News
The latest blog posts and news releases from Alaska Sea Grant
Marine educator retires after years of training teachers and students about Alaska’s seas and watersheds (9/13/2019) - Marilyn Sigman, Alaska Sea Grant’s longtime marine education specialist, recently completed her last day on the job and is now enjoying retirement in Homer. The faculty, staff and many collaborators miss her already. Sigman joined Alaska Sea Grant in 2009 and led marine education and literacy efforts across the state. While with Alaska Sea Grant,…
New handbook on boatyard hazards aims to improve safety (9/12/2019) - Building, repairing and maintaining vessels can be hazardous work. The rate of injury and illness on ships and in boatyards is more than double those of construction and general industry, according to federal officials. Alaska Sea Grant has a new online booklet aimed at making boatyards safer by explaining the risks and recommending ways that boat…
Mariculture workshop kicks off in Kodiak (9/9/2019) - 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…
Program aims to provide Alaska Native and rural students with opportunities at NOAA (8/30/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant is partnering with NOAA Fisheries to provide opportunities to Alaska Native and rural students at the federal agency. The goal is to increase their representation in marine-related professions at NOAA Fisheries, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration formerly known as the National Marine Fisheries Service. Over the summer of…
New video focuses on Alaska’s acidifying oceans (8/26/2019) - Ocean acidification is how scientists describe the lowering of the oceans’ pH. The oceans today are roughly 30 percent more acidic than they were during the Industrial Revolution some 300 years ago. The rise in ocean acidification (OA) is tied to higher levels of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning…
Unsolved mystery: the case of the weathervane scallop (8/22/2019) - Prized by five-star chefs and seafood connoisseurs, weathervanes are a bit of a mystery animal. Major gaps exist in our understanding of the tasty mollusks, which are native to Alaska. 
Advocate of Alaska marine safety passes on (8/2/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant is mourning the passing of one of its early Marine Advisory agents. Hank Pennington joined the Marine Advisory Program as an agent specializing in marine safety. In 1985 he founded the nonprofit Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA). The association provides marine safety training for commercial fishermen, as well as subsistence and recreational boaters…
Blue Starr Oyster Co. debuts new oyster nursery system (7/25/2019) - An Alaska oyster farmer on Prince of Wales Island is hoping that a new device he spent years helping to design will increase his oyster farming productivity and prove useful to other farmers around the state. The redesigned device is a 53-foot aluminum floating upweller system, or FLUPSY. It works by moving fresh seawater filled…
Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship alumnae move forward in their careers and education (7/23/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant’s State Fellowships are a career-building program modeled after the highly successful Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. The fellowships provide an opportunity to acquire on-the-job experience in marine resource policies and programs in Alaska and they are geared toward soon-to-graduate or recently finished graduate students interested in marine policy and science. Since 2015, 11…
Can mushrooms replace Styrofoam and keep the oceans cleaner? (7/17/2019) - A University of Alaska Anchorage researcher who hopes to curb ocean pollution thinks fungi might have a useful role to play. Philippe Amstislavski, an associate professor of public health at UAA, is experimenting with using mushrooms to create biodegradable insulation, shipping material and other environmentally friendly products. Alaska Sea Grant, a partnership between the National…