Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial

Here at Alaska Air Forwarding, we have a special bond with the commercial fishing industry. In fact, in 1965, when our company was founded, we began as a buying service to the Alaska Fishermen and then gradually added more services to serve this industry. As time went on, our owners seized new opportunities to grow this company to where we are today.

We are grateful for the growth and the opportunity to serve a number of different industries, but we’ve never forgotten our beginnings nor the ties we have to the commercial fishing industry. We’ve served the commercial fishing for over 50 years helping fishermen do their jobs at sea. However, in more recent years, we’ve had the opportunity to support the commercial fishing industry in a different way through our support of The Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial.

The Memorial

The Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial began in 1988 as a means of honoring and remembering the men and women who have lost their lives working on commercial fishing boats between Seattle and Alaska. A beautiful bronze and stone statue marks the memorial at the Seattle Fisherman’s terminal along with a place for individual tiles to be laid in honor of each fisherman who has perished at sea. In many cases, the fisherman can simply vanish, and the grieving families are left to wonder exactly what happened to their loved ones.

This memorial and the individual tiles around, serve as a permanent marker and remembrance for many family members allowing them to experience some level of closure and comfort.

The Families

In addition to providing a permanent memorial for families, the Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial offers other programs that are designed to serve and support commercial fishermen and their families.

• Counseling: In 1993, the memorial committee retained the services of a grief counselor/coordinator to help assist the families in the wake of a death. This counselor is available to offer grief counseling as well as visit the home upon the family’s request to assist with other details.
• Safety: Programs offering instruction on safety and emergency procedures are also available to fishermen. One such program is the E-stop program which assists vessels in the installation of the Capstan Winch Emergency Stop. The technology provided through this program can help curtail a large number of accidents and fatalities involving winch entanglements. The Fisherman’s Safety Fair is an annual event to teach and instruct fishermen in practical skills for living and working safely at sea.
• Scholarships: Since the Memorial also serves as a charitable organization, they also provide financial assistance to families in the form of scholarships for surviving dependents to help with education expenses.
• Events: The memorial also holds a number of events throughout the year. The two most notable are the Fisherman’s Fall Festival, which celebrates the return of the fishermen at the end of the season and serves to educate the public about the industry, and the Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial Banquet, which is the largest yearly fundraiser to support the work of the organization.

If you would like more information about how to help or make a contribution contact the Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial.

The Commercial Fishing industry is one that benefits all of us and here at Alaska Air Forwarding, we are proud to support this industry through the work we do as well as lending our support to the Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial.