business
Alaska Sea Grant survey reveals challenges to mariculture industry caused by COVID-19 pandemic
Alaska Sea Grant recently surveyed the Alaska mariculture industry to shed light on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on their businesses in February and March. Survey respondents reported that revenue was down, with 43 percent reporting losses of more than half of their revenue. More than a third had laid off employees. …
Read MoreResearch will help seaweed farming and traditional aquaculture
Alaska Sea Grant has received new federal funds to help develop aquaculture projects in Alaska and to work with partners on regional and national priorities. It’s part of a $16 million award from National Sea Grant that will fund 42 collaborative aquaculture projects across the country. Alaska Sea Grant and the Aleutians East Borough will partner on a project to launch a…
Read MoreMariculture workshop kicks off in Kodiak
The Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute is offering a free, two-day workshop “Introduction to Mariculture in the Kodiak Region,” funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the past three years, the institute has worked with partners to establish small farms in the communities of Larsen Bay, Old Harbor, Ouzinkie and Port Lions. The…
Read MoreJuneau oyster farmer battles red tape to grow family business
Meta Mesdag is a commercial photographer and mom to three young children. More recently, the Southeast Alaska resident added oyster farmer to her resume. Mesdag is the owner of Salty Lady Seafood Company, a small-scale mariculture operation in Bridget Cove, north of Juneau. She launched the company in April 2018 with the goal of having…
Read More“Now I do a lot of delegating”
Sam Nothstine is an expediter at Kwik’pak Fisheries in Emmonak, a western Alaska village at the mouth of the Yukon River. His job involves seafood quality control, shipping, administration, safety and other aspects of the business. Nothstine stays busy in the winter working at an outdoor gear store in Anchorage. Originally from Emmonak, Nothstine loves…
Read MoreOyster farmers face challenges and opportunities in Alaska
Mariculture is an emerging industry in Alaska that Alaska Sea Grant is helping to promote. Last week some of our faculty and staff gathered in Cordova with shellfish farmers, oyster spat growers and a kelp farmer to share ideas and strategies. It was part of the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association’s annual conference. Experts on marketing…
Read MoreSmoked Seafood School attracts students from Alaska and beyond
One of Alaska Sea Grant’s most popular workshops is coming up next month. Our Smoked Seafood School will be held in Kodiak on October 11 and 12. It’s the fourth time we’ve held the class and only two seats remained open as of late September. The class is taught by Alaska Sea Grant’s Chris Sannito,…
Read MoreGraying of the Fleet research wins national award
Alaska Sea Grant-supported researchers won a national award at Sea Grant Week in Portland, Ore., this month for a study on how to boost access to Alaska commercial fisheries by young and rural residents. The Sea Grant Association, comprised of Sea Grant program directors from 33 coastal universities, presented its Research to Application award to…
Read MorePopular online direct marketing class returning this fall
The popular class, Introduction to Starting and Operating a Seafood Direct Marketing Business, taught via distance delivery is being offered again by Alaska Sea Grant over two weeks in October and November 2018. The course, designed for fishermen who may have no previous experience in direct marketing their catch, teaches the development and management of a…
Read MoreSupport for Alaska’s blue economy signed into law
Alaska’s emerging mariculture industry is getting a boost. Gov. Bill Walker signed a bill this week making it easier for shellfish hatchery owners to access loan funds to grow their businesses. House Bill 76 amends the Alaska Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund so that non-profit hatcheries, not just individual farmers, can apply for loans to market seeds to grow seaweed,…
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