California's commercial spiny lobster season opened October 7, 2026, and runs through March 17, 2027. That window covers Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. For those holidays, the lobster caught off our own coast can be bought from the people who trap it, on City Pier opposite Brophy's, every Saturday from 6 to 11 a.m.
The key is the preorder. Most of the lobster sold out of Central California comes from the Santa Barbara Channel and is exported live, and the fishermen who sell at the Saturday Fishermen's Market take orders ahead of time. So a phone call during the week is the most reliable way to keep a few of this harbor's lobsters in town for your table.
Where the harbor's lobster usually goes
The Santa Barbara Independent reported in April 2025 that most of the lobster sold out of Central California comes from the cold waters of the Santa Barbara Channel and is "exported live to Chinese markets." The paper cited California Fish & Wildlife figures for the year before: about 330,000 pounds landed at Santa Barbara Harbor by 45 fishers, worth roughly $7 million, in a statewide lobster business of $24.2 million.
That export trade is what the local fleet watches. In the same Independent article, Chris Voss, president of the Santa Barbara Commercial Fishermen, said lobster fishers were worried about what tariffs would do to the market once the season opened that October. The Saturday market works on a smaller and more direct scale. Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara calls it the harbor's "most direct-to-consumer interface" with the commercial fleet. Its selection follows the season, from rockfish and black cod to ridgeback shrimp, crab and lobster.
Five lobster sellers, each with a phone line
The market lists its current vendors along with what each one brings, and most of them take preorders. Five of them list California spiny lobster this season:
- Jace Kennedy: spiny lobster, crab and a variety of finfish, with abalone listed as coming soon.
- Joe Garrigan, Garrigan Seafood Co.: spiny lobster, California king salmon, rockfish, Kellet's whelks, and rock and spider crab. Preorders go through Joe and Melissa.
- Connor Streett, 805 Seafood: rockfish, halibut, spiny lobster, Kellet's whelks, rock and spider crab, and box crab.
- Ben Hyman, Wild Local Seafood Co.: spiny lobster, crab, whelks, groundfish, tuna and halibut, with king salmon listed as season pending.
- Matt Liso, Goodland Seafood: rock crab, rockfish and spiny lobster.
Preorder numbers are on the Saturday Fishermen's Market vendor page, and the market posts updates on its Instagram, @saturdayfishermensmarketsb. Catches change from week to week, so the vendor page and Instagram feed are where you'll see what's actually coming in. One stall works differently. Dom's Catch sells rock crab, spider crab, sole, halibut, octopus and Kellet's whelks, and its listing says it does not take preorders.
Which Saturday to plan around
The market runs every Saturday of the year, rain or shine, and skips only when Christmas falls on a Saturday. Christmas 2026 falls on a Friday, so the holiday calendar has no gaps. These are the Saturdays that line up with the season's big meals:
| Occasion | Market Saturday | Planning note |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26 | Nov. 21 | Call your vendor the week before |
| Christmas Eve and Christmas | Dec. 19 | The last market before the holiday |
| Day after Christmas | Dec. 26 | The market is open this year |
| New Year's Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31 | Dec. 26 | One Saturday covers both holidays |
| End of season, Wednesday, March 17, 2027 | March 13, 2027 | The last market of the lobster season |
The season dates come from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's 2026 commercial fishing calendar.
What else comes off the boats this winter
The lobster sellers bring more than lobster. Many of them carry other seasonal catches on the same table, and CDFW's calendar shows several of those seasons overlapping the lobster months.
| Catch | Commercial season | Who lists it at the market |
|---|---|---|
| California spiny lobster | Oct. 7, 2026 to March 17, 2027 | Kennedy, Garrigan, Streett, Hyman, Liso |
| Ridgeback prawns, Southern California | Oct. 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027 | Shrimp appears in the market's seasonal lineup |
| Kellet's whelks | July 1, 2026 to March 17, 2027 | Garrigan, Streett, Hyman, Dom's Catch |
| White seabass, south of Point Conception | June 16, 2026 to March 14, 2027 | Zack Robinson; Randy Hughes, Island Quality Seafood; Swartzel Fish Company |
| Live red and purple sea urchin | Red urchin is set by open and closed days | Harry Liquornik and Mike Johnson; Jonathan Woodcock, California Bight Seafoods |
For a holiday spread built around more than lobster, other stalls fill in. Rob Cathcart of Goodland Fishing Co. brings black cod and thornyheads. Brett and Mary Swartzel of Swartzel Fish Company list mackerel, sardines, ocean whitefish, lingcod, halibut and white seabass. Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara has named lobster, urchin, red and yellow rock crab, sablefish and shortspine thornyhead among the harbor's top-value species. Those are the catches the fleet depends on, and most of them turn up on the pier.
A Saturday morning at 6 Harbor Way
The market's own description puts it at "the crack of dawn until about lunchtime," and the posted hours are 6 to 11 a.m. A lobster run fits easily into that window:
- Place the order midweek. Call the vendor whose catch you want, using the number on the market's vendor page.
- Head for the harbor. Northbound on the 101, take exit 97 onto Bath Street, turn left on West Haley, take the left two lanes onto Castillo, then turn right on Shoreline Drive and left into the harbor. Southbound, exit 97 lets you onto Castillo directly; from there, turn right on Shoreline Drive and left into the harbor.
- Find City Pier, opposite Brophy's.
- Use the fillet station. If finfish ends up in the bag beside the lobster, the market's fillet station will prep it for cooking before you leave.
If Saturday doesn't work, Santa Barbara Fish Market sells from its harbor shop at 117 Harbor Way, Suite A, and posts weekly specials on its homepage. The shop describes itself as a direct outlet for Santa Barbara seafood and says its shellfish comes from around the country. It also lists a Goleta location. For the harbor's own spiny lobster, the five Saturday sellers above are the direct line.
The harbor also marks the opener every October with the City's Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival. Timed to the start of lobster season, it fills Harbor Way with boiled lobster and crab from Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, clam chowder from Brophy's and Sons, and lobster rolls from the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. The Saturday market carries the same catch through the rest of the season.
If you'd rather catch your own
The recreational season opened earlier, at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 2, 2026, and also closes March 17, 2027. Interest has been climbing. CDFW counted more than 49,400 recreational trips in the 2025–26 season and more than 136,800 legal lobsters reported kept, the highest reported retention since report cards began in 2013.
CDFW's lobster page lists a bag and possession limit of seven, a minimum carapace length of 3¼ inches, and a required lobster report card. Hoop-net rules that took effect January 1, 2026, prohibit tampering with another person's net and ban certain unique line markings. Those changes are covered in the department's 2026–27 season newsletter. This is general information, not legal advice, so check CDFW's current regulations before you set a net.
Our Samantha Ireland team suggests the Saturday Fishermen's Market to guests at Vacation Rentals of Santa Barbara who want a coastal dinner cooked in their own kitchen. If you're hosting family this holiday season and want more harbor tips or help with the house itself, Let's Connect.