Seattle Blog and Recent Site Additions

May 28, 2012 Page 1

Fishermen's Terminal

Salmon Bay in Magnolia

3919 18th Avenue West

Page 1 — views of the Terminal, information about the Terminal, photos of the fishing boats

Page 2 (click here) — a photo gallery of the fishing boats’ details like ropes, nets, floats, pulleys, wiring, hardware, and plumbing

Fishermen's Terminal Boat

Fishermen's Terminal

One fun and visually exciting place to explore is Fishermen’s Terminal. Located on Salmon Bay in Magnolia, this is the home port for the Northwest fishing fleet, one of the Northwest’s vital industries. The Terminal serves between 500 to 700 commercial vessels. Some of the boats on the Discovery Channel’s show Deadliest Catch dock here. The Terminal was built in 1913 and is operated by the Port of Seattle.

Statistics—the Northwest fishing fleet catches 2.5 billion pounds of fish, more than half of the edible catch in the United States. More than 85% of the bottom fish in U. S. waters are harvested by the huge factory trawlers.

The Terminal is located in fresh water and the vessels are not subjected to tides and corrosion. Seattle’s mild climate means that the vessels can make repairs year round.

Why visit? It is a lot of fun to stroll around and see the wide variety of fishing boats that are moored at the Terminal. The boats range in size from 30 feet to 300 feet. Seeing the boats up close really shows you the details of running commercial fishing vessels. These boats come in many shapes, sizes, and colors.

The fleet is composed of gillnetters, trawlers, purse seiners, crab vessels, and longline vessels.

You can stroll on long piers where the boats are moored and see many of them up close. Many of the boats are undergoing repairs.

The Terminal is a treasure trove of scenery for photographers. The fishing vessels are colorful and offer many different shapes and sizes. What I like are the little details that show you what life is like on the vessels. They have ropes, nets, complex electrical systems, pipes, and wenches.

Another colorful and interesting place to stroll is on the north side of the terminal. Here are stored the colorful nets, floats, pulleys, wenches, and ropes of the fleet.

In front of the Terminal building are signs that tell you about the fishing fleet and the types of fishing that they do.

Make note of the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial in front of the Terminal building, dedicated to the over 500 Seattle fishermen who lost their lives in their profession.

Eating—you can dine at Chinook’s, part of Anthony’s Homeport chain, and look out at the fishing fleet.

Fresh seafood—you can purchase fresh seafood at the Wild Salmon Seafood Market.

Address: The official address for the Fishermen’s Terminal is 3919 18^th Avenue West. Metro buses can take you to the Terminal.

Fishermen's Terminal