Meet Your Fisherman- Allen Oakley
Allen Oakley and his wife Gina, along with their children, grandchildren and crew are aboard the f/v Pacific Hustler, selling freshly caught fish. They have been a popular addition to Bellingham Dockside Market, with lines stretching down the dock! Allen and Gina are the owners of Sound Leader Seafoods , aiming to provide “fresh local fish direct from the fisherman to the consumer, sustainably caught by hook and line and individually iced at sea”.
Allen has been around fishing boats all his life, having grown up in a small town on the Oregon coast. He started his career as a fisherman at the age of 19 when he took the summer off from college to go fishing in Alaska. He worked his way up on fishing vessels starting as deckhand, then engineer, captain, and eventually partner of a number of crab boats in the Bering Sea. You may have even seen him on an episode of Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch”.
Allen is happy to now be in Bellingham selling his black cod, halibut, lingcod, sole and rock cod (among other delicious fish!) directly to the public. We are grateful to have Allen and his family as part of our market!