02 / At the counter · Salmon Bay
Fishermen's Terminal
Home port of the North Pacific fishing fleet since 1914, and the closest thing Seattle has to buying fish at the source. This guide covers the dock sales, the fish counter, where to eat, and when the boats are home.
What it is
Fishermen's Terminal is a working Port of Seattle facility on Salmon Bay, dedicated in January 1914 and mooring around 400 commercial fishing vessels and work boats: purse seiners, gillnetters, crabbers, trollers and longliners. Unusually for an industrial facility, it's open to the public, with free parking (check the lot signage for time limits).
The terminal sits at 3919 18th Ave W, with its commercial core (the fish market, restaurants and shops) clustered around 1900 W Nickerson St. The bronze Seattle Fishermen's Memorial, dedicated in 1988, carries the names of more than 675 local fishermen and women lost at sea. A memorial service is held at the terminal on the first Sunday of every May.
Buy fish straight off the boat
Loki Fish Co. sells its own catch, wild Alaska and Puget Sound salmon frozen onboard, directly from its two gillnetters, F/V Loki and F/V Njord, at the West Wall work floats. Dock sales run Saturday and Sunday, 10am–4pm; look for their signs pointing the way. The family has fished the same boats since 1979.
Can't make the weekend? Loki also sells year-round at the University District (Sat 9–2) and West Seattle (Sun 10–2) farmers markets, and ships nationwide from lokifish.com.
The fish counter
Wild Salmon Seafood Market(1900 W Nickerson St, Suite 105) is the terminal's full-service fishmonger, open seven days a week, 9am–6pm, with free parking out front. Family-owned for 26+ years with direct access to the commercial fleet, it runs the full counter: wild salmon, halibut, crab, spot prawns, scallops, shellfish and smoked fish, and it ships overnight nationwide if you'd rather order from home.
Eat at the terminal
Chinook's at Salmon Bay
The Anthony's-family seafood restaurant overlooking the fleet: lunch and dinner daily, breakfast on weekends, happy hour Mon–Fri 3–6pm in the bar. Little Chinook's, the counter-service fish bar next door, does fish & chips with outdoor seating over the boats.
Website →The Bay Cafe
Retro diner open daily 7:00am–2:15pm, with eleven kinds of eggs benedict, twelve omelettes, and a counter full of people who work on the water.
Website →Pidgin Cooperative
The worker-owned spot that took over the old Highliner space in September 2025 (the Highliner closed in early 2025 after 37 years). Ramen, plate lunches and burgers with Filipino and Hawaiian influences, plus a local beer and wine bottle shop.
Website →Fishermen's Green Market & Deli
Specialty market, full-service deli and coffee bar, open daily 9:00am–5:30pm, the terminal's grocery stop since 2008.
Website →When to visit
Summer is when the boats are gone. From late May through early September most of the fleet is fishing in Alaska, so fall through spring is when the docks are full. The fleet's homecoming is celebrated at the Fishermen's Fall Festival, in 2026 on Saturday, October 3, 11am–6pm, with free admission, a salmon BBQ, survival-suit races off Dock 9, boat tours and kids' boat building, benefiting the Seattle Fishermen's Memorial.
Fishermen's Terminal, 3919 18th Ave W (commercial core at 1900 W Nickerson St), Seattle. Free parking on site; boaters get four hours of free moorage at the seawall between Docks 8 and 9.
Hours and events change with the season. Confirm on each business's site before a special trip.
All Seattle fish markets