It’s National Seafood Month in Seattle and a great time to celebrate what comes fresh from the Pacific. Many of the commercial vessels moored at port of Seattle fish in Alaskan waters for king crab, salmon and other seafood and together the fleet supplies 13% of the total US commercial fishing harvest.
Thanks to a partnership between Washington Maritime Blue and the Port of Seattle, the next generation of fishing and maritime businesses are being nurtured at the Fisherman’s Terminal. It’s good to see these Startups’ commitment to caring for local underwater wildlife:
Astraeus Ocean Systems are developing ropeless recovery systems to recover commercial crab and lobster pots, eliminating risks of entanglement for marine animals.
UnCruise Adventures have installed an award-winning prototype on the Safari Quest ship which cruises in Puget Sound and Alaska waters. The equipment detects marine mammals with acoustic sensors under and above the water to protect the wildlife.
Earthwise Sorbents repurposes polyurethane wastes into high-performance absorbent pillows and recycles plastic and polypropylene wastes from other large vendors into melt-blown pads, sweeps, and booms. This reduces the carbon footprint of manufacturing and gives foam and fabric waste a second life as environmental clean-up products.
With many of our cruise partners setting out from Seattle to Alaska and using local produce for their seafood menus it is good to know the care being taken by the port authorities to protect local fish stocks and sealife. And of course, a popular port excursion at Seattle is to visit the Pike Place Market where freshly caught fish is sold in a lively and entertaining manner!
