The Port of Seattle is considering changes to Fishermen’s Terminal that some say could deter fishermen from using the facility.

The Port is looking to charge a fee to fishermen selling their catches from their boats and is also looking to remove or replace the lockers used to store their gear.

There are 252 Port-owned storage sheds at Fishermen’s Terminal, and many of the fishermen have constructed lofts inside the sheds to increase storing capacity.

According to Port officials, these lofts were built without building permits and present a serious safety risk because they compromise the sprinkler system.

Fishermen have used the lockers to run an eBay auction enterprise, repair automobiles and to live in, according to the Port. This can be problem because it introduces highly flammable materials such as kerosene lanterns and gasoline.

Deputy Fire Chief Gary English said the lockers pose an extraordinary risk, and said the probable solution is to move people and gear out of the lockers for several months while changes are made.

At a Port Commission meeting March 10 at the Nordic Heritage Museum, David Harsila, chair of the Fishermen’s Terminal Advisory Committee, said the lockers are important to the fishermen and one decided to bring his vessel back to Fishermen’s Terminal simply because it had a large locker where he could use a forklift.

The lockers are the fishermen’s offices and the Port needs to ask fishermen what they need and work together to find a solution, Kris Mullan, a member of the Fishermen’s Terminal Advisory Committee, said at the meeting.

Mullan said the lockers work the way they are, they just aren’t up to code. Instead of ripping them out, the Port could come up with a compromise solution and make sure the rules are being followed in the lockers, he said.

The other change the Port is looking to implement is the charging of a $25 per day fee for vessels selling fish off the West Wall at Fishermen’s Terminal. It would be the first time since the terminal opened in 1913 that fishermen would be charged for selling their catch.

Peter McGraw, a spokesperson for the Port, said vessels pay moorage rates for one slip, but that doesn’t necessarily buy them space at the West Wall, where the Port can make more money off industrial ships doing repairs.

McGraw likened the charge to the fee paid by stalls at a farmers market, which averages between $25 to $50 per day.

Harsila said it is important to make changes at Fishermen’s Terminal that get more fish to the public. Local restaurants should have a connection with the fishing fleet at the terminal other than just as a sightseeing tour, he said.

The West Wall fish-selling policy is archaic, he said, and gave the Portland, Maine, Fish Exchange and Vancouver, B.C., fish market as examples of how it could work better.

Fishermen’s Terminal needs to stay affordable and fishermen-friendly to continue to be viable, Mullan said.

“It’s been proven for almost 100 years that the way it’s set up works,” he said.

McGraw said these changes are still being discussed and the port is not trying to get rid of the fleet.

The Port has spent $60 million in the past 10 years for upgrades for fishermen at the terminal, he said.

These concerns are arising in a climate where fishermen are already concerned that the Port is looking to sell off terminal land to the highest bidder.

In 2001, the Port hired Heartland Consulting to look at converting upland terminal space into offices and warehouses.

Lloyd Hara, a member of the Port Commission, said at the March 10 meeting that it is hard to make land-use decisions for Fishermen’s Terminal because some people want the terminal to focus on tourism, others on recreational boating, while other groups want offices and condos.

The best economic use of the land would be for condos, but the Port isn’t in a position to make that change in land use, he said.

Harsila said the Port should keep that land for development that supports the fleet, not just give it to the highest bidder.

“Do we want to support the fleet, or just get rent?” he asked.