Žuanić - Founder of the largest fishing fleet in the world

In the book by A. S. Eterovich “Croatians in California” (2000, p. 534), among the biographies of famous Californian Croats, there is an entry about John Zuanich, born in Komiža in 1885. This Ivan – John – Žuanić, brought from his place the fishing perseverance and knowledge that would lead him on the path of creating a huge fishing power in America. In 1913, he moved from Komiža to Bellingham (Washington). After only a few years, he moved to San Pedro (California), then the center of the fishing world on the American west coast. There he began to create his fishing fleet – modestly, with a few boats, but with a vision that went beyond the scope of a single fisherman. His work and entrepreneurship were continued by his son Larry Zuanich and grandson Lawrence Zuanich, developing the family business within the powerful fishing corporation “Zi Company”. Over the decades, this corporation grew into the largest fishing fleet in the world, a symbol of fishing power and organization, but also proof of what can come from the knowledge and perseverance of one man from the island. Thus, Ivan Žuanić from Komiža became the founder of a fishing dynasty and a man who marked the history of world fishing with his work.