Waterfront Wednesday News

Feb 28, 2024

Senator Murkowski (AK) Introduces Working Waterfronts Bill

Commercial fishing vessels tied up at Squalicum Harbor. Our local fishing fleets and families would benefit from this legislation. Photo: Josh Jarvis

Senator Murkowski of Alaska recently formally introduced the Working Waterfront Act which holds a dozen provisions to help aid in worforce development, energy, shorside infrastructure, food security and more for shore-side fishing communities across the nation. It also includes aid to mitigate climate change on coastal communities, and bolster existing federal conservation projects.

The Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition recently sent letters of support to our WA state delegates, urging them to support the legislation. Please consider contacting your representatives and encouraging them to help pass this critical aid.



A recent article in National Fisherman highlights the work being done: 

Seafood Producer's Coop Celebrates 80 Years of Cooperation

SPC is a cooperative group of fishermen and fishing families. Photo: Aaron Minks

80 years ago, a group of fishermen realized that the best way to ensure that their products were delivered with quality from ocean to market was to process and sell their own fish. They formed what would become North America’s oldest and most successful fishermen’s cooperative. Today, some 350 quality-oriented fishermen are the owners of Seafood Producers Cooperative (SPC).

What started in 1944 in a shipyard in Ballard has now become a full-fledged organization that provides premium-quality seafood to high-end food service and retail industries around the world. Recently featured in the Nobu Hotels Magazine as the black cod supplier for Chef Nobu’s famous miso-glazed black cod recipe, SPC has a reputation for its quality. In addition to sales to wholesale customers, the co-op also has a retail website where home consumers can purchase SPC seafood for delivery: www.AlaskaGoldBrand.com.

There have been ebbs and floods throughout SPC’s history, but what has kept the co-op’s mission alive is the fishermen/owner’s relentless commitment to quality and integrity. One of the most difficult moments in the cooperative’s history was March 27th, 1964, the day that a tsunami caused by one of the biggest earthquakes in history wiped out the co-op’s plant in Seward, Alaska. Not a shred of it remained. Without earthquake insurance, it took years for the co-op to recover financially from the disaster. It took a group of resilient fishermen co-op members to keep the cooperative dream alive. This group of fishermen decided to build SPC’s current plant in Sitka, Alaska, which was eventually completed in 1981.

In its 80 years of being a west coast fishermen’s institution, the co-op has bought fish at a number of outports throughout Alaska and up and down the west coast. A good chunk of the accounting and sales staff work in an office located in Bellingham Cold Storage, where the co-op has had a presence since the early 1970s.

Tide to Table Tickets On Sale Now

The Annual Tide to Table Dinner & Fundraiser is approaching. This year, we're rolling out the red-carpet in Old Hollywood style to celebrate our marine trades, our waterfronts, and all the people who make them work.

Join us for an evening of fantastic seafood expertly prepared by Crave Catering and Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, bid on exciting auction items and desserts, and raise your paddle to help support the Working Waterfront Foundation and Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship Program.

Tickets are on sale at the link below, or through the Tide to Table main page.

Interested in being a Sponsor, Item Donor, or Volunteer?
We are always accepting sponsors, silent and live action items, and volunteers to help us throw a fabulous event. If you're interested in helping out, please email Info@whatcomworkingwaterfront.org to learn more and get involved. Your sponsorships, donations, and participation all go to help support our programming, outreach, and advocacy on behalf of the over 6,000 individuals who are directly and indirectly sustained by our shores and waters. Thank you for your support.

Check out the link below for more information, or visit our website. We hope to see you Sat., April 20 in Old Hollywood style at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.

Gig Harbor to Offer Crew School for Purse Seining

Port and Community Organizations Host Maritime Trades Fair

Mark your calendars! The Marine Trades Career Exploration and Job Fair is returning to the Fishermen’s Pavilion on Thursday, May 9^th from 10 am to 1 pm. This event offers community members and students the opportunity to network with working waterfront employers and explore careers in the marine trades. The event is free and open to the public. Scan the QR code or visit tinyurl.com/pobmarine for more information.

This event is hosted by the Port of Bellingham in sponsorship with the NW Center of Excellence for Marine Manufacturing & Technology, Working Waterfront Coalition and Bellingham SeaFeast.

For more information or to sign up for a booth, please contact:
Carey Hansen, careyh@portofbellingham.com | (360) 393-5449

Kori Olsen, korio@portofbellingham.com | (360) 715-5118

Wild Seafood Connection Comes To Bellingham

Local fishing crew wrangles catch onboard their vessel. Photo: Pete Granger

The Wild Seafood Connection is happening tomorrow - February 29 in Bellingham. If you're a local independent fisherman, this offers the chance to connect with industry professionals and contacts, hear from colleagues about successful business models, learn about funding sources for equipment and more.

Registration for the event has closed, and tickets are currently sold out - but to learn more about it the event, and attend future conferences, follow the link below:

Tele Aadsen Featured in Cascadia Daily News

Tele Aadsen's F/V Nerka in Alaska. Photo: Tele Aadsen

Tele Aadsen, local fisherman, was recently featured in Cascadia Daily News with an interview by Ava Ronning. In the article, Tele describes a 'world of grays' that has been informed by her previous career in social work. Her latest book, described in our previous newsletters, "What Water Holds", is quickly becoming a best-seller. Tele also presented several pieces of this anthology to standing-room-only-audiences at the annual FisherPoetsGathering in Astoria, Oregon.

Check out the interview below, and if you haven't yet, we recommend stopping by Village Books to pick up a copy of "What Water Holds":

Plans for Electric Ferry Get Help

The ferry M/V Whatcom Chief on a run between Lummi Island and the mainland. Credit: Lummi-Island.com

A recent article in Salish Current by reporter Tom Banse explores the ongoing proposals to replace aging ferries that service Whatcom, San Juan, and Skagit counties with all-electric vessels. Budget writers in Olympia have drafted proposals to fund the projects, which have stalled over bids that exceeded the initial project's budget, by tying it in to the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, which must be passed in November if the new ferries are to receive adequate budgets to move forward.

Read the indepth report in the Salish Current via the link below:

Love Your Waterfront & KMRE 88.3 Awarded Funding

Love Your Waterfront hosts Kevin Coleman & Dan Tucker at Dockside Market. Photo: Bellingham Seafeast

Submitted by Susan Lindsay of KMRE 88.3:
The KMRE 88.3 broadcast/podcast “Love Your Waterfront,” hosted by Dan Tucker of the WWWC and Kevin Coleman of Bellingham SeaFeast, was awarded an Interpretation grant by the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. The primary purpose of the Maritime Washington Grant is to support projects that share diverse stories from, increase visibility of, and encourage public engagement with Washington’s maritime heritage, past and present,” according to the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area website. KMRE’s “Love Your Waterfront” was chosen because of its existing focus on the stories and news of the Whatcom waterfront community. The grant funds will be used to expand the broadcast/podcast to twice a month, purchase remote recording equipment and software, and compensate current volunteer producer Susan Lindsey.

Starting in March, “Love Your Waterfront” will air at 5:30pm the second and fourth Thursday of each month on community radio station KMRE 88.3

Past episodes are posted to the KMRE Soundcloud page. Read more from the official press release about the awards below:

Find or List a Waterfront Job

The Coalition Job Board lists waterfront jobs for anyone seeking a job in the marine trades, maritime and at-sea posts, and other supporting industries.

Are you a commercial fishing family with need for crew for the season? List your job quickly and easily with our submission form. Your job is posted in 15 minutes, with no need to contact the Coalition - just enter the details and contact information and submit! Posting a job online has never been easier.

Upcoming Waterfront & Coalition Events