Jennifer Mortensen

In February 1974, a landmark legal decision reaffirmed Tribal fishing rights in the waters of the Pacific Northwest and allocated 50% of the annual harvestable catch to treaty Tribes. Since then, Tribes in Washington have co-managed fisheries to protect salmon, fin fish, ground fish, shellfish, and other critical resources from decline. Cecilia Gobin is part of that work to protect Tribal rights and the ecosystems they depend on.

In an unassuming building on the Anacortes waterfront, skilled craftspeople feed spools of incredibly strong synthetic threads into machines that look like a loom built for giants. The machines process the fine synthetic fibers into thick ropes, eventually destined to shepherd the largest ships in the world into port. After the rope is completed, the team treats it for durability and secures the ends with splices, knots, and hardware before shipping it out the door.

Working Waterfronts photo series // People // Resources Looking down Q Avenue in Anacortes, visitors and residents will sometimes see the green and white of a Washington State Ferry towering above their historic downtown. Other times, it’s a white and blue fish tender from British Columbia. Occasionally, it’s a steel frame, soon to become a yacht.