July 27, 2022
Fishermen’s Finest is a commercial fishing fleet on a mission to feed the world. This work goes hand-in-hand with careful stewardship of natural resources, said Helena Park, CEO.
Park and the Seattle-based Fishermen’s Finest team operate with the philosophy that responsible fishery management is essential for the long-term health of fisheries, coastal communities, and their business. Because it's critical to ensure a future supply of quality fish for global consumers, they’ve taken the following actions to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial fishing:
- Becoming the first commercial fishing fleet to both join Green Marine and achieve Green Marine’s environmental certification for the maritime industry
- Building the America’s Finest (262-foot) fishing vessel that reduces fuel consumption by 66 percent in pursuit of the goal to become a net-zero carbon fleet
- Investing in the first sale of King County urban forest carbon credits
- Representing the lowest carbon footprint of the Bering Sea Trawl Fleet
“In order to survive in our industry, we have to be the stewards of the natural resources that we use. We harvest our fish and produce food to feed the world, and we want to do that with the least amount of a carbon footprint impact as possible. Most ships in the industry are old and they are using the old technology with not very good fuel efficiency,” Park said. “We want to be sustainable with our investment in people and in innovation, in the limited time that we have on this earth. It took almost seven years to complete [our sustainable vessel], but it will keep our crew safe and they feel like they're making a contribution to the environment.”
Sustainable Century Awards
For accomplishments and innovations described above, Fishermen’s Finest was recognized by the Port in the Sustainable Century Awards (formerly known as the Environmental Excellence Awards). Fishermen's Finest landed the Maritime Environmental Innovation Award at a recent awards luncheon held at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Award recipients, who can include customers, tenants, nonprofits, and Port partners, demonstrate environmental leadership and are crucial in helping the Port achieve its goals of environmental stewardship, sustainability, and equity.
Here are other award winners who are improving the environment in their communities and around the world.
Aviation Environmental Innovation Award
Bellair Charters/Airporter Shuttle
Birds on the airfield pose a danger to both passengers and wildlife. Since 2011, Bellair Charters/Airporter Shuttle has supported SEA’s Raptor Strike Avoidance Program to reduce the number of collisions between birds and aircraft, improving safety and protecting local wildlife. Biologists trap birds of prey on the airfield and safely relocate them to Skagit County.
Since 2011, Bellair has voluntarily transported nearly 800 birds of prey to their new homes on return trips to Burlington, Wash. Sixteen species of raptors, including red-tailed hawks, were transported from SEA to farmland habitat near the community of Bow for tagging and release to the wild. More than 90 percent of relocated birds stay north and never return to SEA Airport.
Over the 10 years of this partnership, the program has saved 70 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would have been used to rehome wildlife. And the free wildlife trips used already scheduled routes to save money and staff time for the Port.
As an airport shuttle company, the concept of carrying birds for relocation was initially an unusual concept, but Johnson and his staff understand the importance of protecting wildlife and supporting operational safety.
“Safety is everything to our company,” said Richard Johnson, Bellair Airporter Shuttle president. “It is a point of pride for our employees to partner with the airport on reducing the risk of bird strikes, helping birds move to a safer habitat, and avoiding carbon emissions. This program lets us play an even bigger role in our community. We appreciate the partnership and the recognition.”
Airline awards for reducing emissions
Southwest Airlines
The Port recognized Southwest Airlines for its use of ground power systems to reduce emissions while docked at SEA airport gates in 2021.
- 80-90% of all Southwest operations connect to emission-reducing ground power systems
- Southwest had the longest connectivity to ground power systems while at gate (over 80% of the time between gate arrival and pushback)
“We have the task of moving people around from here to there to the things that they love. So if we can do that in a more efficient way, in a more long lasting way, I think that's beneficial to not only the Earth, but it's beneficial to everybody on our aircraft as well,” said Vincent Owens, Southwest station manager, Seattle.
In the future, this award will expand to include other airline emission reduction strategies like reducing use of axillary-power-units, using Pre-conditioned air systems, and more.
Delta Airlines
The Port recognized Delta Airlines for operating the highest percentage use of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft that reduce emissions at SEA. Of the aircraft Delta operated at SEA in 2021, 16% were highly fuel-efficient, such as Airbus A220s, A330neos, and A350s, compared to other high-operation carriers who achieved closer to 7%.
“Delta Air Lines’ increasingly fuel-efficient fleet is a critical component on our Flight to Net Zero™,” said Mahendra Nair, Delta’s S.V.P. — Fleet and TechOps Supply Chain. “We appreciate this recognition and will continue innovating toward a more sustainable future in aviation, in Seattle and our more than 275 destinations around the world.”
COVID Equitable Recovery Award
SSA Marine/Carrix
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting so many aspects of health and economics in the US and around the world, the Port wanted to recognize contributions in this area.
SSA Marine/Carrix proactively collaborated with the government and health care industry to keep trade and cruise operations functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to meet commercial needs and adapt to health constraints. The award recognized donations by SSA Marine/Carrix to the community, including volunteer staff who ran a one-week vaccine clinic in Seattle that enabled 2,700 individuals to be vaccinated, and to Food Lifeline, a large foodbank, the company contributed space, equipment, and volunteers that increased capacity by 41 percent, or 20 million pounds of food, to meet increased community needs.
Maritime Honorable Mention, Environmental Innovation
Whooshh Innovations
Whooshh Innovations helps migrating fish bypass barriers and return to their spawning grounds, thereby supporting a critical food source for Southern Resident Killer Whale.
“We make fish fly. By that I mean, we help fish get over barriers,” said Vince Bryan, CEO of Whoossh Innovations, based at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 91 facility.
Its innovative “Passage Portal”™ technology, helps fish travel through a tube, using a pressurized differential to suck up the fish at up to 22 miles per hour, and shooting them out the other side. This invention was inspired when a landslide on the Fraser River in British Columbia blocked passage for salmon runs in Canada’s largest salmon watershed. Whooshh worked with the Canadian government and deployed its technology in record time to help adult salmon migrate over and around the blockage.
“The advantage for fish is that they're not requiring a lot of energy to get past these barriers, which would prevent them from getting to their spawning grounds,” Bryan said. “There are a million dams in the world, and only three percent of them have any kind of fish passage at all. As we move to a clean energy future, hydropower is a big part of that.”
Fly Quiet Awards
Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and EVA Air were awarded 2022 Fly Quiet Awards to recognize their achievements in reducing noise.
