commercial fishing
Cordova uses friendly competition to promote marine safety
The Prince William Sound fishing community of Cordova celebrated its 58th annual Cordova Iceworm Festival this winter, and as usual, Alaska Sea Grant was there to help. One of the festival’s main events is the survival suit race, where teams of four people run down a dock to where their suits are placed. They don…
Read MoreCordova urges support for Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
Cordova’s mayor is expressing strong support for the continued presence of an Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent in the Prince William Sound fishing community. Mayor Clay Koplin, in a column published this week in The Cordova Times, said the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program has had a presence in Cordova and the greater…
Read MoreUnalaska uses teamwork and technology to save whales
Humpback whale sightings are becoming increasingly common in Unalaska, and so are whale entanglements. In late October 2018, Alaska Sea Grant’s Melissa Good helped coordinate efforts to successfully free a humpback that had been caught in commercial fishing gear. Good is the regional lead responder for the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Network. She said…
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 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 MoreSea Grant fellow hired by fishery council
One of the reasons Sara Cleaver likes working for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is that her workmates are as enthusiastic about fish as she is. “It is such a relief to have coworkers who don’t find your obsession with fish to be weird—in fact, it is basically a requirement of the job.” Cleaver said. She has been hired full time by the Council, cutting short her Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship there. Her fellowship would have run until October, but instead she was recruited into a two-year position that started May 21.
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…
Read MoreYoung fishermen flock to networking and skill-building summit in Anchorage
New and aspiring Alaska commercial fishermen gathered in Anchorage for the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit, which aims to train the next generation of commercial fishermen to be successful and help turn the tide on Alaska’s aging fleet, where the average age of a boat captain is 50.
Read MoreReport identifies ways to rejuvenate Alaska’s commercial fishing fleet
A new report on Alaska’s aging fishing fleet and loss of access to commercial fisheries in rural communities recommends five steps to reverse these troubling trends.
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