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Day on the Bay offers chance for people to meet their local fishermen

Community members will have the chance to attend 17 events at waterfront festival

Honorio Marquez fillets his first fish of the day on a large white cutting board.
Honorio Marquez fillets a fish September 2023 during the Bellingham Dockside Market. A new waterfront festival will take place Saturday, Sept. 28 at different locations across Bellingham and Fairhaven. (Sophia Nunn/Cascadia Daily News)
By Annie Todd Criminal Justice/Enterprise Reporter

Whatcom County residents will have the chance to learn where their seafood comes from during a new waterfront festival at the end of September.

Day on the Bay will feature tours of fishing vessels, waterfront industries and talks on how the environment and waterfront industry work together across Bellingham Bay. It’s the first year for the event and comes two weeks after the Whatcom County Farm Tour, meant to connect community members with a local farmer.

It’s that event that inspired the Day on the Bay idea last year around this time. Kevin Coleman, the executive director of Bellingham Seafeast, said he wanted an event to bridge Eat Local Month, all of September, and Seafood Week, the last week of September, ahead of SeaFeast on Oct. 5–6.

Jessica Gillis, the food and farming program manager at Sustainable Connections, worked with Coleman to get the idea off the ground.

“There’s been a lot of focus on the farming end of our lens and I really wanted to get into the fishing piece as well,” Gillis said. “It’s such a huge part of the food that comes into our county.”

The Fisherman's Memorial, left, stands at Zuanich Point Park as many visitors walk along the path with some sitting on benches to admire the view.
The Fisherman’s Memorial, left, stands at Zuanich Point Park while boats moor at Squalicum Harbor in the background. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at different locations across Bellingham and Fairhaven. Sawtooth Dock, Zuanich Point Park, the Marine Life Center, Seattle Marine, Taylor Dock, Village Books, the Community Boating Center and the Cruise Terminal will all host free events during the day. Events include fishing boat and Coast Guard vessel tours, a net mending station at LFS Marine and Outdoor, learning about water quality testing and learning about the Hannah Project, a fish processing vessel just returned from Alaska.

There are also two ticketed events: a $25 tour of the Bellingham Cold Storage Facility and a $75 Dragonfly Kayak Tour of the Bellingham Waterfront with Good Time Girls. 

WTA will also be running a bus line to Squalicum Harbor, allowing people to ride the bus to Dockside Market where fishermen typically sell their catch. The market also accepts EBT and SNAP benefits allowing for families to access fresh seafood.

By offering tours of the waterfront, its industries and the fishermen who make their living off the water, Dan Tucker, the program manager for the Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition, hopes Day on the Bay connects community members who don’t normally come down to the water with Whatcom County’s fishing heritage.


“A lot of our fishermen are facing market difficulties, they’re trying to direct market themselves more,” he said, noting there had been a flood of salmon on the market, meaning processors are buying cheaper fish. “So part of it is not only getting the public connected to the waterfront and what goes on here, but also getting them directly connected to the fishermen so they can help support those fishermen by coming down to Dockside Market.”

Tucker added that having the environmental activism theme at Taylor Dock allows people to learn about how environmentalism and industry work together.

“I do not know a single fisherman or woman that is not a conservationist,” he said. “They all recognize the need to not only be mindful of their impacts, but be active participants in rehabilitation of the ecology.”

“Folks understand when they’re buying local from [these fishermen], it makes a difference,” she said. “It helps our local community and people that they get to see and know in this community thrive.”

More events could be added ahead of Day on the Bay. Please check Sustainable Connections’s website for a list of events, the schedule and to register and buy tickets for the day.

Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.

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