Regional gatherings provide unique opportunities for exchange

Alaska Sea Grant serves, in part, as a convener, bringing people together for important and productive conversations on a broad range of topics relevant to coastal life in Alaska. The professionals with Alaska Sea Grant live and work in coastal communities across the state, are tuned into local needs and issues, and get to know the many people who also care about and work on these issues. This allows them to foster partnerships and connect people on topics that matter to Alaska’s coastal communities.

One such effort is the 2025 Mariculture Conference of Alaska, taking place February 18–20 in Sitka. This annual gathering of farmers, researchers, and industry professionals aims to support the continued development of mariculture in the state by reviewing accomplishments, addressing challenges, and exploring opportunities in research, innovation, education, and industry growth.

“The mariculture conference has been such a huge success over the past four years in large part because of the many partners who are committed to this growing industry,” said Melissa Good, mariculture specialist with Alaska Sea Grant and 2025 conference chair. “The conference creates an opportunity for exchange in order to help the industry thrive, and brings many talented people and organizations together.”

The 2025 Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference will convene April 15–17 in Naknek. This is the 16th annual gathering, which brings together people invested in sharing information important to rural communities in Western Alaska, integrating academic science and Western Alaska local knowledge. A partnership of UAF rural campuses, nonprofits, and Alaska Sea Grant, the conference will highlight needs to maintain strength, health, and subsistence lifestyles while moving forward during rapid transitions within the environment, ecology, and industries of Western Alaska. A conference priority is the continued sharing of knowledge across cultural boundaries.

“Western Alaska is so unique in so many ways. It’s important to have a conference specifically designed to discuss the issues most important to the residents of this special region,” said Tav Ammu, Alaska Sea Grant marine advisory program agent and conference chair. “I’m honored to be a part of such a dedicated group of professionals who embody the theme, sustaining the past while advancing the future.”

Other regional conferences and workshops organized by Alaska Sea Grant, many in partnership with other organizations, include the Adapt in Place Workshop in Anchorage this April, the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit which will take place in Juneau early next year, the Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, also slated for 2026, and the Kodiak Area Marine Science Symposium, which will reconvene in spring 2027. Learn more about these and other workshops, meetings, and classes on the Alaska Sea Grant events calendar.