Meet the (seafood) experts of Alaska Sea Grant

At Alaska Sea Grant, we don’t just study and teach people about seafood, we love to eat it. October is National Seafood Month, so we asked some of Alaska Sea Grant’s marine advisory team to share their favorites. Not surprisingly, most usually enjoy seafood fresh and simple, straight from the ocean, allowing it to take center stage.

Melissa Good is our mariculture specialist, primarily focusing on seaweed. Melissa leads initiatives to advance Alaska’s mariculture industry, including her work with the National Seaweed Hub and the Alaska Mariculture Research and Training Center. Earlier this year, she participated in the inaugural Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy to further hone her skills and support Alaska’s mariculture industry. Melissa uses a simple and delicious seaweed salad as her go-to for potluck dinners, which you can find below.

Tav Ammu is our Marine Advisory Program agent in Dillingham, where he offers fisheries-related vocational programs for high school students, lunch-and-learn programs for the community, training courses for local fishermen, and more. In addition, Tav helps coordinate the Alaska Clean Harbors program. He is also a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman. Tav likes to say he is raised on—and made of—salmon. While it’s a hard choice, his favorite recipe at the moment is a salmon sushi bake from Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Chris Sannito is our seafood technology specialist, based at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center. In addition to teaching courses such as Smoked Seafood School and HACCP, Chris also helps small businesses with the testing and analysis needed to bring their seafood products to market. Earlier this year, Chris and partners served thousands in Washington, D.C., at the NOAA Sustainable Seafood event. Grilled miso-marinated black cod skewers were on the menu, and the rest of us were sorry we weren’t there to eat them! Fortunately, he gave us the recipe, a version of which we share below.

John Williams is our seafood workforce development specialist. John is working with commercial fishermen across the state to provide training and skill development through programs such as FishBiz and AK On-Board. When he’s not working with Alaska Sea Grant, John is either catching salmon commercially or trying to perfect his salmon smoking technique. He says it’s more art than a science, and notes that there isn’t much measuring when it comes to making great smoked salmon—it just takes practice. He recommends the recipe collection curated by Copper River Salmon.

James Crimp is our shellfish mariculture specialist. His expertise in mariculture was honed during his time in Maine, where he learned about the growing seaweed and oyster mariculture industries, and how these industries complemented wild catch fishing. As the newest member of Alaska Sea Grant’s marine advisory program, James is focused on getting to know folks in the shellfish mariculture industry and what their needs are. James enjoys oysters simple and fresh, on the half shell with a little lemon. If he’s getting fancy, he’ll make something like this mignonette sauce from New York Times Cooking to go with the oysters.

Miso-Marinated Black Cod Recipe

Serves four. Allergen statement: contains soy

Ingredients

• Two filets (about 1.5 pounds) black cod

Marinade

• 2.4 oz. red or white miso paste
• 2.4 oz. brown sugar
• ⅛ tsp. onion powder   
• ⅛ tsp. garlic powder
• 1.5 Tbsp. dry sake

Directions

1. For the marinade, combine the miso paste, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, and dry sake in a bowl or measuring cup, mixing thoroughly.
2. Cut the black cod into 4 portions, each 6 oz.
3. Combine the fish and marinade in a plastic container, making sure the fish is completely covered.
4. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3–4 days, turning the mixture twice daily. (After marinating, the fish can be frozen in vacuum-sealed pouches until ready to cook.)
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Before cooking, rinse excess marinade off the fish under cold running water. Fresh or frozen, bake the fish for 20–25 minutes to an internal temperature of 145°F. Set the oven to broil, and finish with a 3–4 minute broil for caramelized color.

Seaweed Salad Recipe

Serves four. Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups kelp
• 1 Tbsp. miso paste
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions

1. Blanch fresh clean kelp in a boiling pot of water for 3 minutes. Remove from hot water and cool immediately with cold water or an ice bath. Remove from water as soon as it is cool.
2. Slice blanched kelp into the desired size. Add to a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the miso paste, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and grated ginger.
4. Add the soy sauce mixture to the seaweed salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.