seafood – Alaska Sea Grant

Mariculture Conference draws a crowd

By Tom Moran | April 7, 2026

A fancy tray of oysters, with a hand in a blue glove holding an oyster shucker.

All photos by Jessica Whitney/Alaska Sea Grant Alaska’s enthusiasm for mariculture was evident at last month’s Mariculture Conference of Alaska. More than 300 people gathered in Anchorage for the three-day…

Testing the waters of mariculture

By Tom Moran | March 31, 2026

A women, wearing a blue top and yellow lab gloves, displays a small plate covered with small red round slimy creatures.

An Alaska Sea Grant partnership enabled a group of Alaska Natives to dip their proverbial toes into the mariculture industry. In February, Alaska Sea Grant collaborated with the Central Council…

Next generation of Alaska fishermen gather for summit

By Tom Moran | February 20, 2026

A group of 25 mostly young men and women stand outside the ornate front of the Alaska State Capitol.

The first time Noah Swenson attended the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit (AYFS), he found a boat. The second time, he found his voice. In 2024, the then-27-year-old Homer fisherman spent…

Hooking Nome students on HAB research

By Tom Moran | February 9, 2026

A high school student in a brown parka and black pants holds a small fish in his hand and smiles broadly. He sits on the ice with his other hand holding a stick with a line running into the hole. Beside him are a clipboard and a bucket.

Ice fishing is not the most common method of data collection. But for students at Nome-Beltz High School, a couple of afternoons in December spent jigging for tomcod was a…

Oyster farmers learn the trade at Prince of Wales workshop

By Alaska Sea Grant | November 18, 2025

Participants in a workshop stand on docks of an oyster farm listening to an instructor. They stand next to oyster sorting equipment and boats, surrounded by calm water and forested hills under a bright blue sky.

For three days in September, the future of Alaskan oyster farming got to learn some lessons from its present. The Alaska Sea Grant Oyster Farming Operations Workshop gave six farmers…

National Seafood Month: The science of seafood

By Kyle Kolda | October 7, 2025

close-up view of several stripes of smoked salmon resting on a metal rack that is halfway pulled out from a commercial smoker.

Seafood is as much a science as it is a business. At the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, Alaska Sea Grant’s Chris Sannito works at this intersection by helping…

New funding supports commercial fishing and processing training

By Alaska Sea Grant | July 23, 2025

Collage of two photos. The top one shows students gathered around an engine with the instructor talking. The bottom photo is of two women processing fish into fillets.

Alaska Sea Grant has received funding to support five new and continuing workforce development programs in the areas of seafood harvesting and processing, as part of the state’s Technical and…

Seafood, sustainability and celebration in D.C.

By Alaska Sea Grant | June 23, 2025

Four people standing and smiling under a tent and a sign that says NOAA Fish Fry - Alaska Sea Grant. There are trays of food and pots and pans on the table around them. A sign sits on the table that says Alaska Seafood - Wild, Natural & Sustainable and another sign that says Wild Alaska Salmon.

For the 50th annual NOAA Sustainable Seafood Celebration this month, Alaska Sea Grant’s Chris Sannito and Rachel French traveled from Kodiak to the nation’s capitol to represent Alaska, preparing and…

Training a new generation of seafood industry leaders

By Alaska Sea Grant | March 25, 2025

Group of people standing together posing under trees and a glass fish sculpture. They are all smiling.

Over a dozen seafood professionals recently graduated from Alaska Sea Grant’s Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute (ASPLI), gaining new knowledge and skills to support their development toward becoming leaders in…

Supporting the seafood industry through training and assistance

By Brooke Carney | February 20, 2025

It’s no secret that seafood is a big deal in Alaska. In 2024, commercial seafood production contributed an estimated $6 billion to Alaska’s economy and employed over 17,000 Alaskans. For…