Rudolph Rudy Petersen

Rudy PETERSEN Pioneer of modern U.S. fisheries in the North Pacific, died Sunday in Seattle. Petersen was among a handful of fishing leaders credited with expanding American fisheries beyond traditional nearshore waters to compete with and ultimately displace foreign factory ships from the nation's fertile offshore waters. Petersen passed away on August 19 after a long struggle with lung disease. He was 79. Even as he pressed for aggressive offshore expansion of U.S. fisheries, Petersen also became an icon of conservative fishery management in the North Pacific, remembered for his influential insistence that fishermen respect the catch limits recommended by scientists. During the 1970s Petersen and other fishing leaders campaigned to expand U.S. marine jurisdiction to 200 miles at sea and to create regional fishery management councils to oversee the domestic industry that would expand into this ocean frontier. Their work resulted in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, which is still the nation's main fisheries law. Petersen served for six years as a member of the North Pacific council, which the law established to govern fisheries off Alaska. In part thanks to Petersen's efforts, the North Pacific council has been widely hailed as the most successful in the nation, credited with rebuilding fish stocks that had been depleted by foreign factory fleets, and regarded by fisheries experts as a "gold standard" for careful, science-based fishery management. Petersen began fishing in 1944, working all over the West Coast of North America. He fished tuna, sardines, anchovy, mackerel, and sharks in California, and salmon and herring in Alaska. In the 1960s he ventured into Alaska's booming scallop, shrimp and crab fisheries. By the mid-1970s, as Petersen and other industry leaders launched domestic fleets to pursue cod, pollock, and other groundfish, he became one of the fishing industry's most successful vessel owners. Petersen built, fished, and managed a string of vessels during his career, often with partners, and he is remembered for helping many other fishermen get their start in the industry. Over the years he owned or co-owned the North Sea, the Sea Rose, Reefer II, Neptune I, the North Pacific, the Pacific Voyager, the Royal Pacific, the Anna Marie, the Ocean Leader, the U.S. Dominator, the Pat San Marie, the American No. 1, the U.S. Intrepid, the U.S. Liberator and the Pathfinder. Born September 11, 1928, Petersen came from a Norwegian-American family that had already been fishing for at least two generations before him, and the tradition has continued with many of his children and grandchildren. Petersen is survived by his wife Gail Petersen, sister Barbara Studerus and husband Bob, five children, 13 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. His sons and daughters include Rudy Petersen Jr,, Kristine Zimmerman and husband John, Chris Petersen and wife Carol, Mike Petersen and wife Shelli, Jody Petersen. Other family survivors include Gail's children: Lisa and husband Randy, Cindy and husband Pete, and Dana. Survivors also include Petersen's longtime business partner of 23 years, Helena Park, with whom he built various fishing entities including Fishermen's Finest, Inc., of Seattle. Petersen was a founding member of and served in many civic organizations within fishing industry, promoting safety at sea, interests of the domestic fishing industry, and conservation of the resources. Petersen was a strong proponent of the free enterprise system which promotes economic efficiency and equal opportunity for all. Apart from his leadership in the fishing industry, Petersen is also remembered as a sprint-car racing enthusiast who owned several race cars that toured the West Coast circuit. There will be a funeral service for family only at the Evergreen- Washelli Chapel at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 28th. A public memorial for family and industry follows at the Shilshole Bay Beach Club at 2 p.m.. Donations in memory of Rudy Petersen can be made to the Children's Hospital Foundation online at: http://waystohelp.seattlechildrens.org/donations/, or by mail to Children's Hospital Foundation, PO Box 50020/ S-200, Seattle, WA 98145-5020