Pacific County is the 4th most seafood dependent community in the U.S.
ILWACO, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), held a roundtable discussion at the Port of Ilwaco with local officials and stakeholders on economic development projects for the region, including opportunities for federal investments to help rebuild the commercial fishing dock that suffered catastrophic damages in a tragic fire earlier this year, just days before the start of the commercial Dungeness crabbing season.
“In the infrastructure bill, we wrote into the Port Infrastructure Development Program…a huge increase in the amount of money. I just basically said, ports are us. Ports are us. So we’re going to plan infrastructure,” said Sen. Cantwell
Photos and video of today’s roundtable and boat tour, including photos of Ilwaco Port Commissioner Butch Smith handing the new street sign to Sen. Cantwell, are available HERE
Following the roundtable, Sen. Cantwell joined Ilwaco Port Commissioner Butch Smith, U.S. Coast Guard officials, and other participants for a boat tour of the Ilwaco waterfront. During the boat tour, Sen. Cantwell saw U.S. Coast Guard Station Disappointment, where the future fleet of heavy-weather lifeboats will be homeported to support search and rescue missions, which is critical to safety of people working in the fishing and maritime sector in Pacific and Grays Harbor counties. Sen. Cantwell authored legislation to replace these critical boats in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act which was signed into law in 2022. In 2023, Sen. Cantwell secured a downpayment of $12 million to replace the heavy-weather boats in the 2023 Appropriations Act.
During the roundtable, Sen. Cantwell also said: “this is one of the most dependent seafood economies in the nation, and so proud to represent Pacific County fighting for these interests in the United States Senate. So I’m very proud of that, and glad that our Coast Guard station is here and we fight for those resources.”
Pacific County is the 4th most fishing-dependent economy in the nation. Nearly 1,300 fishermen at the Ports of Ilwaco and Chinook boast a combined annual catch of 21 million pounds of fish and shellfish. The Port of Ilwaco alone processes nearly $25 million of Dungeness crab, albacore tuna, Pacific pink shrimp, salmon – primarily coho and Chinook, whiting, halibut, and lingcod annually. Many fishermen in Pacific County also work in fisheries in Alaska, including Bristol Bay salmon fisheries, contributing an additional $21 million in personal income contributions in the county.
Pacific County is also home to the largest shellfish aquaculture industry on the west coast, producing over $10 million annually in wholesale value of oysters and clams. The shellfish industry is one of the top employers in the region and provides 600 local jobs.
Sen. Cantwell has been a champion for Washington state’s fishing and maritime economies. In 2011, Sen. Cantwell became the first Senator to oppose the Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, one of the most productive salmon runs in the world. For 12 years, Sen. Cantwell spearheaded efforts alongside the EPA to block the proposal, which would have had devastating affects on Bristol Bay salmon that support over 5,000 fishery jobs in Washington state. The proposal was officially blocked in January 2023.
In 2021, Sen. Cantwell secured a historic $2.855 billion investment in salmon recovery and ecosystem restoration programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), including a $1 billion provision authored by Sen. Cantwell to create a new program to remove or replace culverts to that are blocking salmon. The BIL also included $491 million for salmon habitat and community resilience grants, which Sen. Cantwell fought to include in the final bill.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act passed with a provision authored by Sen. Cantwell to provide more than $300 million to increase production at for Tribal fish hatcheries, in July 2024, $28 million from this program was awarded to tribes in Washington state.
Also included in the BIL, Sen. Cantwell championed a record $2.25 billion for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). The Port of Ilwaco received a $2.4 million PIDP award for the East Bulkhead Resilience Project. Senator Cantwell has also authored legislation to ensure that the PIDP program supports small ports, as well as seafood-related infrastructure, which could be used to help rebuild after the fire in Ilwaco.
Photos and video of today’s roundtable and tour, including photos of Ilwaco Port Commissioner Butch Smith handing the new street sign to Sen. Cantwell, are available HERE
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