Waterfront Wednesday July 1, 2026
Waterfront Wednesday News
July 1, 2026
Commissioner election information online
The Working Waterfront Coalition has the inside scoop on the candidates for the Port of Bellingham Commissioner's race. Stay up to date with candidate interview videos ahead of the Primary Vote on August 4 and stay tuned for an upcoming Candidate Forum in person in the fall ahead of the General Election.
Information, video interviews, and election dates are posted on our website linked below:
Candidate video interviews are available for all candidates who returned our inquiries. Shout out to Nu Vision Videography and Nic Ulmer for collaborating with us on these! Video still: Nic Ulmer
Boat-builders, repair & service operations, recreational boating, and many other sectors are part of our maritime economy in Whatcom. The Mayor's recent Executive Order makes direct mention of revitalizing our industrial capacity to support these living-wage opportunities.
Bellingham Mayor Lund issues Economic Executive Order
On June 15, 2026, Mayor Kim Lund signed Executive Order 2026-01, "Advancing Urban Vitality and Economic Opportunity in Bellingham," building on her 2024 housing order. It's organized into four sections: making Bellingham "open for business" (new Urban Transformation Strategist role, permitting reviews, annual Business Roundtable); "Downtown Forward" activation efforts, including a proposed 7-year B&O tax exemption for new downtown businesses; a Waterfront District section; and a Higher Education and Talent section focused on partnerships with WWU, BTC, and WCC.
In
Section 3, Waterfront District, the order frames Bellingham's 237-acre former industrial waterfront as "a generational opportunity that builds on the deep maritime heritage" of the area. Actions include partnering with the Port of Bellingham on redevelopment,
prioritizing marine trades where the waterfront is uniquely suited for them, pursuing funding to accelerate development, and better connecting the waterfront to downtown. Section 1 also commits the City to act on the industrial lands study to protect Bellingham's industrial economy.
Read the entire Executive Order via the link below:
Bellingham SeaFeast's
10th Anniversary to celebrate marine trades
Bellingham SeaFeast is putting out the call to all marine trades and maritime-related businesses to join the festival and showcase to the community our valuable marine trades and maritime economy.
The festival is happening Sept. 26 & 27 in Squalicum Harbor. Several spots are remaining right near the main entrance to the festival that will greet the community as they come to see what it is all about.
This is a great chance to show and tell about what we do on the waterfronts in Whatcom County. The idea isn't to directly sell a product or service - though you can - but to help our community in the region learn about what it is that we all do and appreciate it more!
If you're a maritime- or marine-trades-related business or organization, email our staff to learn more about the opportunity.
Fish Tales & Ales
Our 3rd-annual "Fish Tales & Ales" is happening on Sept. 26th, and we're looking for commercial fishermen or those who work commercially on the water to share their experiences with the folks who come to hear them. We'll be hosting at Beach Cat Brewing: South Paw this year as we did last year, and we anticipate another packed house. If you're interested to particpate - call or email our staff asap to get on the list!
Join us for Bellingham SeaFeast's 10th Anniversary and help us make it special! Photo: Bellingham SeaFeast
Celebrate July 4th on the water
Join Dragonfly Outfitters for a special celebration on July 4th. There'll be a BBQ, a chance to win prizes, rentals, and guided tours available along with face painting for kids and adults of all ages.
Located at 704 Coho Way, right next to our
Working Waterfront Offices in Squalicum Harbor
Hybrid-Electric fishing vessel charts new course
The Alaskan fishing troller 'Mirage' is charting a new course in fuel efficiency with a project to hybridize the engine and showcase how technology is able to help mitigate impacts from rising fuel costs - a need made even more apparent this year.
The Alaska Longline Fishermen's Assocation (ALFA) has been working with Chandler Kemp, an assistant professor of sustainable energy and energy efficiency consultant affiliated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Stanford University dand has developed blueprints for converting commercial fishing boats to hybrid diesel-electric systems and eventually to hydrogen fuel cell or fully electric systems.
Read more about this innovative project from National Fisherman via the link below:
F/V Mirage. Photo: Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association
Fishing vessels docked in Squalicum Harbor. Photo: Dan Tucker
Rising fuel costs impact fisheries - call to action
The Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign (FFCAC)
has put out the call to fishermen, seafood processors, and any other individuals or organizations to help support calls for mitigation in rising fuel prices that now threaten our fisheries.
The Working Waterfront Coalition has worked alongside FFCAC in the past to help provide stakeholder input to their landmark study on improving the industry and helping to map out transitions from older diesel technology to the next generation of propulsion and fuels.
Now, the campaign has issued a sign-on form to get legislators moving on mitigating the heavy prices that fuel costs, shipping surcharges, and other services are incurring as a result of global conflicts.
You can read about the letter and sign on to it via the link below:
Sea Change explores
waterfront identity
Published in May, Cascadia Daily News explored waterfronts around Puget Sound in a 4-part series aimed at the waterfront identity we build both here in Whatcom County, and elsewhere in Washington State.
If you missed this highlight of how Whatcom's waterfront compares to others, check out all 4 parts of the series via the Cascadia Daily news page, "Sea Change", via the link below:
Fishing vessels in Port of Grays Harbor, WA. Photo: Santiago Ochoa/Cascadia Daily News
Last year's pre-apprenticeship cohort. Photo: Dan Tucker
Buoyant Beginnings
begins 2nd year
It’s July which means a brand new group of Pre-Apprentices are entering the Harbor. The second year of the Buoyant Beginning Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Maritime Careers launches on July 6th. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Buoyant Beginnings, here’s what you need to know:
Buoyant Beginnings, a 6 week long program, provides an introduction
to marine trades as well as general workforce readiness training. The program, in partnership with Lummi Nation, serves 20 young adults ages 18-29 with 10 tribal and 10 non-tribal students.
The environment created by last year’s group of students was that of collaboration, support, and respect and we have no doubt that will be the standard of this year’s incoming group of students. Through in-class lectures, workshops, worksite tours, job shadow days, and two
weeks of work-site placements at participating marine industries, the
Pre-Apprentices receive an introduction at what our waterfronts have to offer as well as preparation for entry-level career opportunities. We are grateful to our many employer partners, instructors, and industry tour guides for their willingness to support these young adults in their exploration and preparation for careers in our maritime sector.
Port Commission Meetings
- Port Commissioners Open Meetings are held at the Port Admin Offices and are open to the public. Check the Agenda Center (Linked on each meeting time below) for posted agendas. Agendas typically get posted a week in advance of the scheduled meeting. Two periods of public comment occur each meeting before and after the agenda items, as well as special public hearings as designated on the agendas.
Location: Port Admin Offices, 1801 Roeder Ave, Bellingham
Port of Bellingham Agenda Center (check here for updated agendas)
Upcoming Meetings:
July 14 - Board of Commissioners Open Public Meeting
Aug. 18 - Board of Commissioners Open Public Meeting
Past Meeting Information
May 26 - Board of Commissioner's Open Public Meeting
June 9 - Board of Commissioner's Open Public Meeting
Recent Minutes Posted:
May 26 - Board of Commissioner's Open Public Meeting
Want to get the highlights from each meeting on our maritime trades and marine-related topics? Join the Coalition as a member to get access to Commissioner meeting briefs, available on the member page of our website! Join us and add your voice to the waterfront discussion HERE.
Upcoming Waterfront & Coalition Events
Waterfront Events:
LFS Block Party
Squalicum Harbor / Lummi Fisheries Supply, July 22 11am-2pm
Join LFS and your waterfront community for the annual Squalicum Harbor Block Party, hosted by Lummi Fisheries Supply! Enjoy summer deals on merchandise, meet suppliers, learn about local waterfront organizations and businesses, and enjoy a summer afternoon at the harbor! Kid friendly activities available, and food will be on site.
Coalition Events:
Are You Hiring? Use the Coalition Job Board
The Coalition's
Job Board is free, contactless, and easy! We designed this board for our commercial fishermen, marine trades industries and other waterfront jobs in mind, to act as a digital bulletin board for crew positions, contract hires, or regular employee spots that you want to have a digital space for.
If you have any questions on using it, reach out to our staff, info@whatcomworkingwaterfront.org. To submit a job posting, use the link below:
Affordable Health Benefits
for Statewide Maritime Companies
The Working Waterfront Health Trust provides affordable pooled insurance health plans for qualifying marine-trades businesses -
state-wide. The Trust launched two years ago, has grown steadily each year and provides a range of health plans to consider through Premera Blue Cross.
If you'd like to know more about the Health Trust, contact your insurance broker today and ask them about the Working Waterfront Health Trust. Fall is the peak time to meet with your broker to discuss options for your employees for 2026 and 2027.
This newsletter sponsored by:
Alta-Gas
Premera
Copyright 2025 Waterfront Wednesdays by Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition
Waterfront Wednesday is a publication
of the Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition.
www.whatcomworkingwaterfront.org
Do you have news about our waterfront?
Drop us a line and tell us about it.
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