Coalition Blog

Blue Tech conversation continues with CEO and Founder of WA Maritime Blue Joshua Berger. Tide to Table a huge success. Bellingham Seafeast kicks off kids design contest for their tee-shirt for Seafeast.

Tide to Table a huge success, alaskan salmon still struggle, CYC to host annual dance benefitting CBC, opening day and blessing of the fleet for Whatcom fishermen approaches.

Tide to Table '24 a huge success. Building on last year's gala, this year featured the Bellingham Cruise Terminal's Dome Room, the band Monk Slippers, food from FV Alaskan Girl and Seafood Producer's Coop, as well as Crave Catering. Desserts, auctions and paddle-raises surpassed goals once again, and the community support for our waterfronts is strong. Thank you to everyone who supported, attended and helped with this successful event.

Diane Kamionka of the Northwest Innovation Resource Center talks about Blue Tech, what it is, and how it manifests in the industry. Bellingham Seafeast kicks off its Sea Monster Pizza with Zeeks Pizza, Tide to Table 24 is just around the corner, and the Bellingham Outrigger Paddle Canoe Club hosts a free event on April 27th!

WA Sea Grant hosts safety at sea courses, Tide to Table coming up with kayak tour and hotel leo stay, Silfab Solar leaving Bellingham Waterfront, Port Commissioner Shephard gives update on Shipping Terminal lease termination, Washington Maritime National Heritage Area convenes first in-person conference.

Bornstein Seafoods shuts down operations in Bellingham, and we examine the lease termination agreement of ABC recycling and Port of Bellingham.

Bornstein Seafoods closes Bellingham Operations, Port of Bellingham & ABC Recycling agree to lease termination, M/V David B and Northwest Navigation host open house, and our Tide to Table auction hosts excursions, getaways and unique experiences. On the Waterfront Spring 2024 edition is out.

Bornstein Seafoods closing Bellingham operations

Episode 11 of Love Your Waterfront, March 14 2024. Kevin shares Seafeast News, Senator Murkowski introduces Working Waterfront Act, Tide to Table '24 approaches and more! This week continues the conversation with Deb Dempsey on her life in the merchant marine, and being a Columbia Bar Pilot

Coalition members featured: Northwest Navigation wins finalist status in Whatcom Business Alliance awards, Alaska Sea Adventures hosts open house for M/V Northern Song, NW Apprenticeship Program is on the move, new physical bulletin board in Squalicum Harbor, Tide to Table upcoming, Pete Granger requests letters to congress regarding ongoing fishing market crisis, statement from Coalition on Notice of Default by Port to shipping terminal tenant, Working Waterfront Bulletin Board at Gate 5

A statement on the the Coalition's position regarding the Notice of Default sent to Port of Bellingham Tenants in February 2024.

Working Waterfront Act by Senator Murkowski Introduced, Seafood Producer's Coop Celebrates 80 years, Tide to Table '24 Tickets on Sale, Crew School teaches Purse Seining, Marine Trades Job Fair with Port of Bellingham, Wild Seafood Connection, Electric Ferries Still on Docket, KMRE 88.3 and Love Your Waterfront Radio Show receive grant award from Maritime Washington National Heritage Area.

Love Your Waterfront and KMRE receive award for funding from the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Interpretation Grant.

Salmon Markets still face a difficult year in 2024, Tide to Table Tickets on Sale, Bellingham Seafeast kicks off the year with local fishermen seafood cooking demos, Love Your Waterfront on KMRE 88.3, Port of Bellingham Shipping Terminal Modernization Project details released, 42nd Legislative District Town Hall announced.

Coalition presents at the WWU Speaker Series for the College of the Environment about 'Our Working Waterfronts.' The presentation highlighted our commercial fishing sector and important habitat restoration for salmon. It also spoke about how Dept of Ecology works to save our waterfront with strong environmental protections and state law, highlighting the 12 sites currently being cleaned up along the shore.

Deb Dempsey, Master Mariner and Columbia Bar Pilot talks about her experiences in the maritime industry, at Maine Maritime, Brahma bulls, and next generation of workforce for the merchant marine. Also this episode, Terry Phair comes to Dockside Market with KISS, NW Maritime Apprenticeship program attains permanent status, seafood industry still experiencing glut of supply, and the Coalition lobbies in Olympia for the maritime industry.

Alcoa Green Hydrogen, Eat First Local Trade meeting, Wild Seafood Connection, Backcountry Medical Guides Maritime Medicine Bellingham, Apprenticeship earns permanent status, Bellingham Shipping Terminal Improvements and Clean Up

Cascadia Daily News features fishermen, charter companies. Sustainable Connections hosts Local First Trade Meeting. Port of Bellingham to host Wild Seafood Connection Conference. Seafeast KISS at Dockside Market. Seattle Boat Show and Boys in the Boat Panel. Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship Program seeks permanent status. Port of Bellingham releases Economic Development Progress Report. Coalition launches new website and job board. Tide to Table 24 April 20. Fire & Story by Paper Whale Jan 18, 19, 20.

Cascadia Daily News Highlights Motor Vessel David B and Northwest Navigation with Christine and Jeffrey Smith in their ongoing series about our working waterfronts.

Join Love Your Waterfront as they kick off the new year. Seafeast's KISS Program back in full swing, a new port infrastrucuture development program is signed into law, Fire & Story Festival comes to Bellingham, and Tele Aadsen drops in to talk about her new book, "What Water Holds."

Happy Holidays from the Coalition! Seafood for the Holidays. Trident Seafoods. Shipping Terminal Op Ed by Michael Shephard.

Noise Ordinance Updates. New Office Location. Seafood for the Holidays. Seafeast KISS

Industrial lands are at a premium in the County. The Council is set to vote on a moratorium that would halt all permit applications to industrial lands, harming the economy of the county and signalling to businesses that Bellingham is a wavering investment opportunity. We should seek to preserve our living wage and trades skills jobs.

Glut in Global Fishing Market, Local Commercial Salmon Fishers face market obstacles. Fisherman face obstacles in salmon market. Salmon Market in turmoil.

By Pete Granger While Alaska might be more than 1,000 miles away, Washington state shares a lot more with the 49th State than most people realize. This is especially true in the fishing industry where the relationship between Washington and Alaska runs deep and ripples throughout Washington’s economy and communities. We are seeing the complexities and the nuances of this relationship play out right now in a lawsuit that the Seattle-based Wild Fish Conservancy brought against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2020 with the goal to shut down Southeast Alaska’s small boat, hook-and-line Chinook troll fishery in the misguided name of saving the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). On May 2, a federal district judge in Seattle ruled that NMFS had not sufficiently justified allowing the troll fishery to continue, thus putting a possible season in limbo. NMFS and the state of Alaska are appealing this decision.

Saturday, May 20 th on the shores of Blaine-by-the-Sea, crowds of thousands gathered to enjoy and celebrate the bodacious bivalves of Drayton Harbor. Oysters, skillfully farmed, harvested, and stewarded by the Drayton Harbor Oyster Company Crew, took center-stage at the 2nd annual Blaine Oysterfest.

The Port of Bellingham and Department of Ecology have released an updated clean-up plan for the Bellingham waterway, ASB pond and shipping terminal. The plan includes changes made to land use for the ASB, as well as provisions for cleaning additional contaminants based on new regulations. The plan is accepting public comment online until May 23rd, 2023:Dept. of Ecology Online Public Comment See the below infographics on the clean up plan amendments:   

The Tide to Table ‘23 Roarin’ 20s Gala kicked off this past Saturday at the Bellingham Yacht Club . The event was marked by glitz & glam, as guests filtered in dressed to the nines with ‘20s attire. The decor and the Brothers K really set the mood for the golden era as Drayton Harbor Oyster Company had oyster shells flying off their bar while guests bid and bet on items and raffles. The photo-backdrop saw plenty of action, as well as the nearby bar, where drinks were making the rounds as revelers captured that golden-era feeling in front of our props and display.

The bustling activity of the yards in Whatcom County are evident in the lines of hauled-out vessels, with crews working full-tilt to prep, paint, repair, and finish vessels. Seaview Boatyard is a prime example, down at Squalicum Harbor, and the Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition recently sat down with Tiel Riise, President of Seaview, to chat about what the season means for Seaview. Seaview has been around for over 50 years, and has been in Bellingham for just over 20. During an average spring season, the yard will see anywhere between 600-700 vessels hauled out, with about 70 at any one time between the two locations in Bellingham. The most utilized services include bottom painting and anode replacement, thru-hole and valve work, and final buffing/waxing. The most difficult job for the a vessel in the yard, however, is top-coating. "You only get one shot at it, and you need a perfect day," says Tiel. If the conditions aren't right, or the coat isn't applied well, it means starting all over again. The one thing Tiel notes that Seaview could use is a better building to do indoor work, which would help with top coating and several other services. Current buildings are older, and infrastructure inside them isn't adequate to handle all the work they'd like to do indoors. Aging infrastructure is an issue in several places around the waterfront, and one of the contributing reasons for why Bellingham and Whatcom County in general, has a shipyard capacity well below what current demand is. While there are several projects the Port has planned, to repair and replace some of these older constructions, the county ultimately needs more yard space, and heavier lifting capacity for haul outs to service the fleets of vessels that currently call Whatcom home, but who seek service outside the county due to limitations of current waterfront infrastructure here at home.

Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition recently hosted two researches, Sarah Schumann and Erika De La Rosa, in Bellingham, to get direct input from fishers and vessel operators on future decarbonization efforts to reduce the impact of small vessel fleets. Their project was highlighted in the National Fisherman this week, and it is ongoing in collecting stories, data and input from local fishers and vessel operators. The research project is titled "Accelerating a Transition to a Low-Carbon Fishing Fleet." This project was inspired by many of the sign-on letters that have circulated through the list-serves in the last six months asking federal agencies to designate funds to support experimentation and adoption of highly efficient or low-carbon technologies on fishing vessels. As Sarah puts it, “We figured that if we're serious about asking for that kind of support, we need more than just letters: we need thorough, ground-truthed social science and policy research to back up those requests and give decision-makers a roadmap to creating the kinds of support that are truly going to be useful in our world. So we decided to set out and create that roadmap -- and now, we need your help!”

Multiple agencies are working to link employer needs with employee training Whatcom County, WA (March 17, 2023) — In response to the ongoing labor shortage and as the education sector continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, multiple agencies in Whatcom County are leading efforts to link local high school students, dislocated workers, and workers looking for a career change, with job opportunities and openings.

Congratulations to Drew Schmidt for being selected as finalist in the Whatcom Business Alliance Annual Awards program – the Business Person of the Year category! Captain Drew Schmidt has owned and operated passenger and charter vessels in Bellingham since 1987, starting with Gray Line Cruises and then in 1991, his own company, San Juan Cruises. The business has thrived despite the Covid pandemic, border restrictions in 2020, fuel price fluctuations, and economic downturns. Drew is especially adept at offering specialty dinner cruises and other innovations to help when traditional business slumps.

Tide to Table 24 is coming up - save the date! Port Infrastructure Development Plan signed into Law. Annual Member Meeting. Noise Ordinance Updates.

The Northwest Marine Service Technician Apprenticeship launched last week, with the first 12 Level One apprentices now working during the day, and attending one class a week in the evenings. The program will see them obtain Journeyman-level certification in the marine trades, all while working a job that trains them further in those trades. The earn-while-you-learn program was the project of several Whatcom County companies and the Whatcom Working Waterfront Foundation, and Deb Granger, responding to the need for skilled tradesmen in the workforce.

On Wednesday, July 13th, guests joined Governor Inslee and others at All American Marine to celebrate the Zero Emissions Maritime: Whatcom, Washington, and Beyond initiatives happening in Washington state. Washington Maritime Blue, the Port of Bellingham, All American Marine, and the Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County partnered to host a small gathering to celebrate the production of the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell-powered ferry. With delicious seafood from Lummi Island Wild, Bornstein Seafoods, and Barlean’s Fisheries prepared by Crave Catering, and drinks from Kulshan Brewery, guests were treated to a wonderful evening on the shop floor of All American Marine. Tours of the M/V Sea Change provided guests a first-hand up-close view of this significant vessel. Byron Bolton of the Bolton Group and owner of All American Marine said, “it’s amazing to take this vessel out, move the throttle forward, and realize that you’re not using any fossil fuels., no emissions!” The group had done research trips to Norway to look at ferry systems operating without fossil fuels. While Norway operates 30% of their ferries with electric power only, this vessel is the first in the world to utilize hydrogen fuel to propel the vessel, and marks a leap forward for Washington’s industry in the world of next-generation propulsion on the water, placing Washington, and Bellingham in particular, as a world-wide leader in alternative fuel technology. Governor Inslee spoke to the crowd about this true “Sea Change” for the maritime sector and expressed sincere gratitude to all who worked so hard to engineer and build this game-changing vessel. Ron Wille, President and CEO of All American Marine, also emphasized the importance of this innovative vessel and credited the hard work of so many dedicated tradesmen, businesses and individuals. We, too, are grateful for the ingenuity, tenacity, and professionalism of all who worked collaboratively on this vessel. Whatcom Waterfronts indeed are at the forefront of significant innovations.

We are connected by water. Washington State’s coastal areas have been defined by their relationship to saltwater, connected by a shared maritime heritage. Since time immemorial, water and maritime culture have shaped this place and its people, contributing greatly to the development of the region and, in more recent centuries, the nation. Today, maritime heritage remains a vibrant part of Washington’s communities.

Membership Overview and BenefitsMembership: Over 7% of Whatcom County’s workforce is involved in the maritime sector, and each member in the Coalition is important to the continued economic engine and vibrancy that our waterfronts provide. Our members represent the many men and women working hard each and every day to ensure that Whatcom’s waterfronts work for all. The Coalition, a membership-based organization, works to sustain our waterfronts, and exchange ideas to further the sustainability of our communities. We provide a unified voice for the maritime sector, to promote economic stability, and work collaboratively with our 120+ members and other stakeholders to resolve issues that threaten the livelihood of marine trades and our maritime sector in Whatcom County. Additionally, members work together to provide job fair and internship opportunities, scholarships to students at Bellingham Technical College pursuing technical training in program areas relating to marine trades, and recently, to launch an apprenticeship program. We look forward to offering even more in the future! When you join the Working Waterfront Coalition, you partner with leaders in the maritime sector all committed to sustaining and enhancing our region’s working waterfronts.Membership Benefits:Advertise, network, build relationships and connections.Keep informed about issues that may affect the success of your business.Ensure your voice is heard and find support dealing with issues confronting your business.Receive newsletters, event notifications and other pertinent, relevant waterfront news.Preserve and showcase Whatcom County’s historical and vibrant maritime heritage. We invite you to join us, add your voice and energy, and together we’ll work hard to achieve our goals.Join or Renew your Membership Today! WhatcomWorkingWaterfront.org

The annual Tide to Table fundraising dinner benefitting the Coalition and Foundation concluded on Wed., April 13th with the rousing chorus “South Australia” , a popular sea-shanty, sung by Jon and Rika, guest Canadian musicians. The scope of the fundraiser dinners was doubled this year, with four individual seatings, occurring over two days. The large scope meant double the needed logistics for hosting the gathering, as well as the need for auction items and desserts to fill each of them. Through a collaborative effort, all four seatings were nearly sold out, and the auction tables were stocked for all of them. The gathering was hosted by Drayton Harbor Oyster Company (DHO), in Blaine, who welcomed all of us in their outside Oyster Dome, prepared food and beverages for the gathering, as well as facilitating the space and logistics. Steve and Mark Seymour, owner/mangers of DHO, also spoke during the dinner and provided insight as to how the Coalition has helped them, and the issues and concerns they experience operating a waterfront business (including continued water quality and more). DHO also served up a raw oyster bar and provided fresh oysters to each table in a towering platter of delicious, gourmet Oyster-goodness. The Coalition humbly thanks Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, Steve and Mark Seymour, and all their staff who helped out during the gathering. Guests dined on delicious fresh seafood (Ahi tuna, oysters, shrimp, Sockeye salmon, Halibut) and grilled Caesar lettuce wedge salads, dashed for delectable desserts, chucked their shucks, and sang along with Jon & Rika. Bids on auction items and Paddles Raised for the support of our new Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship allowed the Coalition to raise operational funds and start-up support for the new apprenticeship. We are grateful to the generous donations and sponsorships received by friends, businesses and colleagues who share our passion for the waterfront, and for the vitality of working marine trades. We would like to thank all of our Sponsors and Donors for their continued support of our mission: Sponsors: Drayton Harbor Oyster Company Vigilant - Counsel for Employers DiMartino Associates NW Explorations The Celedo Fund All-American Marine Icy Strait Seafoods Trident Seafoods LFS Marine & Outdoor Supply Bellingham Marine Bornstein Seafoods Cardinal Yacht Sales Mackman Marine Northshore Strategies San Juan Sailing Seattle Marine & Fishing Supply Tri-County Diesel Marine F/V Alaskan Girl F/V Home Shore Deckhand Logbook Northwest Navigation Bellingham Cold Storage Item Donors : Shirley Zuanich - Tom Crestodina - Jim Kyle - Niel Pfundt - Jayme Baxter - Landings at Colony Wharf - Frank Mustappa - Lummi Island Wild Co-op - Dunham Cellars Vineyards - Rock 'N' Rye Restaurant - Jim and Kathy Kyle - Lindsie Fratus-Thomas - Schooner Zodiac - DecoCeramics/AnneMarie DeCollibus - Community Boating Center - Captain Todd Shuster & Gato Verde Adventure Sailing - Northwest Navigation / David B Cruises - Jay Bornstein - Charlie Baker - F/V Alaskan Girl/Brannon Finney - Faith Worthley/Sea Jewel Cruises - Mackman Marine - Katherine Zuanich - North Bellingham Golf Club - Drayton Harbor Oyster Company - Goods Local Brews and Produce and Nursery - Fourth Corner Frames/Sheri Wright - Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition - Just Say Yes!/Kerri Love - Joe's Garden - Deb & Pete Granger - Trident Seafoods, Inc. - Kent’s Nursery - Great Harvest Bread Company - Chocolate Necessities - I Wanna Moka - Dessert Donors : Keenan’s at the Pier - Community Food Co-Op - Sweet Bellingham - It’s the Sweet Things - Chuckanut Bay Foods Cheesecake - Barb’s Pies and Pastries - Mambo Italiano - Haggen Northwest Fresh - Pure Bliss Desserts - Thank you to these generous businesses and individuals! As we wrap a successful Tide to Table Dinner/Fundraiser, we look forward to another year helping to advocate for, coordinate, and participate in our working waterfront. A waterfront that works, is a waterfront for all.