September 6, 2023
By Katalin Plummer, WSG Science Communications Fellow
When I first sat down with Dawn Ruquet in the Taylor Shellfish restaurant located in Pioneer Square, Seattle, she assured me that her story was ordinary, nothing to write home about. I smiled and told her that we would see about that. As a beloved member of the Taylor Shellfish Farms team, I had a hunch Dawn’s ...
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2023
By Andrea Richter-Sanchez, WSG Science Communications Fellow
They say nothing brings people together better than good company over a warm home-cooked meal, and that story was no different for John Alto and Amy Sharp. John, a troller fisherman, one day got a call from a friend inviting him over to a troller family dinner. Troller vessels generally fit ...
Read MoreSeptember 27, 2022
By Olivia Horwedel, WSG Science Communications Fellow
Steve Seymour — a fisheries biologist-turned-oyster farmer — has always been passionate about the marine world. Prior to opening Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, Steve spent most of his career running salmon hatcheries for the Lummi Nation, working on fish enhancement projects throughout Washington State.
Throughout his career ...
Read MoreAugust 30, 2022
By Olivia Horwedel, WSG Science Communications Fellow
Mike Cornman, owner of Westport Seafood and Merino’s Seafood Market, was destined to work a career connected to the ocean. Cornman grew up in Westport, Washington — which at one point was known as the salmon capital of the world — and spent his summers working in his family’s fishing business that opened in 1985. While he left for several years to start his career ...
Read MoreJuly 25, 2022
By Maddie Hansen, WSG Science Communications Fellow
“I love salmon, they’re beautiful creatures,” says Robert Sudar, who currently works as a salmon distributor in Seattle. He has been involved in the fishing industry in one way or another for the past 50 years.
Robert began as a crewmember on boats in the San Juan Islands when he was ...
Read MoreJune 28, 2022
By Benjamin Haagen, Science Communications Fellow
Local seafood processors provide valuable services to their communities by supporting fishers, bringing consistent seasonal work to locals, and providing fresh seafood. Dan Sleavy manages one such processor based in Port Angeles, High Tide Seafoods, which has been a family-owned staple of the Olympic Peninsula since 1980.
High Tide Seafoods has the largest processing facility in the area, which can process up to 60 tons of fresh salmon per day and also sells ...
Read MoreApril 29, 2022
By Benjamin Haagen, Science Communications Fellow
Hazel Secor has been working as manager of the Cape Flattery Fisherman’s Co-op in Neah Bay, Washington since 2014, supporting the local fishing industry and working with fishers to process and distribute seafood to communities around the Olympic Peninsula.
Hazel started working in fisheries with the Makah Fish Company when she was in high school. “I grew up here — this is a fishing village, everyone fishes,” she says. “I like this work ...
Read MoreOctober 2, 2021
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Dave Sones is a fisherman and a member of the Makah Nation at Neah Bay. He’s been fishing since 1972, when he was 12 years old. As a young man, he worked at the Ozette Archaeological Site as an interpreter; later, he became fisheries manager and natural resources director for ...
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August 2, 2021
October 26, 2020
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Jania’s brother Steve Wilson is a fisherman who fishes out of La Push. Years ago, Steve began selling his fish at farmer’s markets in the Seattle and Tacoma areas under the name Wilson Fish. Eventually Jania and her husband Gene took over sales side of the business. The couple have been together for over ...
Read MoreOctober 19, 2020
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Pete Knutson owns Loki Fish Company, a family business. He fishes mostly salmon, with a bit of halibut on the side. He’s the director of the Puget Sound Harvester’s Association, an industry group that represents non-treaty commercial salmon gillnet fishers, and when he’s not fishing, he’s a professor at Seattle Central Community College. Pete has ...
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October 12, 2020
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Amy Grondin is a salmon fisherman and a sustainable seafood consultant. She owns Duna Fisheries, LLC with her business partner and husband Greg Friedrichs. When they’re not fishing on F/V Arminta, their 48-foot wooden fishing boat, their home port is Port Townsend.
Amy grew up in Maine and put ...
Read MoreOctober 5, 2020
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Andy Mitby of Drake Teal Fisheries is a fourth-generation fisherman and also a Husky alum, with a bachelor’s degree in marine science from the University of Washington. He says his house is now divided, now that his kids attend UW and Washington State University. Andy was interviewed just before he left Bristol Bay, Alaska for the ...
Read MoreOctober 1, 2020
By James Lee, Science Communications Fellow
Libie Cain fishes Dungeness crab and albacore out of Westport. She grew up on Cooper Point by Evergreen State College and has an architectural degree. In fact, she was part of the team that helped build the Natural Resources Building in Olympia. She has also been a director for the Western Fishboat ...
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