The years of quick profits for dory fishermen have disappeared, but there are still a few who launch their dories from the Cape and bring back a catch of fish. For at least three generations, Pacific City has been home to fishing families. Those families were sustained, more or less, by commerical dory fishermen. Three hundred or more boats might launch in a single morning. The changing coastal economy and decline in the salmon fishery has diminished the fleet and put what remains of it at risk.
Countless dories stand idle on their trailers and yet locals treasure the long tradition.