Women's Day 2023 — fishermen's finest

“It was really believing in people that got me to where I am...”

— Helena Park

Ms. Park in St. Paul Harbor, Kodiak Island, with the US Intrepid offloading in the distance. Photo: Uri

Ms. Park is not one to have attention focused on herself but as it is International Women’s Day, we would be remiss if we did not recognize the leadership, commitment, and vision of our CEO and owner Helena Park and the company she runs from Kirkland WA – Fishermen’s Finest – 3 H&G Trawlers work 11 months/year with 300 crew working 5-6 months at sea/year:

· American No.1 built 1979 MARCO Seattle – 160’ 39 crew

· U.S. Intrepid built 1979 Bourge Louisiana – 185’ 43

· America’s Finest 2019 Dakota Creek Anacortes – 262’ 50 crew

It's ALL ABOUT THE CREW –

Good people are the key to our success

· 68% BIPOC workforce

· 25% of our crew have worked for us for 10+ years (up to 37 years – Erin Moore)

· 30% 3+ years of service

2016 – BUILDING AMERICA’S Finest presentation – still up on our website as well as the powerpoint presentation from the event.

Goal of Carbon Neutral Fleet – building new fishing vessels in the US is difficult and we need more new vessels. The average age of the US Fishing fleet is 38+ years – we have the richest fish stocks in the world and the worst fleets. Everything we do is with the goal of sharing what we have learned and encouraging our ‘friendly’ competitors to build new boats and to build them in the State of WA.

King County Carbon Credits – Fishermen’s Finest, together with Microsoft purchased the first King County-sponsored carbon credits – the Soaring Eagle Park will forever offset our carbon

Jones Act Protection – FFI is a board member of the American Maritime Partnership – the broadest and deepest coalition ever assembled to represent the domestic maritime industry; maintaining the Jones Act as the foundation of America’s domestic maritime policy.

Environmental Defense Fund – FFI sits on the board of the EDF Technical Committee, dedicated to developing technology to be deployed and scaled in order to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges facing our oceans.

Kirkland Chamber of Commerce – FFI sits on the board of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce – building and supporting our pro-business community from which we run our Company.

Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial – FFI sits on the board of and is proud to support the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial – a place for the Seattle fishing community to remember their past leaders/fishermen-women as well as a charity providing educational grants for the children of those lost at sea and free safety training for local fishermen.

DNV: All FFI vessels are maintained to the standards set forth by Det Norske Veritas. This third party, independent agency assures our vessels are maintained to the highest industry standards.

Sustainable Century award – Fishermen’s Finest was awarded the 2022 Port of Seattle Sustainable Century Award for environmental innovation.