Waterfront Wednesday News

May 8, 2024

Bellingham Seafeast Launches Tee-Shirt Design Contest

Call for youth artists! This year Bellingham Seafeast is giving our youngest ocean lovers (ages 4-17) the opportunity to submit their artwork for the SeaFeast 2024 design contest featuring the theme "From Sea to Me" and what that means to you. Winning designs will be featured on this year’s t-shirt and poster, and all submitted art will be displayed during Bellingham SeaFeast on October 5 & 6, 2024 and on their website. This contest is supported by Seafeast partners BP, Launching Success, Marine Life Center, Whatcom County Library System, Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County and Blue Skies for Children.

To read more about the contest and submit your fun designs, follow the link below:

Whatcom Maritime Heritage Museum Monthly Meetings

The Whatcom Maritime Heritage Museum is a 501c-3 Non-profit organization dedicated to sharing our maritime heritage, culture, and history with the region. An all-volunteer organization, the museum hosts a display at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal that includes fascinating artifacts of our waterfronts, stories of Whatcom County, and memories for many of our community. The Museum, supported by donations and memberships, is currently moving their stored collections not currently on display to a new location on Marine Drive where they hope to restart interactive community programs that once featured community boatbuilding, after-school programs, and more.

The Whatcom Maritime Heritage Museum holds monthly meetings for members and this month's meeting will occur Tuesday, May 14th at 7:00pm at 708 Coho Way - the Working Waterfront Offices. These meetings are often informative and fun sessions for the community to learn more about the aspects of our Whatcom heritage and history or learn about a new project that will be a marker in the maritime community for the region. You can sign up to be a member at the events.  All are encouraged to attend.

This month, the Museum is hosting presenters Deb and Pete Granger, who will be sharing about the salmon harvest method of 'Reefnetting', a method originated by Lummi Nation. All are welcome to attend and learn more about this unique commercial fishing method.

WHATCOM MARITIME HERITAGE MUSEUM

BELLINGHAM CRUISE TERMINAL

FRIDAYS -12:00 TO 3:00 P.M.

This is a change from the usual Wednesday openings. This schedule will run through the summer.

MUSEUM MONTHLY MEETING - MAY

TUESDAY , MAY 14, 7:00PM

WORKING WATERFRONT OFFICES

708 COHO WAY

THIS MONTH:

REEFNETTING: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Hannah Close to Launch

'The Hannah' under construction in February 2024. Photo courtesy Drew Cherry, Intrafish

Northline Seafoods is preparing to launch its new processing barge, 'The Hannah', this month. The barge, with its large superstructure dominating the Fairhaven waterfront, is taking shape in its berth adjacent to the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.  The Hannah, a processing facility placed on a barge with innovative processes and technology, plans to revolutionize the Bristol Bay salmon fisheries in the summer season and bring permanent jobs to Bellingham year-round.

Look for the launch in late May and read about the project in this article originally published in January in Intrafish Magazine by Drew Cherry:

Marine Trades Career Exploration and Job Fair
Thursday, May 9th

The Port of Bellingham is hosting its annual Marine Trades Career and Job Exploration Fair tomorrow, May 9th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fisherman's Pavilion in Squalicum Harbor.

Join over 3 dozen participating vendors and businesses as they showcase the work and opportunities available along our shores. This is a great chance for young people interested in career paths involving our waters to get networked and connected to a thriving sector. If you're looking to switch careers, or start anew, this fair is also for you, and hosts networking benefits for career-seekers of any age.

If you're interested to attend and have questions, please contact Carey Hansen at the Port of Bellingham: careyh@portofbellingham.com

This year's fair will feature interactive, hands-on activities, such as knot-tying, XtraTuf boot stomps, "meet-your-mariner" sessions, survival suit demos, dock tours, Bellingham Fire Boat Tours, and more.  We hope to see you at this fun, interactive and informative fair.

New Wheelhouse Building Completed at CBC

The soft ribbon cutting ceremony with contractors and subcontractors at the new Wheelhouse building of the Community Boating Center.

 Photo courtesy CBC.

Bellingham, WA – [4.27.2024] – The Community Boating Center (CBC) is thrilled to announce the completion of its long-awaited Wheelhouse Building Project, marking a significant milestone in the organization's journey to enhance accessibility

and inclusivity in recreational boating.

The Wheelhouse Building will provide fully accessible, heated spaces with real restrooms and showers, along with classroom and community facilities to support our ever-expanding programs. These programs offer the chance for people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities to get out on the water, learn safe boating skills, and build confidence and community, while promoting marine stewardship through therapeutic recreation.

Help them celebrate on June 23rd at Stones Throw Brewery in Fairhaven with the release of their "Sieze the Bay" beer. Have a relaxing brew and help CBC at the same time!

Read more about the project and the completion via the link below:

Working Waterfront Staff participate

in Maritime Workforce Forum

Fully electric tugboat using technology by Corvus Energy. Photo courtesy HaiSea Marine.

Staff at the Working Waterfront Coalition and Foundation attended the 2024 Maritime Workforce Forum on Thursday, May 2nd. The forum, a gathering of maritime-sector peers and stakeholders, was hosted by the Port of Everett, with partnerships from the Center of Excellence in Maritime Manufacturing and Technology, WorkSource Washington, Seattle Jobs Initiative, and others. The forum, led by Ann Avery, Director of the Center of Excellence, featured panels, discussions and updates from maritime industry leaders such as Dirk Kesler of Corvus Energy, representatives from Foss Maritime's offshore wind programs, Port of Bellingham and Edmonds officials and seafood industry leader Jeb Towne from GS Marine.

The networking, discussions, and updates at events like these go a long way to build our maritime coalitions and promote our industry to port officials, city, county, state and national leaders such as attendee, WA State Representative, Alicia Rule.

The focus of the event was on the current trends in maritime, future directions, and sector updates. The Coalition & Foundation are proud to represent and be supportive of our maritime industries and businesses like GS Marine, Corvus Energy, and our Port in their ongoing task to build our maritime sector into the next generation of sustainability and growth.

Blue Drinks 2nd Quarter Meet-Up

Blue Drinks is being hosted by the Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition for this quarter on June 12th, at 5:30p.m., at Structure's Brewing,  601 Holly St.

Blue Drinks is an open, free networking and information event that connects anyone who works, lives, or plays on our waterfronts.  Hear updates from community leaders and members on cool projects or developments, connect with others about events, learn about recent activities and news, and share your own waterfront stories or highlights.

This quarter, we'll hear from Cari Chan, Bellingham Dockside Market Coordinator. Cari will explain the goals of the market, how it works, future plans for growth, and how Bellingham Dockside Market connects our local commercial families with our community.

Blue Drinks is free, so show up, learn, share and connect about our waterfronts.
Registration is not required, but helps us plan.  You may register via the link below:

NW Explorations Flotilla Set to Sail North

The NW Explorations Flotilla navigates the icy waters of Tracy and Endicott arms in SE Alaska. Photo courtesy NW Explorations.

NW Explorations kicks of their 2024 "Mother Goose" Flotilla season this Sunday, as several boats depart Squalicum Harbor enroute to Alaska, where they'll spend most of the summer before returning to Bellingham. Next month, another wave of boats depart for the Princess Louisa Flotilla. The season officially ends in early October with the return of the Desolation Sound Flotilla boats. It's an all-hands-on-deck time of year for the crew on the docks, especially with many other "non-flotilla" charter boats coming and going throughout the season. Here's to another successful boating season!

US Overfishing List at All Time Low

The number of fisheries on the US Overfishing List is at an all time low as 94% of fish stocks are deemed 'not overfished'. This new report out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Assocation lends credit to sustainable fishing practices, as stocks have been successfully rebuilt for several more species this year, following declines in the overfishing list in previous years, as well.

Read more about report in this article from Yahoo News, via the link below:

Presentation at WWU on Cross-Border Fisheries

Graphic courtesy WWU

Western Washington University is hosting a lecture this Friday, May 10th from 2-3:30pm by Dr. Rashid Sumaila, a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia. As climate change continues to exert pressure on marine ecosystems, the management of shared fish stocks between Canada and the United States faces unprecedented challenges. This talk will explore the implications of climate change on transboundary fisheries and examine strategies for sustainable management in an era of environmental uncertainty.

If you're interested in attending, the lecture is free and available in person at WWU campus, or online. Visit the link below to find more information:

Upcoming Waterfront & Coalition Events