Night Watchman Slain on Tuna Boat

A 69-year-old night watchman was found stabbed to death early Sunday morning after an apparent robbery aboard a tuna boat at the G Street pier, police said.

The body of Joseph Ferreira Fernandes, a retired commercial fisherman who worked as a night watchman aboard the seiner Sea Quest, was found by the morning watchman about 6:30 a.m., covered in blood, San Diego Police Sgt. Michael Gibbs said.

Fernandes, who lived in San Diego with his wife, had been stabbed in the chest. His car, usually parked at the pier, was missing.

When the morning watchman arrived shortly before 6 a.m. to relieve Fernandes, he became alarmed when he could not find him, according to police. He called his supervisor, and the two men searched the vessel, which is docked at 600 Harbor Drive. They found Fernandes at the port-side bulkhead in a fish storage area, hidden beneath plastic sheathing and ship equipment.

Fernandes apparently was attacked in the ship’s galley and his body dropped to the lower deck, Sgt. Fred England said. The San Diego Unified Port District Police diving team was dispatched to search the waters for the murder weapon.

“I don’t know of any incident like this, and I have been around for 30 years,” said August Felando, president of the American Tunaboat Assn.

With more transients on San Diego streets, he said, more arrive at the pier area, and most vessels, such as the Sea Quest, have watchmen and sometimes dogs to guard equipment.

The Sea Quest, which is owned by Manuel Silva of San Diego, arrived at the G Street pier within the past two weeks. It is one of a declining number of tuna boats. In 1955, there were 249 such vessels in the United States; now there are only 65, and all but 16 are owned by San Diegans.

The industry has been hit hard by an April 12 announcement by three major canners--StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee--to buy only tuna that is caught without harming dolphins.

The death of Fernandes is “just another sad event for people associated with this industry,” Felando said.