- December 13, 2025
For almost a decade, A1A Fisheries has been quietly serving up fresh seafood to Hammock residents while supporting local fishermen.
Chris Hazlett has only owned A1A Fisheries for the last 18 months. He purchased the shop from the previous owner, local Bill O’Neill, in July 2024 after working for O’Neill in the shop since September 2023.
As a retail fishmonger, A1A Fisheries has a little bit of everything, Hazlett said, from crab and salmon to grouper and other local fish. A crowd favorite is the smoked salmon – which, he said, is brined and smoked in-house – and the fresh local fish is caught by either local fishermen or Hazlett. Some varieties like the salmon and halibut, A1A Fisheries purchases from out of state.
Around 90% their stock is primarily supplied by locals, he said, and can vary by the season. Going into the winter months, as an example, Hazlett said he expects to have a more generous supply of fish like sheepshead, a white fish with a mild taste.
He may be the new owner of A1A Fisheries, but Hazlett has been working with fish for most of his life. For the last 10 years Hazlett has run a charter boat business in Jacksonville and for the last 20 years, he’s also run a commercial fishing business. He’s sold fish to O'Neill at A1A Fisheries for years, he said.
One day, during a winter-lull in charters, Hazlett said O’Neill asked him to come work at A1A Fisheries.
“Then it just kind of spiraled, and he wanted to sell it,” Hazlett said. “And I was like, well, alright, I guess I can stop chartering and start cutting fish.”
Hazlett comes by his passion for the ocean and fishing from his father. A school teacher by trade, Hazlett said his father would go out on commercial fishing trips on the weekends and during the summer.
He learned to commercial fish and spear fish from him, Hazlett said.
Most commercial fishing trips can last from either overnight to days at a time, he said. Following their return to land, the fishermen bring him their catch.
“It’s caught right out of St. Augustine or Ponce Inlet,” he said. Some fishermen go as far as 50-80 miles out to sea for a catch.
Because he knows the job so personally, Hazlett said he enjoys being in a position to help his fellow local fisherman.
“They don't get paid enough in the first place,” Hazlett said. “They should get paid way more. If everybody knew what they went through to get their fish, then it'd be a lot different.”
The Hammock community has shown Hazlett support, too, purchasing their fish from him instead of the box stores. It’s worth the difference in price to know the fish is fresh, he said.
“You don’t know where most of that stuff [in box stores] is coming from,” he said. “Our prices might be a little bit higher for your groupers and snappers and stuff, but everything that we have is fresh cut that day. You can't get that at any of your big stores.”
