William C. Atkinson

William C. ATKINSON On April 20, 2006, Bill passed away after suffering a heart attack and massive stroke about three weeks earlier. He was born in New Westminster, B.C. on March 24, 1948, son of Clinton and Mary Atkinson. In June of that year, the family moved to Washington, D.C., then to Beaufort, North Carolina and finally, in 1952, to Seattle, where his father headed the fishery research units for the Federal Government. In Seattle Bill attended Laurelhurst and View Ridge Elementary Schools and Eckstein Junior High. Except for his junior year at Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, Bill attended and graduated from Roosevelt School in 1966. He then followed the family to Tokyo, Japan and was accepted by the International Christian University (ICU) at Mitaka. He studied nothing but Japanese for the first full year and then in 1968, he moved into a Japanese dormitory; he often said that that was where he really learned to speak Japanese. He took the required courses - some in English, some in Japanese, and even Chinese taught in Japanese. Bill majored in Far Eastern History and was one of the few foreign students to write his thesis in Japanese. Bill was given a year's leave of absence from his studies to be a Guide in the Protocol Section of the American Pavilion at the World's Fair in Osaka. Because of his ability to speak at various levels of politeness, he was chosen to escort the crown prince of Japan (then very young), showing him the space capsule with its miles of wire and, of course, the moon rock. Bill often said that he had heard "fish-talk" all through his life and he simply was not going to work in fisheries. But after graduation and a number of unsuccessful interviews, he reluctantly called at the Tokyo offices of Van Camp Seafood and almost immediately had a job. After a year or two he moved to their main office in San Diego as their Asian contact for the purchase of tuna. He returned to Seattle and published his first issue of Bill Atkinson's News Report in 1983, summarizing important current changes in the catch and the markets for North Pacific fish as reported in the Japanese press. His News Report, issued weekly, now goes to subscribers all over the world. His familiarity with both Japanese and American fisheries led to his column, Japan Update, which regularly appears in Pacific Fishing. Bill was a consultant for Korea Wonyang for perhaps a year. Then, working with Mr. Abe of Japan, he turned his full attention to the establishment of the Alaska Frontier Company (AFCO) in 1988 and the operation of three factory long liners for cod in the Bering Sea with a high market demand for their product. In addition to serving as Past-President and Chairman of AFCO, Bill was a founding member of the North Pacific Longline Association and President for about 5 years. He also served on the Board and recently Vice President of the Freezer Longline Conservation Cooperative and a member of numerous fishery organizations. In recognition of his contribution to the industry, a Tile will be placed at the Memorial at Fishermen's Terminal at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, May 7th. It was Toastmaster's that provided a break from his busy schedule. He is survived by his father, his brother, Rob, Rob's wife, Karen, and his nephew, Evan. Memorial Services will be held at the University Presbyterian Church at 2:00 p.m., May 10th. Remembrances may be sent to the Seattle Milk Fund, 1130 N. Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 988133.