In the Pacific waters off Washington’s coast, fishermen work 18-hour shifts, hauling fish that can weigh up to 80 pounds. Commercial Albacore fishing was what drew Reyner Dagalea, Ray Sevella and Norberto Zebrele and dozens of other men to the United States from the Philippines. They agreed to work a contract with a U.S. fishing company in the summer of 2023. After spending time at sea, fishermen contracted by U.S.-based McAdams Fish and its Filipino counterpart Pescadores docked in Westport. There were 24 men, in all, across multiple boats. U.S. law does not require that foreign fishermen have visas to work aboard vessels owned by U.S. companies. But once the boats docked, the men were told that if they got off the ships, they would be arrested, fined and then deported. Video, 
A 42-year-old man from Aberdeen, Wash. is being held on $250,000 bail, after he allegedly stole an 80-foot, $8 million commercial fishing boat out of Westport on Feb. 8 with the crew still on board. Suspect Joshua Stedman boarded the Jamie Marie around 9 a.m. and temporarily convinced the crew that he was the boat’s new captain, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police said. “A subject had boarded the vessel, woke the crew and advised them they needed to get underway,” the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police wrote on social media. “The newer crew did not know the captain, but didn’t argue, thinking he was an alternate operator, or someone sent by the real captain. He surely acted the part as he knew how to start and operate the large vessel.” 
In the first conversation Grant Fishbook had with Andy Vitaljic more than a decade ago, Andy surprised the Christ the King Community Church pastor by saying he wanted his tombstone to read, “Andy fed the hungry.” The third-generation Croatian fisherman, who built a commercial seafood empire in Whatcom County and died at the age of 91 in September 2024, got his wish. Andy may be best remembered for his tireless efforts to help people in need, and his mausoleum inscription reflects that. Fishbook said Andy was one of the most generous humans he’d ever met — a compliment that extends to his widow, Erin. “The Vitaljics have their names attached to all kinds of humanitarian organizations around the county,” he said. “Andy was the brain and heart and passion and Erin was the organizer who made sure the ideas actually became real.” Now, Erin is looking for a successor to the empire Andy spent five decades building. 
Martin Parsons, born Nov. 6, 1937, in Cordova, Alaska, passed away peacefully on Jan. 11, 2025, in Kirkland Washington, at the age of 87 where he lived a “Hell of a life!” He was known affectionately as “Skooky,” a nickname given by the Arvidson family when he was a kid, which stuck with him throughout his life. He was loved, cherished, and respected by his family and countless friends. Born of Scandinavian and Aleut descent, he was the son of Martin and May Parsons. Skooky lived in Alice Cove, grew up in Cordova, and graduated from Cordova High School. Following his education, he enlisted in the Army before returning to Cordova to pursue a career as a commercial fisherman. He spent many years gillnetting on the Copper River Flats and seining in Prince William Sound, embodying the hardworking spirit of Alaska’s fishing community. He was well known for his “marker sets” in Castle, or “round hauling” dogs in Sheep Bay. By Martin Parsons, Jr. 
A U.S. federal judge of the Northern District of California denied the motion by dozens of crab buyers to dismiss price-fixing claims. The lawsuit follows an earlier suit back in March 2023 with plaintiffs Brand Little and Robin Burns, who accused Pacific Seafood, Washington-based Bornstein Seafood, and other US West Coast Crab companies of allegedly being part of a cartel that artificially suppressed prices paid to fishermen for Dungeness Crab. According to the complaint in the lawsuit, the cartel, allegedly led by Pacific Seafood, suppressed these prices paid to crabbers in California, Oregon, and Washington since the 2015- 2016 crabbing season.Video, 
Terrance Lloyd Kilbreath (“Terry”), loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on January 8, 2025, with his wife Janice, by his side. Terry was born July 31, 1943, in Vancouver, Canada, and grew up in Anacortes, Washington with his parents, Irvine and Kay Kilbreath, and sister Lynn (Collson). As an 18 year old teenager, Terry started working in the summers as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. He later purchased his own commercial fishing boat and had a long and successful 50 plus year career fishing for herring and salmon in Kodiak, Prince William Sound, and Sitka, Alaska. Terry loved his profession and retired at the age of 75. His last boat, the Ayakulik, means Red River, his favorite place to fish on the west side of Kodiak Island. 
The dock’s future depends on the outcome of a Feb. 3 appeal before the state Shoreline Hearings Board. In the online-only proceeding, Jim Franich, a former city council member and neighbor to the project, will square off against the city, the Ancich Dock’s owner and their respective lawyers, challenging the city of Gig Harbor Hearing Examiner’s decision granting the project a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit. The flap over the Ancich Dock stirs more than the usual old vs. new development tensions locally. It touches a nerve wrapped around the city’s very identity: Is Gig Harbor a fishing village or a collection of upscale marinas? Is its iconic vessel a purse seiner or a luxury motor yacht? 
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the commercial Dungeness crab season will open on Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Oregon. This includes the Columbia River and Willapa Bay. The opening date for the remainder of Washington’s Pacific Coast is still pending. Dungeness crabs represent Washington’s most valuable commercial fishery. The 2023-24 coastal commercial Dungeness crab season yielded state landings valued at $66.8 million, second only to the $88.2 million record set during the 2021-22 season. The fish and wildlife departments of Washington, Oregon, and California collaborate annually to determine season openers as part of a tri-state agreement to manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Opening dates are based on test fishing results, which can be found at psmfc.org/crab. 
A federal appeals court on Friday reversed a judge’s decision that would have effectively shuttered an Alaska salmon fishery, a result environmentalists sought in order to protect endangered whales and threatened wild Chinook salmon populations. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a judge in Seattle last year abused his discretion by vacating a key authorization issued by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Services for the fishery’s summer and winter Chinook salmon harvests. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones at the urging of the Wild Fish Conservancy had in May 2023 vacated part of a so-called incidental take statement the fisheries service issued in 2019 that authorized the commercial Chinook salmon troll fishery in southeast Alaska. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:39
Washington state officials are ordering a salmon fisherman to pay $646,259 in damages and penalties for spilling diesel fuel into Haro Strait as his commercial fishing boat sank off San Juan Island. The boat, a purse seiner called F/V Aleutian Isle, sank while participating in a sockeye salmon fishery in August 2022. Its five-member crew escaped onto a small skiff before the Aleutian Isle rolled on its side and disappeared beneath the waves, about 15 minutes after its captain noticed water covering its main deck. F/V Aleutian Isle spent more than a month on the sea floor, with the powerful currents of Haro Strait moving it to deeper water over time, before salvage crews lifted it from the water. They recovered 590 gallons of diesel from its tanks. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:11
