business
Juneau 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,…
Read MoreFall classes set to begin
Fall is just around the corner, and with it comes a new suite of classes offered by Alaska Sea Grant. The Alaska Seafood School offers trainings and classes for fishermen, seafood processing employees and all Alaskans who like to smoke fish and can food. They’re listed on our website and below. Most are offered by…
Read MorePublic-private partnership at university spurs Alaska’s maritime workforce training
Government, industry and academic representatives met in Anchorage recently to discuss new ways to advance the state’s maritime sector. Alaska’s maritime industry—sometimes referred to as “Alaska’s blue economy”—supports over 70,000 jobs and is the state’s largest private employer, according to the Alaska Department of Labor. It includes fishermen, seafood processors, ocean managers and researchers, vessel…
Read MoreNew technology could boost surimi profits and cut waste
Tyre Lanier has spent four decades becoming an expert in surimi, or what some call “fake crab.” The North Carolina professor knows practically everything there is to know about surimi, a gelatinous fish product he jokingly calls the “hot dog of the sea.” In Alaska, surimi is no laughing matter. In 2016, seven onshore plants…
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