PORT ANGELES – Local food bank customers are getting a windfall of some of the best fish on earth thanks to the combined effort of the Cape Flattery Fishermen’s Cooperative, Washington State University Extension, and Washington Sea Grant.
The cooperative, a local fishery based in Neah Bay, is owned and operated by fishermen from the Makah Tribe. So far they have donated or sold over 4,500 pounds of fish to area food banks in May and June. Their surplus of over 8,000 pounds of frozen true cod was due to the national and overseas markets shutting down during the pandemic.
WSU Extension has been working closely with Washington Sea Grant for three years looking for ways to support local farmers and fisheries in getting healthy food to people who need it.
Before Covid, most of fish caught by the cooperative was sent to restaurants in Seattle, or other cities on the west coast.
(WSU Extension photo: WSU Extension’s Kellie Henwood (far left) and Washington Sea Grant’s Sarah Fisken (far right) delivered several boxes of true cod from Cape Flattery Fishermens Co‑Op to volunteers at the Jefferson County Food Bank in Port Hadlock, Wash. last month.)