Ever wonder what lurks beneath the waves of the Bay, and more importantly, what you can eat from down there?

Kirk Lombard, founder of Sea Forager Tours and Sea Forager Seafood, can teach you. He gives tours about twice a month on Saturdays somewhere near the Marina Green (he prefers to keep the exact site under wraps until you book). He discusses urban sea wildlife and how to forage for edibles from seaweed to eel to crabs. Cost is $50 a person and you can view the calendar and book on the website. He also gives private tours.

"I go over the regulations and the ecology and biology of the different species; I talk about the ecosystem; I talk about the San Francisco estuary," Lombard said. "The main thing is for people to get a deeper sense of how their urban shores are unique and how, in their own way, they’re thriving."

And, Lombard gives demonstrations on real-life skills you can use to nab a fresh catch: "Like how to snare crabs from shore, how to use a casting net to catch herring and how to poke-pole for the not-so-elusive monkeyface eel," he said. Are monkeyface eels palatable, we ask? "It’s a very beloved fish of the California coast among California fisherman," he assured us. Smelt, herring, mussels, clams and seaweed are also on the to-do list.

Lombard with a monkeyfaced eel. 

Lombard added, "There’s an anecdotal quality to the tours. Lots of fish tales. I like to talk about some of the more idiosyncratic fish species. I talk about some near-death experiences at the hands of Great White sharks and all types of stuff." He has a forthcoming book coming out in August published by Heyday Books in Berkeley titled "The Sea Forager's Guide to the Northern California Coast."

Lombard got into the fishmonger business via doing the tours. "At the end of the tour, people were saying, 'Hey, this is great, but I don’t have time to go out and catch my own stuff. How do I source seafood that is sustainable, mostly local and fresh?" He'd refer them to his friends who own Fish restaurant in Sausalito and TwoXSea seafood. Eventually, one of the owners, Kenny Belov, urged him to become his own supplier.

Now, Lombard offers a subscription seafood service, but only to individuals, not restaurants. You can get a "Neptune's Delight" with a mix of what's fresh that week (which could include various shellfish, a small whole fish and/or fillets) or a "slab" of filleted fish. Two portions is $24; four portions runs $47. He offers numerous pickup locations throughout the Bay Area and home delivery in the city.

"Now, in addition to having my tours, I have a product to sell," Lombard says. "That product is the most sustainable and freshest seafood you can get on the California coast.”