Students at five coastal high schools will receive seafood-processing training this year thanks to a $72,000 grant awarded to the Oregon Coast Visitors Association from a state workforce development agency.
The grant will benefit students hoping to get practical, hands-on skills in everything from learning how to properly fillet salmon to understanding the delicate processing of Dungeness crab, said Len Tumbarello, the agency’s maritime sector coordinator.
Schools involved in the processing training include Neah-Kah-Nie High School, Eddyville Charter School, Siletz High School, North Bend High School and Siuslaw Valley Academy.
“The coastline has always provided for the small towns nestled along it,” according to a statement accompanying announcement of the grant, “and this program was designed to ensure the tradition carried forward to the next generation.”
The grant, awarded by Northwest Oregon Works, was made possible by Oregon House Bill 3410, which passed the 2023 Oregon Legislature. The bill established a Maritime Sector program.
