Fishing dock improvements and expanding haul-out capacity at the will be financed with $1 million in federal support through community project funding for the Charleston Shipyard Enhancement Project, Port of Coos Bay officials announced.

“This investment will support critical repairs and rehabilitation of our work docks that the fishing community relies on every day,” according to a Nov. 17 statement from the port. “These docks play a vital role in helping fishermen switch gears between seasons and complete repairs themselves to reduce costs. They become especially important at times like these, when a potentially early Dungeness crab season is on the horizon.”

Port officials credited Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore., with obtaining the funding. In a May 2025 letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership, Hoyle had requested $1.5 million to “restore and enhance capacity in the Port of Coos Bay’s Charleston Shipyard by replacing the work docks and expanding the travel lift slip used to haul out vessels, including commercial fishing vessels, for service and inspection.”

“This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because funding will be used to make needed infrastructure improvements that will support the commercial and recreational fishing industry, which are important economic drivers in rural coastal Oregon,” Hoyle wrote then.

Port of Coos Bay officials thanked Van Hoyle for pursuing the funding: “Strengthening this infrastructure supports the long-term health of our working waterfront and the families and industries that depend on it.”