Pacific Fishermen Shipyard Turns 75 – A Tale of Three Anniversaries
Just north of Seattle, on Ballard’s Salmon Bay east of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, sits an icon that seems to have popped right out of another era. Pacific Fishermen Shipyard, or “PacFish” as it’s known to those who do business here, is part commercial enterprise, part museum, and part a study in Norwegian determination, but in a word, it’s a success. In 2021, the yard celebrates its 75th anniversary while it’s legendary general manager, Doug Dixon, logs his 20th year on the job. And by a perfect triangulating circumstance, it’s also the 150th anniversary of Norwegian shipbuilding in the area.
PacFish finds itself in the middle of a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood that’s losing its industrial character, so its focus on environmental stewardship is central to its survival. They...