Paul McElhany picks up a container holding some of the lab’s current Dungeness crab research in one of the outer buildings at Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Paul McElhany picks up a container holding some of the lab’s current Dungeness crab research in one of the outer buildings at Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Oh, crab! There’s something fishy about this place

That mysterious eyesore by the sea will be replaced by a new research center. “It’s all going to go.”

From the outside, the weathered two-story structure looks haunted.

Inside, it’s even creepier.

Not many looky-loos get in, though. The doors are locked and barbed wire tops chain-link fences.

What’s up with that?

That mysterious eyesore by the sea is Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Mukilteo Research Station, a fancy name for a lab.

“The fact that it looks a little scary prevents people from knocking on the door. It’s like, ‘Ah, that’s probably a meth lab,’” joked station chief Paul McElhany.

It’s more a crab lab: Sea organisms are grown in saltwater for experiments.

Instead of the blue crystals from “Breaking Bad,” they’re cooking up carbon dioxide and crab larvae, for the good of the planet.

The former World War II Air Force barrack is a maze of rooms with microscopes, bubbly tubs of water and a display case of dusty crab shells. It is drafty and creaky with crooked floors. The grounds are strewn with years of discarded pipes and junk.

Paul McElhany points out how the new building will be different from the old Air Force structure housing Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Paul McElhany points out how the new building will be different from the old Air Force structure housing Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The 1-acre spread on Front Street is next to the Silver Cloud Inn where rooms start around $200 a night. A thick row of trees blocks it from the view of hotel guests, most with no inkling of what lurks inside.

The building is near the ferry vehicle holding lot and two doors down from Ivar’s. It wasn’t as noticeable before the waterfront makeover that includes a new terminal, holding lanes and promenade.

Now it stands out in the massive construction area, and will only get more visible. Ultimately, in a good way.

“It’s all going to go,” McElhany said of his compound with a crusty pier and a boneyard where old experiments and parts go to die.

Demolition is slated for mid-2020, about the time projects around it will be nearing completion. Design and permits are in the works.

Final funding was recently approved for a new modern $40 million research facility slated to open in 2022. It will allow public access. You’ll want to go in.

A board displays the future plans for the Mukilteo Research Station that is part of an extensive waterfront development project. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

A board displays the future plans for the Mukilteo Research Station that is part of an extensive waterfront development project. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The station “makes critical investment in the nation’s capacity to advance cutting-edge research on marine wildlife and their habitat as well as ocean acidification,” Rep. Rick Larsen wrote in a press release applauding the funding.

The Air Force earlier transferred the property to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, which oversees the Mukilteo station. Other holdings by the Air Force’s 40-acre spread went to the city of Mukilteo, WSDOT, Tulalip Tribes and Port of Everett for the new ferry terminal, parking lots and development.

“We got our little 1.1 acre,” McElhany said.

The Mukilteo research center has worked out of the barrack since the 1970s.

“The Air Force owned the property and they weren’t using it, so they never fixed it up,” McElhany said. “NOAA was using it, but didn’t own it so they didn’t fix it up. So it has been held together with bits of research money.”

The foundation has been bolstered by temporary supports.

“Five or six years ago, to stabilize the building they put in over 100 of these shore jacks underneath to keep the building from settling anymore,” McElhany said. “They couldn’t straighten it because that would break something even worse. This is holding it in place.”

Even so, at one point the vibrations from heavy construction nearby forced the station to close for a week.

Paul McElhany, station chief, walks down the uneven second floor hallway at Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Paul McElhany, station chief, walks down the uneven second floor hallway at Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

McElhany leads the research on the effect of changes in ocean chemistry caused by carbon dioxide, aka CO2.

Stuff like this: At night, surface light traps catch crab larvae for experiments. “Like floating Japanese lanterns,” he said.

“We put the animals we catch in the light traps into seawater that we’ve added CO2 to mimic the amount of acidification we expect several decades into the future. The CO2 that gets into the ocean comes from the burning of fossil fuels.”

Research is also done on female crabs with eggs that when hatched are reared through varying CO2 treatments. Those crabs come from traps or from divers.

The crabs used in experiments are devoted to science, not for dinner for the team of researchers.

The center is also used by ecotoxicology scientists to study the effects of oil and urban runoff. “The early work on the Exxon Valdez oil spill happened here,” McElhany said.

During construction, his research will continue at NOAA’s Montlake lab in Seattle and the Manchester station in Port Orchard.

Temporary foundation supports are underneath the Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Temporary foundation supports are underneath the Mukilteo Research Station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The view across Puget Sound to Whidbey Island from McElhany’s second floor office is through peeling window frames.

“It will be hard to give up the character,” he said. “I grew up in the country and it reminds me of barns I worked in.”

It looks out to a pier, where researchers set traps to catch crab larvae and an intake water line pumps seawater into tanks for experiments.

In the new building, the water system will be automated and underground. Gone will be the rickety pier, rusty storage tanks and tangled mess of hoses and cords in the labs with bubbly tubs.

“It will be exciting not to have the building itself be one of the challenges of research,” McElhany said.

Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

A wall diagram shows the “journey of the ballot” at the new Elections Center on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County Auditor: No need for feds to meddle with state or local elections

Garth Fell’s comments were in response to a report of Justice Department mulling criminal charges against election officials.

Edmonds Police Chief Loi Dawkins speaks after the city council approved her appointment on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds City Council confirms new police chief

Assistant Chief Loi Dawkins will begin in the role Aug. 1. She has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience, including three years in Edmonds.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

The Edmonds City Council discuss the levy during a city council meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds votes to place levy lid lift on the ballot

By a vote of 5-2, the council decided to put the $14.5 million property tax levy lid lift to voters in November.

A trash hauler from Republic Services. (Provided photo)
Growing Teamsters strike disrupts garbage pickup in Snohomish County

Republic Services said a temporary work stoppage is causing some customers in the county to experience “temporary service delays.”

Lily Lamoureux stacks Weebly Funko toys in preparation for Funko Friday at Funko Field in Everett on July 12, 2019.  Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Everett-based Funko ousts its CEO after 14 months

The company, known for its toy figures based on pop culture, named Michael Lunsford as its interim CEO.

‘Courageous’ teen dives into Silver Lake to rescue 11-year-old

Gauge Bryant, 13, brought the child to the surface. The 11-year-old is in stable but critical condition, authorities said.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.