The Ocean Companies, including Ocean Gold Seafoods, Ocean Protein, Ocean Cold and Ocean Express, have united behind a common focus: Keep Grays Harbor Fishing. The new campaign launched late last month with the website keepgraysharborfishing.com. Each company represents different areas of the fishing industry that directly affect the local economy of Grays Harbor County.
“While a lot of people recognize Westport for its fishing history,” explained Dennis Rydman, president of Ocean Gold and longtime participant in the fishery, “the details of just how significant fishing is not only to Westport but to our entire county often surprises people.”
Westport is one of the largest ports for edible landed catch in the country, and it is the largest for Pacific whiting on the entire West Coast. Commercial, charter and recreational fishermen, many of whom live throughout the county outside of the fishing season, call Westport their home port. In an independent economic study conducted by DeSCo (www.descosolutions.com) in 2008, the combined economic impact of Ocean Gold and Ocean Protein was calculated to provide more than $20 million in total value-added gains. Since then, both Ocean Cold and Ocean Express have launched, giving the company and the fishing industry an even deeper and more integrated connection to the local economy and its coastal community heritage.
As part of the company’s mission to Keep Grays Harbor Fishing, it has highlighted three areas of focus: Good Jobs, Clean Oceans, and Strong Communities.
The Ocean Companies integration with processing, cold storage and transportation has built new opportunities for local workers making it the second largest employer in the county during the fishing season.
Last month, the company sponsored a beach cleanup and barbecue with Washington state parks and the CoastSavers, and it expects to organize similar projects in the future. The company is also considering experimental gear to reduce at-sea waste and is finding new partnerships with a host of environmental, educational and community groups.
The company has always been active in community events, whether providing crab or fish for fundraisers or supporting library expansions and community events. The Ocean Companies seek to expand those efforts with new plans to work with local schools and other groups to help spread the word on the importance of fishing to the region and its legacy of pioneering sustainable practices in its own back yard.
“These are not new areas of interest for us,” added Rydman. “We are simply taking a public stance now on just how critical jobs, sustainability and community are to us and to our mission to keep Grays Harbor fishing. Our region’s connection to fishing is something we should all be proud of and we should all be able to unite around in the future.”
