete says, but that information is not being released publicly because it is part of a real estate negotiation.

For years, Wharf 2 has languished in disrepair, operating mostly as a market for fish from elsewhere, a seasonal squid offloading station and a farmed abalone stand. Much of the wharf is vacant, and a considerable portion is used for storage. In the 1980s and ’90s, overfishing decimated many local fish stocks.

In 2000, the federal government responded and put the brakes on the industry, or what was left of it, with stricter regulation.

Due to the recovery of West Coast fisheries since then, a revival in commercial fishing is underway, and Monterey wants a piece of the action.

Hoping to guide the city toward a bright fishing future is Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, a nonprofit formed in 2014 to corral expertise, capital and community goodwill. “Everyone in this room would like to see local restaurants and markets filled with local sustainable seafood,” Sherry Flumerfelt, the executive director of the Trust, told council. “So I really hope that whichever tenants end up taking that space will really help work with all the community partners.”