Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach Fishermen s Terminal 20-Year Plan Joseph Gellings, Port of Seattle September 17, 2010 I. Objective of the 20 Year Plan and Fishing Fleet Outreach The Fishermen s Terminal 20-Year Plan is examining the adequacy of upland facilities across this 25-acre facility. The primary facility types being considered are buildings and yards. The objective of the plan is to determine a planning strategy for the aging structures and yards and to identify new improvements. The plan will be informed by the changing needs of our customers, including fishermen and existing upland business tenants. Other key inputs to the plan will include the results of the asset condition assessment as well as the findings of the Net Shed Solutions project. The three primary stakeholder groups identified for this process are 1) fishing fleets, 2) upland tenants, and 3) community and industrial advocacy groups. This report is concerned only with outreach to the fishing fleets stakeholder group and it presents the initial findings after engaging with that group. The objective of outreach to the fishing fleets is to gain an understanding of their needs to ensure that the 20-Year Plan will preserve Fishermen s Terminal s role as a vital maritime industrial facility. Outreach to the other two stakeholder groups is ongoing as described in the next section. II. Designing the Stakeholder Outreach Process Port of Seattle staff undertook an iterative process to determine the best way to engage with the three stakeholder groups. The Fishermen s Terminal Advisory Committee (FTAC) was consulted at the launch of the study in October 2009. FTAC advised that outreach to the fishing fleets is best accomplished through one-on-one interviews as well as regular engagement with FTAC itself. On November 11 2009, approximately 925 moorage and upland tenants were sent a letter introducing the 20-Year Plan planning process and mentioning the potential role of one-on-one interviews as well as public forums. The letter invited them to an initial Customer Open House held on-site the morning of January 6, 2010. Meanwhile, typical project noticing efforts were made including 1) presentations to eight preexisting community and industrial advocacy groups, 2) an article in the preexisting Fishermen s Terminal Newsletter, and 3) establishment of a project website within the Port of Seattle site. Despite the extensive noticing, the January 6 Customer Open House had a relatively low attendance at 11 people. Most of the attendees were upland building tenants rather than fishermen. The project
team also felt that public forums may not be the ideal means to engage with fishermen because explaining their facility needs can be somewhat complicated or technical. For these reasons, the project team decided that one-on-one interviews must be the primary means of outreach to the fishing fleets. The project team first turned to FTAC in search of participants for the interviews. Eight of the eleven FTAC members participated in the fishing fleet interviews, which lasted from December 2009 to March 2010. After gaining commitments to participation from within FTAC, the project team sought additional participation from the fishing fleets. Staff encountered some reluctance to participation but continued to pursue interview recruits with an emphasis on 1) long tenures as Fishermen s Terminal customers, 2) long tenures in the industry, 3) past willingness to provide input, and 4) fishing gear type (to ensure all gear types were represented.) The resulting 15 interviews represented a true cross section of the fishing gear types that are found at Fishermen s Terminal. At the same time, this report does not treat the interviews as a scientific opinion poll. While every effort was made to achieve a representative sample of all fishing tenants, it cannot be assumed that the final group is a scientific sample of all fishing tenants. Therefore, this report does not emphasize the percentage of interviewees who responded a certain way to interview questions. The number of 15 interviews compares to a total fishing moorage roster that fluctuates between 220 and 270. Port staff followed a set of predetermined questions in each of the interviews. The questions cover the full range of issues of facilities planning. They can be found in Appendix A. The list of interviewees is found in Appendix B. While less formal, the outreach has already begun for the stakeholder groups of upland tenants and community / industrial advocate groups. The January 6 Customer Open house was key to engagement with the upland tenants whereas the December / January presentations were key to engagement with community / industrial advocate groups. The project team will use the contacts established from those events for re-engaging as specific planning ideas are generated. III. Results of the Fishing Fleet Interviews General The 15 interviews produced very valuable information for the 20 Year Plan process. The commercial fishing industrial is constantly evolving and it would be a mistake to assume that support services and facilities can remain static. The interviewees produced some very specific facilities ideas on matters such as storage, seafood sales, and work areas. The project team will investigate all of these ideas and report back on their findings. In addition to specific suggestions about facilities, the interviewees made some insightful comments about the climate at Fishermen s Terminal. These included attitudes about presence of the general public versus industrial character as well as attitudes toward new types of business ventures. Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 2
Covered and Open Storage Throughout the history of Fishermen s Terminal, equipment storage facilities have been a primary supportive function for the fishing fleets. Today this takes the form of 248 storage locker units ( covered storage ) as well as a large open storage yard along the West Wall. In concert with the Fishermen s Terminal 20 Year Plan, a study of the storage locker units is also being conducted the Net Sheds Solutions study. That study is looking at resolving fire code and building code issues triggered by the fact that over the years many locker tenants (past and present) have configured their storage vertically using homemade loft structures within the locker units. Nearly all of the participants in the interviews are presently using storage lockers on-site and expressed that this is a crucial support function for Fishermen s Terminal. At the same time the interviews suggest that there is broad-based support amongst fishermen for the safety-related goals of the Net Shed Solutions study. The interviews did not reveal any differences in the relative importance of storage lockers to different fishing boat gear types. For example, there was no support for a statement such as long liner boats need more covered storage than seiner boats. More than 50 percent of the interviewees presently lease space for open storage along the West Wall and in the southeast corner of Fishermen s Terminal. Interviewees pointed out that the evolution of the commercial fishing industry, including the shifts between different gear types, suggests that the demand for open storage will be steady or increase. Facilities In Support of On-Site Seafood Sales A common thread to several of the comments of interview participants was on-site seafood sales. As the commercial fishing industry continues to evolve and supply chains are re-evaluated, some interview participants would like to see Fishermen s Terminal play new roles in the wholesale and retail sales of their seafood products. A portion of the participants were in favor of new facilities that would allow expansion of the retail (end user) seafood sales activity that presently exists. Presently a very small number of fishing moorage tenants engage in on-site seafood sales. Amongst the interview participant suggestions was expansion of the off-boat sales along the West Wall as well as a farmer s market model of regularly-scheduled retail events in a multi-purpose outdoor area of Fishermen s Terminal. Two related new services supported by a portion of the interview participants are a seafood wash down facility and a smokehouse. The participants in support of a wash down facility favored a permanent facility available to any existing moorage tenant and with its own user fee. It was noted that numerous regulations would apply such as the health department regulations. Similarly, the participants in Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 3
support of a smokehouse favored a permanent facility available to any existing moorage tenant and with its own user fee. A portion of the participants were in favor of facilities that would allow for wholesale seafood sales to occur for moorage tenants on-site. The exact parameters of this concept were not defined but working models can be found in the fish auctions that exist at various commercial fishing terminals worldwide. The participants who stated that they would utilize the new facilities described above are all independent fishermen working in small boat fisheries. However, not all independent small boat participants were in favor of this type of expansion of on-site seafood sales and a portion even viewed it as a poor allocation of Fishermen s Terminal resources. While the advocates of on-site seafood sales accounted for less than 50 percent of the interviewees, they all acknowledged that the Port would need to verify that its costs could be recovered before investing in the projects. Work Areas More than 50 percent of the interviewees supported the concept of creating covered working areas for working on fishing gear. This support came in the context of new emphasis to eliminate certain types of work from occurring within the storage lockers. All types of work involving open flames such as welding have been forbidden inside the storage lockers and this will receive extra attention as part of the code compliance review with the Net Shed Solutions project. The concept for replacement work areas that emerged from the interviews is an area that is covered but not enclosed and includes a few hook-ups such as water, power and perhaps compressed air. The areas could be communal to all fishing boat moorage tenants, possibly with a membership system and possibly with a reservation system. Less than 50 percent of the interviewees who were in support of covered work areas would like to see the areas sized adequately for covered net repair activities. The remainder of work area supporters envisioned work on small pieces of equipment. Privately Run Businesses Serving as Amenities to Fleets Certain support functions such as shipyards and fishing supply retailers have historically been best delivered via private businesses. This section summarizes which of these functions are desired by interviewees. The Port can create conditions that will attract such businesses to locate at Fishermen s Terminal to the extent that private enterprise wishes to engage in these types of businesses. A large portion of the interviewees use and value the Fishing Vessel Owners Marine Ways shipyard business on-site. This tenant has operated here since 1919 and has catered to the evolving fleet of fishing boats at Fishermen s Terminal throughout that time. Other on-site businesses valued to some extent by interviewees include Great Western Pumps and the fishing trade-group businesses officed onsite. Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 4
A portion of the interviewees expressed that former Fishermen s Terminal tenant businesses were valuable to them. These included the Seattle Ship Supply which was engaged in retail sales of equipment and supplies for commercial fishing as well as general work boat supplies. Other such businesses previously operating at Fishermen s Terminal included a seller of charts and navigation instruments and an electrical supply retailer. Offices for Fishing Businesses In the current state of the commercial fishing industry there is a wide range of fishing business sizes. Many fishing businesses presently have offices in the Seattle area. A portion of the interview participants supported increasing the amount of fishing businesses offices at Fishermen s Terminal. The interviewees cited the obvious advantage to the companies of having easy access to their operations that already occur at Fishermen s Terminal. In addition, they cited the benefit of protecting the industrial character of the site compared to having non-fishing tenants in a majority of the 135,000 square feet of leasable office and warehouse space. Other Needs Industrial Character Fishermen s Terminal is an industrial facility with a certain amount of commercial businesses open to the general public. Interviewees were polled on whether they felt that the presence of the public caused by commercial business is detrimental to the industrial character of Fishermen s Terminal. The responses were mixed. Some felt that the presence of the public inevitably leads to complaints about such things as industrial noises and smells. However, a majority of the interviewees felt that, if proper restrictions are in place, public presence does not take away from the industrial character and could even have some indirect benefits. One of the cited indirect benefits is greater public appreciation of the role of commercial fishing in the local economy. Diversification of Revenue Sources A small portion of interviewees stated that the Port will need to continue to indentify new types of businesses that can operate at Fishermen s Terminal in order round out the sources of revenue for the terminal. These interviewees cited examples of past successes such as recreational boat moorage to fill work boat vacancies as well as the charter and small cruise passenger boat businesses. These interviewees added that each potential type of new business would have to be evaluated on a case-bycase basis for their compatibility with a maritime industrial terminal. Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 5
Cold Storage Facilities Less than 50 percent of the interviewees stated that on-site cold storage facilities would be useful to them and they would pay a market rate. In some but not all cases the interviewee that advocated for on-site cold storage would use it in conjunction with on-site seafood sales. Parking In general, interviewees felt that the amount of on-site parking and its management is adequate. A small portion of interviewees asked the Port to investigate the concept of paid long-term parking for crews out at sea. Port of Seattle Assistance in Marketing of Product A small portion of interviewees stated that they would like the Port of Seattle to undertake programs to assist fishermen with the marketing of their seafood products. Since the Fishermen s Terminal 20 Year Plan is a facilities planning project this suggestion will become part of the outreach record but it will not necessarily be addressed in the final plan. Public Interpretation A small portion of interviewees advocated for improvement or expansion on the opportunities for public interpretation about commercial fishing at Fishermen s Terminal. An example of this is kiosks or plaques installed at the foot of the docks with information, graphics, or photographs that educate the public about commercial fishing. Since the Fishermen s Terminal 20 Year Plan is a facilities planning project this suggestion will become part of the outreach record but it will not necessarily be addressed in the final plan. Appendix A Interview Questions 1. What fisheries / gear types are you involved with? 2. What trends do you see coming to those fisheries / gear? 3. How would these bear on FT facilities planning? 4. What upland facilities at Fishermen s Terminal do you currently utilize? a. Net lockers? b. Office space? c. Additional Storage? 5. Do the existing upland facilities meet your space requirements? a. Are they convenient / well laid-out? 6. What would improve their usefulness? Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 6
7. Are there additional upland facilities/services that would improve the overall service at Fishermen s Terminal? 8. What trends do you see in the commercial fishing industry that will bear on facilities planning? 9. Are the existing parking facilities adequate? a. Is there too little? Is there more than enough? Appendix B Interview Participants Jim Bassett, Troller Pete Knutson, Gillnetter David Harsila, Gillnetter Paul Matson, Seiner Steve Huestis, Seiner John McHenry, Longliner Jack Knutsen, Longliner Robert Alverson, Longliner Tim King, Catcher Trawler Erv Leask, Tender Vessel Chuck Baker, Tender Vessel Mike Shelford, Crabber Steve Hughes, Fisheries Research and former fisherman Dennis Peterson, FTAC member and former fisherman Paula Cassidy, Owner of Wild Salmon retail tenant Port of Seattle Summary of Initial Fishing Fleet Outreach 7