Westport's Fresh Catch: Dump Day & Cookies
If you've spent time in Westport lately, you may have experienced some excitement about Dump Day being announced for January 29th. If you've never heard the term Dump Day before, I'm sure many colorful images come to mind, but it's not what you think! For weeks, Westport's commercial fishermen and cannery workers have patiently awaited the start of their crabbing season. Waiting for Dump Day is like a group of runners at the start line, just waiting for the signal to go! With pots neatly stacked on shore, boats tuned up, and commercial fishermen ready to get out to sea and haul in nature's bounty.
So what exactly is Dump Day? For some, it's a 24-hour marathon. Once the season opens, fishermen rush to get their pots in the water. Because most boats can't hold their allocated number of crab pots, they must make multiple trips to get all of their pots in the water. If you consider that a boat might have a 500-pot permit, but it can only carry 100 pots, that's five trips out to the crabbing grounds! Once the season opens, there is a 72-hour lay period, so fishermen want to get their gear out as quickly as possible so that they have the maximum amount of time in the water, filling up with delicious dungees before they can start pulling their pots and harvesting the crab.
If you have never been to Westport on Dump Day, we highly recommend it! It's a community effort, and the Westport Marina is bustling with activity. Look out on the ocean's horizon at night to see the boats' lights and the crews hard at work. Seeing these local heroes in action is an intense and awesome opportunity. It will also give you a newfound appreciation for your meal the next time you have crab on your plate.
The lights from the fishing boats can be seen all night in Westport.
WEfish's Cookies for Crabbers
One of our favorite Dump Day traditions is WEfish's Cookies for Crabbers. WEfish is a great organization that started in the fall of 2013 when a group of individuals began meeting to discuss their interest in supporting the local commercial fishing community in Westport, WA. What started as an effort to form a traditional fishermen's wives association in Westport quickly transformed into an effort to support fishing families and the community through promotion, education, outreach, and service.
In 2014, Cookie Day was born when some of the wives baking cookies for their crews decided it would be nice if the entire fleet of fishermen had cookies. These guys and gals are working hard around the clock, and you know they deserve home-baked cookies. So, knowing they couldn't do it alone, they reached out to the community to help them bake cookies for the fishermen. And it's no surprise that the community stepped up. We're talking about 2,000 cookies to be divided up between all of the boats and workers. They also send cookies to the canneries as they work around the clock loading gear on the boats to get them back out as quickly as possible.
Cookie Day saw some changes during Covid, but you know this group wouldn't let these fishermen go hungry or forgotten. During the first year of Covid, the community donated money so that WEfish could purchase the ingredients to make the cookies. Aloha Alabama and Chef Patricia donated their kitchen and baking skills and made ALL of the cookies! Over the last few years, Merino's Seafood and Windemere have donated hot dogs and brats for the crews. Last year donations were collected, and the fishermen all received Little Richard's Donuts. Side note, if you haven't had a Little Richard's Donut, go now, run!! They are so good!
We are happy to announce that they are returning to the OG community-baked cookies! If you'd like to donate cookies, please drop off your donation at Windermere in Westport between January 26 - 27 so they can be sorted, assembled, and delivered on Dump Day. This is Westport for you! It's a community of people taking care of all the people in the community. This is true beyond Dump Day and is just one of the things that makes Westport so special. As the crabbing season kicks off, please join us in thanking all the volunteers and bakers and wishing our fishing families a safe season with fair seas and full pots.
