Our Story

On Jace’s first boat, the F/V Matteo, we spent hot August nights catching Chinook and dreaming of bringing our catch to the local community. At the end of those nights, we’d drop our catch at the processor docks, never really knowing what happened to it or where it ended up.

In 2018, we founded Slack Tide to fix the broken link between our boat's deck and the fish on your table. We navigated permitting a direct-market business, found a processor willing to handle smaller harvests, and learned to be a two-person, do-it-all team.

This is the tale of a modern commercial fishing family.

Together with our crew, we get to spend the year sustainably harvesting wild seafood and selling our catch directly to you through local markets and online. By catching fewer, higher-quality fish instead of maximizing quantity, we can pay our bills while reducing our impact on the natural resource we’re passionate about. 

There is no denying that our climate is changing and our oceans are reacting. Day in and day out on the water, we see the effects firsthand: picking garbage out of our crab pots, observing whale migration patterns that shift later as waters stay warmer, and experiencing extreme swings in weather and storm patterns. As ocean-dwellers whose livelihoods depend on the health of our waters we are committed to doing our part to protect what remains.

The generations before us made mistakes that we must collectively remit today. We believe that smaller, higher-quality harvests with short, vertical supply chains are the only sustainable future for our way of life. Adopting a 'less is more' philosophy is critical to preserving the heritage of West Coast fishing families. A local harvest for local people benefits our fishermen, our community, and our waters.

Our days are guided by the ebb and flow of the tide. our year flows by salmon runs and crab seasons. Our success is measured in pounds hauled aboard, smiles from fish buyers and finishing our days safely tied to the dock or with our anchor securely set.

Meet the crew

It truly takes a village to harvest fish all year. Our village is our crew and we couldn’t be more grateful for their hard work and dedication to this wild work we share together.


  • FISHERMAN & CO-FOUNDER

    Jace, aka Cap', is a full-time fisherman born and raised in Bellingham. He grew up casting lines for ling cod, pulling crab pots, harvesting spot prawns, and watching the fishermen in his family journey North to Alaska each summer for the Bristol Bay sockeye run.

    At the age of 15, he was invited to join his family and spent his first summer aboard the F/V Master Phillip. It has been his childhood dream to continue his family’s legacy and today he’s running boats in Washington, California, and Alaska. The summer of 2023 marks his tenth year as a commercial fisherman.

    When he’s off the water, you’ll find him mountain biking, skiing pow, or planning the future of Slack Tide.


  • FISHERMAN & FISH SLINGER

    Originally hailing from Seattle, Adam now calls Bellingham home. Growing up he spent time crabbing and sport fishing in the San Juan Islands with his family.

    ​At the age of 22, he worked his first season as crew on his great uncle's Bristol Bay gillnetter, the F/V Shadow. The summer of 2023 will mark his fifth season as a commercial fisherman. 

    He's Slack Tide's "fish slinger". You'll find him delivering your orders, catching salmon in Puget Sound, and crewing in Bristol Bay. When he's not slinging fish, you can find him on the trails.


  • FISHERWOMAN & CO-FOUNDER

    Elisa was raised on the rivers and mountains of Bavaria, British Columbia, and Bellingham. She was introduced to commercial fishing when she met Jace and after many summers fishing together, she started crewing in Bristol Bay.

    She is extremely passionate about connecting customers with wild fish and advocating for the longevity, sustainability, and quality of our local fisheries. Summer of 2023 will be her third year as a full-time fisherwoman.

    ​When she's not on deck, she's biking, skiing, or running the bones of the business. The words she lives by are "support your local fishermen"


  • FISHERMAN & CREW

    Raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, the ocean has always been part of Bodie's daily life. He grew up surfing, fishing, and diving on Hawaiian waters and has a deep love for the ocean.

    ​After moving to Bellingham for school, he met many Bellingham fishing folk and found himself pulled to work on the water.  

    ​He currently crews for Slack Tide on the F/V Restless in Northern California helping haul Dungeness Crab gear all winter long. When he's not working the back deck, you can find him on his board.


  • FISHERDOG

    Our beloved fisherdog is on the water with us as much as possible. While she has yet to venture to Bristol Bay, she has spent time fishing for salmon in the Puget Sound and Dungeness Crab in Northern California and the Puget Sound. She's not very helpful and we often catch her trying to steal our bait.


  • IKE, GUS & SOLOMON

    These three are the youngest of the Slack Tide crew. Together they spend June and July with Jace in Bristol Bay, Alaska aboard the F/V Shillelagh. Days of hauling up nets, chock full of sockeye, go by fast. When they're not picking fish, they're cooking, napping or keeping their skipper up with late night laughs.

Interested in being on deck? Our motto is work hard, play hard. If that’s you’re vibe, we’ll keep you on the list if a crew spot opens up. Greenhorns or a seasoned salty dogs alike.