February 11, 2026
Last December, as king tides pushed waves over Westport’s seawall and nudged seawater onto nearby roads, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) hosted a successful first Washington Fishermen’s Convention.
The Washington Fishermen’s Convention aimed to celebrate and unify the state’s diverse fishing industry, gathering longtime, new and aspiring fishermen to ...
Read MoreOctober 13, 2025
By Kevin Decker, WSG Coastal Economist
For a long time, Washington’s rural coastal counties – such as Grays Harbor, Pacific, and Wahkiakum counties – had higher unemployment than the state average. This was largely due to their reliance on a few industries and their distance from the I-5 corridor. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, new data indicate that these counties are now more aligned with state and national economic trends. When this occurs, economists refer to it as convergence.