For decades, commercial fishermen at the Port of Everett have kept their equipment in waterfront lockers that many would agree are the best on Puget Sound.

But that will soon change as the port razes what it calls its net sheds to make way for a $400 million redevelopment project and moves the fishing gear to temporary digs on the site.

It isn’t clear to the fishing group where it will eventually wind up and whether the final location will fulfill its needs. Just what those needs are isn’t clear to the port, because only a few fishermen have responded to a questionnaire.

The confusion came to a head Tuesday as several commercial fishermen objected to the current plan, which would give them mostly outdoor storage and a covered work area for a few months and would make them move again after that.

Long-liner Greg Elwood agreed that commercial fishing had declined through the years, but he decried the loss of the net sheds and said those still in the business are seeing a resurgence.

Taking away the facilities “would marginalize the commercial fisherman in the state of Washington,” Elwood said. “I don’t think you should put them in a box where they can’t move.”

Ross Uttley noted he had rented a net shed for the past 25 years and is working on his third trailer of gear to move to the temporary area. He was concerned about getting enough space.

The port plans to raze the existing sheds in April and has asked the tenants to be out in March. The port’s Cyndy Olson said a temporary site has been found at 1234 W. Marine View Drive but that the area was not the permanent solution.

“We’ve got a lot of different interests down there (the development area) that we’re trying to cram into a little area,” said the port’s Carl Wollobek. “It’s hard to find out the space you need if you don’t give us feedback.

Elwood noted that fishermen are an eclectic bunch of people. “We’re like Sasquatch,” he said. “We leave a footprint but you can’t take a picture of them. They do not show up at meetings.”

Asked whose responsibility it was to find space for the fishing industry at the port, executive director John Mohr said the port didn’t have a legal responsibility, but he believed it had a moral one. “We definitely want to retain the fishing industry,” Mohr said. “But we don’t know what we’re dealing with. Our concern is that we dedicate facilities and space and nobody uses it.”