Port of Seattle — fishermen's finest

Industry Partner Recognized for Environmental Accomplishments

Kristian Uri, Annika Saltman, Kenneth Lyles (Port of Seattle), and Helena Park

Fishermen’s Finest is a commercial fishing fleet on a mission to feed the world. This work goes hand-in-hand with careful stewardship of natural resources, said Helena Park, CEO.

Park and the Seattle-based Fishermen’s Finest team operate with the philosophy that responsible fishery management is essential for the long-term health of fisheries, coastal communities, and their business. Because it's critical to ensure a future supply of quality fish for global consumers, they’ve taken the following actions to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial fishing:

Becoming the first commercial fishing fleet to both join Green Marine and achieve Green Marine’s environmental certification for the maritime industry
Building the America’s Finest (262-foot) fishing vessel that reduces fuel consumption by 66 percent in pursuit of the goal to become a net-zero carbon fleet
Investing in the first sale of King County urban forest carbon credits
Representing the lowest carbon footprint of the Bering Sea Trawl Fleet

“In order to survive in our industry, we have to be the stewards of the natural resources that we use. We harvest our fish and produce food to feed the world, and we want to do that with the least amount of a carbon footprint impact as possible. Most ships in the industry are old and they are using the old technology with not very good fuel efficiency,” Park said. “We want to be sustainable with our investment in people and in innovation, in the limited time that we have on this earth. It took almost seven years to complete [our sustainable vessel], but it will keep our crew safe and they feel like they're making a contribution to the environment.”

Sustainable Century Awards

For accomplishments and innovations described above, Fishermen’s Finest was recognized by the Port in the Sustainable Century Awards (formerly known as the Environmental Excellence Awards). Fishermen's Finest landed the Maritime Environmental Innovation Award at a recent awards luncheon held at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Award recipients, who can include customers, tenants, nonprofits, and Port partners, demonstrate environmental leadership and are crucial in helping the Port achieve its goals of environmental stewardship, sustainability, and equity.