Welcome.

The Alaska Commercial Fishermen's Memorial is dedicated to the men and women who have given their lives to the Alaska commercial fishing industry- those whose time was long, and those whose lives were all too short.

It demonstrates support for the commercial fishing industry by individuals, families, and businesses; it salutes the economic and social importance of fishing within the State of Alaska; it provides a quiet place for reflection and remembrance of those who have died, and serves as the location of the annual Blessing of the Fleet and Reading of the Names on the first Saturday morning in May, to which all are invited.

The Memorial is located on the waterfront next to Taku Fisheries, south of the Tram.

WHEN is it?

The Next Blessing of the Fleet and Reading of Names will be held as usual at 10:00 AM on the First Saturday in May at the Memorial Wall. The ceremony is ALWAYS 10:00 AM on the First Saturday in May. It will never be moved. It will be broadcast on VHF channel 10. All are invited to attend.

Q: ''I'm concerned that this year's date isn't specifically listed on this website, which gives me pause because it looks like it hasn't been updated since the '90s. When is this year's ceremony?''
A. The First Saturday in May at 10:00 AM.

Q: ''How about on years when the Juneau Maritime Festival is not on the first Saturday in May, do you change the date to match?''
A. No. The ceremony is always the First Saturday in May at 10:00 AM. The Maritime Fest is produced by JEDC, a completely separate organization, which has, for many recent years, scheduled their own also-maritime-themed event for the first Saturday in May, but when this happens it is pure coincidence. Their calendar has no bearing on ours and vice versa.

Q: "But Maritime Fest and the Blessing have always been on the same weekend!"
A. Actually, from the first Maritime Fest in 2010 through 2015, JEDC purposefully avoided the first Saturday in May out of kind deference to our event. When the Memorial Board learned of this in 2015, we encouraged having both events on the same day (ours at 10:00 AM and theirs at 11:00 AM), if JEDC wanted. Both events then coincided from 2016 through 2025, and JEDC was even kind enough to include us on their event schedule. In 2026, JEDC moved their event to the second Saturday in May in hopes of better weather. The Blessing of the Fleet and Reading of Names, of course, remained on the First Saturday in May at 10:00AM.

Q: ''But I heard on Facebook--''
A. Hearsay. First Saturday in May at 10AM.

Q: ''But the Community Calendar says--''
A. That's wrong. First Saturday in May at 10AM.

Q: ''Well what about during the pandemic?''
A. The 2020 ceremony was held virtually, via pre-recorded video, on the First Saturday in May at 10:00 AM.

It is very important to the Memorial Board that you be able to make plans around attending the ceremony well ahead of time every year. Some families make arrangements and book plane tickets over a year in advance. That is why we hold the ceremony on the same day every year (the First Saturday in May at 10:00 AM) -for consistency, late enough that the weather has a chance of being decent, yet early enough that Fishermen have a chance of being able to attend before the summer season. ''The First Saturday in May'' is literally cast in bronze in the dedication plaque on the side of the Memorial; we won't change it on you, it's too important. Promise.