WESTPORT, Wash. — The signs are everywhere as you drive into town, everything from oyster farms to fishing vessels offering up the ocean's bounty with handmade, roadside advertisements. Westport on Washington's coast is the place to find a fresh catch.
"If you're coming to Westport, it's gritty, it's authentic, it's the real deal. It's one of only a few true authentic fishing communities on Washington's coast,” said Molly Bold, general manager of the Westport Marina. There was just one catch to getting the fresh catch into the hands of seafood lovers.
"Tourists come to town, they've heard that we're this huge seafood landing port. They've heard that we have all of these commercial fishing vessels and we're [a] seafood fishing town, Washington's fishing town, but they didn't know where to buy seafood,” she explained.
That's because much of this catch is commercial - shipped all over the globe.
So, the 9th largest commercial seaport in the nation went to work to put some of their bounty directly into the hands of visitors, one fish at a time. Westport's Fresh Catch is a program that uses its website and a huge dockside sign to show visitors what's in season - and exactly where to find it when they come to town.
For example, craving fresh caught tuna? The sign will guide you to what month it's generally available (July, August, September and October) and then to the fishing vessel Jetstream on float number 7. This is where Richard Toal sells tuna that he just caught, right off his boat.
"It can't get any fresher, you know,” he said.
He’ll filet the fish for you, and chat you up about his favorite way to cook it (wrap the loins in bacon and grill). When we visited, he even had some samples on board – seared albacore crusted in sesame and some poke.
"I think it's really special that we do this here in our small community, catch fresh fish, the best fish in the world, right here, right off our coast,” Toal said.
Fresh Catch also shows what's in season and being sold at Westport's fish markets and restaurants.
Even though much of the ocean bounty harvested here is destined for markets all over the world, commercial fisher Sarah Franey is passionate about this program connecting customers directly with what she works so hard to catch.
"You know, we feel good about getting fresh fish to people. And everyone that gets our fish is super happy, and they appreciate it and it helps us too,” she said after offloading totes full of salmon from her fishing boat at a busy waterfront processing plant, some of which will end up for sale at nearby Merino’s Seafood Market.
"When people come here, we want them to feel like they're a part of it,” said Bold. “They can walk down on the docks or walk into the markets and know that people are proud of their product, proud of their way of life, and that we will help them find what they're looking for."
Sponsored by Grays Harbor County.
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