Thousands of pounds of fish were offloaded Thursday in Point Loma, an occurrence that happens a few times a month in San Diego but is part of an evolving maritime industry.

The Port of San Diego is highlighting the commercial fishing industry for "Maritime Month."

Many of the fishermen who work in San Diego have been a part of the local fishing industry for generations and spend weeks at a time at sea.

On Thursday, four of those fishermen aboard the boat "Anthony G" used forklifts to unload about 20-thousand pounds of swordfish, tuna, manchong and other fresh catches at Driscoll's Wharf in Point Loma.

"All the fish are encased in ice and you can't really just go in there with pickaxes and chisel them out," Captain of the Anthony G Peter Grillo said. "We go in there with a hose and be really careful and melt the ice around them and then pull them out."

The crew makes at least one trip a month and can sometimes bring in as much as 35- to 40-thousand pounds of big-eye tuna, una and opah.

Grillo has been working as a commercial fisherman for 25 years and says the industry has changed in that time.

"It's not a lower-end frozen product anymore, Grillo said. "Now it's an ultra-high end fresh product."

What hasn't changed, are the 18- to 20-hour days required to get that fish from the ocean to a customer's plate.

"Not a lot of sleep happens while we're working, but it's a long travel to and from the fishing grounds so you fill up the sleep bank on the way out, Grillo said. "You make withdrawals while you're out there and then you fill it back up on the way home."

The Antony G arrived Wednesday afternoon. They began offloading at about 6 a.m. Thursday and on Friday, they will head back out for another round.