John Miguel Esteban

The Terminal (#1 of 3 galleries)

Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal is the last commercial fishing port in a major American City.

It is a gritty place rich with history, form, texture, lines, color, and surprising whimsy. To sit on the west wall and watch the sun come up over the fleet at dawn; to smell the peculiar mix of odors from diesel, fish and welding; and to read the names of the more than 500 local commercial fishermen who have been lost at sea since 1900—these are things that every Seattleite should experience.

But recent years have seen a dramatic decrease in fishing vessels as fish prices have plummeted due to industrial fish farms and consolidation. In 2002, the Port of Seattle voted to permit pleasure boats to dock in Fishermen's Terminal. Now, with all the redevelopment just a short distance away along south Lake Union, another area closely tied to the city's maritime past, the question is: Can Seattle retain its working waterfront?

The Terminal supports over 5,300 jobs and delivers a stream of 5 billion dollars into the local economy; accommodates 600 vessels up to 300' in length; provides ship and boat yards, net sheds, a net repair yard, outdoor gear storage; and is home to the north Pacific fishing fleet and the largest, skilled marine workforce on the west coast. It is also home to several of the fishing vessels featured on the Discovery Channel's, Deadliest Catch.

Fishing was one of the three heavy industries that Seattle was founded on (the others being logging and coal) and the only one that remains somewhat healthy today. 

Notes:

For more about Seattle's maritime gentrification and the challenges facing the local fishing industry, watch Fishermen's Terminal, by documentary filmmaker and oral historian, B.J. Bullert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya5Olkd_pS8

Status: 50+ images in collection. 2012-Present. Ongoing project.