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Consider the goldfish
Local activist protests PB club's racing tradition
Blow, blow, blow your fish/ Quickly down the tank...
For the past 20 years or so, PB Shore Club has hosted goldfish races. Typically, two goldfish are placed in a long, narrow tank of water, whereupon select Shore Club patrons — mostly, inebriated 20- and 30-somethings — blow air into the tank through straws, thus creating forward momentum for the fish. But now, both local and national animal rights groups are calling on the popular Pacific Beach sports bar and restaurant to end the pastime.
While participants may believe they’re having a little harmless fun, local activist Brooklyn Fontana says the spectacle is “indefensible.” Fontana told the San Diego Reader that she has spent the past several months helping to organize several small but visible protests in the vicinity of the Shore Club. A budding human and animal rights activist who graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability degree from SDSU, she says she used to sometimes hang out at the club with her friends, but stopped going after she witnessed the races for herself. In the days that followed, she did some thinking, and decided that her personal boycott would not be enough to satisfy her sense of justice.
The PB Shore Club, she claims, “profits off of exploitation and animal cruelty” and subjects the goldfish to “pain and suffering” that “even results in death.” Fontana cites studies that she says prove that goldfish “experience pain and demonstrate long-term memories” — contra the cultural commonplace that they forget everything they know every three seconds. (I later checked and confirmed that there seems to be consensus in the research that goldfish are both curious and intelligent, and that they enjoy the company of other goldfish, get lonely when they don’t have it, and feel fear and pain like other animals.)
Blowing air into the water behind the fish causes its own set of problems, according to a PETA representative that spoke with the San Diego Reader. Human breath “contains high levels of carbon dioxide and bacteria, which pollutes the water and harms the fish's delicate gills.” In addition, said the PETA rep, the club environment “is unnatural, loud, and stressful for the animals."
Despite her conviction, Fontana says, “I didn't really know how to take action until I got involved with BAAL" — Bold Activists for Animal Liberation, which describes itself on its Go Fund Me page as “a loud, raw, and unapologetic collective of queer, neurodivergent punks fighting for animal rights.” Today, over 1300 people that have signed a petition — sponsored by BAAL and coordinated by Fontana — to "Stop PB Shore Club from Hosting Weekly Goldfish Races.” The signees want “to see an immediate end to the cruel Goldfish 'races' at the PB Shore Club,” she said, using quotation marks to indicate her belief that the event cannot be considered a true race.
Billy Ramirez, who owns the oceanfront bar as well as Fish Shop, has not responded to the group’s demands. But Fontana hopes the petition will “show Ramirez that even though there are only typically about ten activists able to attend our protests, there are over a thousand San Diegans who stand with us.” The five protests have involved demonstrators with signs and bullhorns, shouting “Fish aren’t Entertainment” and “Fish feel Fear,” among other slogans.
I decided I needed to see the scene for myself. As I hung out on the outdoor patio, I saw no signs of protests, and I wondered how effective they had been. The PB Shore Club's owner didn’t respond to my request for comment, but Fontana says, “We have had at least five groups of people tell us that they’re no longer going there. Several people tell us that they have been upset about the goldfish races for a long time and are thankful someone is finally speaking up.”
Around 10 pm, I got word that the races were on — inside, where the place was packed. Retro Chargers uniforms on the wall. Beer flowing. That uniquely San Diego coastal community beach vibe. Lots of beautiful people coming together — not just to watch a race, but to participate in a shared experience or ritual. The anticipation intensified. Participants, pints in hand, checked their spots on the chalkboard. Two goldfish were placed into the long, side-by-side tanks. Finally, the race began, the patrons puffing prodigiously into their straws.
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your goldfish!"
Two affable guys, Jim and John, were there for the first time. They were aware of the protests, but couldn’t understand what the big fuss was all about. John, who’s in the military, said, “Come on, they’re a dime a dozen.” And besides, the goldfish “don’t seem like they’re struggling or that there’s any problem.” When I asked John what he thought of the spectacle, he said, without irony, that “it was a great way to bring people together.” (Further, the people who presumably matter most to Ramirez, the regulars, don't seem to mind, either. A couple of longtime customers said that the fish are well taken care of, kept in a big goldfish tank and that “they feed them every week, every day.”)
Jim and John, enjoying the race-night gathering.
PETA, which is joining BAAL in calling PB Shore Club to free the goldfish, is not impressed by the notion that the joy of shared experience deserves consideration. “Stop the cruel and deadly goldfish races immediately,” the PETA rep implored, noting that “goldfish can live for decades, but at the Pacific Beach Shore Club, most don’t even survive the night.” PETA pointed to its success in convincing a South Carolina restaurant that ran weekly goldfish races to make the “compassionate decision” to stop completely after learning of the harm inflicted on the goldfish.
For something similar to happen at PB Shore Club, one of two things has to happen, it seems. Either the owner has to be personally moved by the animal rights activists’ appeal or public sentiment has to shift to the point where it starts to chip away at his bottom line. I’ve seen no evidence of either scenario.
But it doesn’t hurt to try. Especially when you’re 23.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Consider the goldfish
Local activist protests PB club's racing tradition
Consider the goldfish
Local activist protests PB club's racing tradition
Blow, blow, blow your fish/ Quickly down the tank...
For the past 20 years or so, PB Shore Club has hosted goldfish races. Typically, two goldfish are placed in a long, narrow tank of water, whereupon select Shore Club patrons — mostly, inebriated 20- and 30-somethings — blow air into the tank through straws, thus creating forward momentum for the fish. But now, both local and national animal rights groups are calling on the popular Pacific Beach sports bar and restaurant to end the pastime.
While participants may believe they’re having a little harmless fun, local activist Brooklyn Fontana says the spectacle is “indefensible.” Fontana told the San Diego Reader that she has spent the past several months helping to organize several small but visible protests in the vicinity of the Shore Club. A budding human and animal rights activist who graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability degree from SDSU, she says she used to sometimes hang out at the club with her friends, but stopped going after she witnessed the races for herself. In the days that followed, she did some thinking, and decided that her personal boycott would not be enough to satisfy her sense of justice.
The PB Shore Club, she claims, “profits off of exploitation and animal cruelty” and subjects the goldfish to “pain and suffering” that “even results in death.” Fontana cites studies that she says prove that goldfish “experience pain and demonstrate long-term memories” — contra the cultural commonplace that they forget everything they know every three seconds. (I later checked and confirmed that there seems to be consensus in the research that goldfish are both curious and intelligent, and that they enjoy the company of other goldfish, get lonely when they don’t have it, and feel fear and pain like other animals.)
Blowing air into the water behind the fish causes its own set of problems, according to a PETA representative that spoke with the San Diego Reader. Human breath “contains high levels of carbon dioxide and bacteria, which pollutes the water and harms the fish's delicate gills.” In addition, said the PETA rep, the club environment “is unnatural, loud, and stressful for the animals."
Despite her conviction, Fontana says, “I didn't really know how to take action until I got involved with BAAL" — Bold Activists for Animal Liberation, which describes itself on its Go Fund Me page as “a loud, raw, and unapologetic collective of queer, neurodivergent punks fighting for animal rights.” Today, over 1300 people that have signed a petition — sponsored by BAAL and coordinated by Fontana — to "Stop PB Shore Club from Hosting Weekly Goldfish Races.” The signees want “to see an immediate end to the cruel Goldfish 'races' at the PB Shore Club,” she said, using quotation marks to indicate her belief that the event cannot be considered a true race.
Billy Ramirez, who owns the oceanfront bar as well as Fish Shop, has not responded to the group’s demands. But Fontana hopes the petition will “show Ramirez that even though there are only typically about ten activists able to attend our protests, there are over a thousand San Diegans who stand with us.” The five protests have involved demonstrators with signs and bullhorns, shouting “Fish aren’t Entertainment” and “Fish feel Fear,” among other slogans.
I decided I needed to see the scene for myself. As I hung out on the outdoor patio, I saw no signs of protests, and I wondered how effective they had been. The PB Shore Club's owner didn’t respond to my request for comment, but Fontana says, “We have had at least five groups of people tell us that they’re no longer going there. Several people tell us that they have been upset about the goldfish races for a long time and are thankful someone is finally speaking up.”
Around 10 pm, I got word that the races were on — inside, where the place was packed. Retro Chargers uniforms on the wall. Beer flowing. That uniquely San Diego coastal community beach vibe. Lots of beautiful people coming together — not just to watch a race, but to participate in a shared experience or ritual. The anticipation intensified. Participants, pints in hand, checked their spots on the chalkboard. Two goldfish were placed into the long, side-by-side tanks. Finally, the race began, the patrons puffing prodigiously into their straws.
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your goldfish!"
Two affable guys, Jim and John, were there for the first time. They were aware of the protests, but couldn’t understand what the big fuss was all about. John, who’s in the military, said, “Come on, they’re a dime a dozen.” And besides, the goldfish “don’t seem like they’re struggling or that there’s any problem.” When I asked John what he thought of the spectacle, he said, without irony, that “it was a great way to bring people together.” (Further, the people who presumably matter most to Ramirez, the regulars, don't seem to mind, either. A couple of longtime customers said that the fish are well taken care of, kept in a big goldfish tank and that “they feed them every week, every day.”)
Jim and John, enjoying the race-night gathering.
PETA, which is joining BAAL in calling PB Shore Club to free the goldfish, is not impressed by the notion that the joy of shared experience deserves consideration. “Stop the cruel and deadly goldfish races immediately,” the PETA rep implored, noting that “goldfish can live for decades, but at the Pacific Beach Shore Club, most don’t even survive the night.” PETA pointed to its success in convincing a South Carolina restaurant that ran weekly goldfish races to make the “compassionate decision” to stop completely after learning of the harm inflicted on the goldfish.
For something similar to happen at PB Shore Club, one of two things has to happen, it seems. Either the owner has to be personally moved by the animal rights activists’ appeal or public sentiment has to shift to the point where it starts to chip away at his bottom line. I’ve seen no evidence of either scenario.
But it doesn’t hurt to try. Especially when you’re 23.