For More Information Contact:
Port of Bellingham, Carolyn Casey 360-676-2500
Arrowac Fisheries, Frank Mercker 206- 282-5655
Arrowac Fisheries Closes Bellingham Operation
[Bellingham, Wash.]Last week Arrowac Fisheries Inc. closed its Bellingham operations, laying off about 30 people. This seafood production facility, located in Fairhaven alongside the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, employed 100 people when it was in full production.
Arrowac will continue to operate its Seattle facility and will continue to buy and sell seafood from its Seattle corporate offices. Arrowac operated its Bellingham facility since 1982.
"Arrowac Fisheries has been a valued Port tenant for about 30 years and has contributed to the health of our local economy," said Commission President Doug Smith. "We are saddened that they have closed their fish processing plant."
The main seafood products Arrowac processed in Bellingham included wild salmon, halibut, black cod and dogfish.
"Increasingly restrictive fishing regulations resulting in decreasing supplies of raw materials and poor fishing seasons over the past years made it no longer feasible for us to continue our Bellingham processing facility," said Arrowac's President and Owner Frank Mercker. "It is with great regret that after so many years and especially during this severe global economic crisis, I have decided to terminate our lease for our processing plant with the Port of Bellingham."
In 1992, Arrowac's Fairhaven Building, alongside the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, suffered a catastrophic fire and the Port rebuilt the cannery facility in 1995. The Port will begin seeking a new tenant immediately.
"This closure, along with other news of our struggling local economy, underscores the importance of the Port's focus on job creation and development of the working waterfront," Smith said.
