News
The latest blog posts and news releases from Alaska Sea Grant
Ginny Eckert named director of Alaska Sea Grant (7/31/2020) - Dr. Ginny Eckert was appointed director of the Alaska Sea Grant Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks earlier this month. The announcement came from UAF Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Anupma Prakash, whose office now oversees the program. Based in Juneau, Eckert served in the roles of acting and interim director since summer 2019,…
Alaska Sea Grant recruiting for program administrator and communication lead (7/30/2020) - Alaska Sea Grant, part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is accepting applications for two full-time professional positions essential to the success of our work serving Alaskans through the conservation and sustainable use of Alaska’s coastal, watershed and marine resources. The Program Administrator will oversee development, management, analysis, reporting and administration of the Alaska Sea…
Alaska Sea Grant debuts farm-to-table mariculture directory for Alaska (7/28/2020) - Alaskans who love fresh Alaska seafood will be happy to hear that Alaska Sea Grant has begun development of an online directory of farms and retailers that sell Alaska-grown shellfish and seaweed, locally or through mail order.
Helping a Western Alaska fishing community cope with an influx during the pandemic (7/27/2020) - By Davin Holen Each summer, around 13,000 workers from outside Alaska travel to the Bristol Bay region to participate in the world’s most valuable wild salmon fishery. How the fishery, community, and region prepare and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is the topic of a new project. The sparsely populated western coast of Alaska is…
Alaska Sea Grant efforts result in over $8.5 million in economic benefits to Alaska in 2019 (6/29/2020) - Alaska Sea Grant projects and programs produced over $8.5 million in economic benefits to the state last year, as reported to National Sea Grant. These benefits were the result of our work in marine safety training, seafood safety classes, seafood technology programs, professional consultations, and other activities. The creation and support of jobs and business…
Alaska Seafood School moves online in response to COVID-19 (6/29/2020) - In May, Alaska Sea Grant conducted its first ever fully-online Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification class. This class satisfies the training requirement of the US HACCP regulation, instituted in 1997 to make sure the seafood people purchase in stores or eat in restaurants is as safe as possible. Assuring seafood safety requires…
New tools track freshwater fish in changing climate (6/29/2020) - A salmon life cycle model developed by Alaska Sea Grant-supported researchers will predict how salmon populations in Alaska may fare as freshwater ecosystems change. The model will be online, allowing anyone to run it with various climate scenarios.
Alaska fellowship program welcomes four new graduate students (6/22/2020) - NOAA AFSC has participated in the fellowship program as a host for several years. Alba will be the third fellow the agency has hosted since the program began. “The fellowship program has been a way for the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center to explore areas of research that it would not have been able to…
Unalaska’s “Dockside Discovery” for kids reaches a national audience (5/26/2020) - The 10th annual Dockside Discovery was held recently in Unalaska at the Robert Storrs Small Boat Harbor. The event was coordinated by Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent Melissa Good for all elementary students from the Unalaska City School District. In past years, area students from grades 1–6 met at the harbor to ask questions…
Alaska Sea Grant survey reveals challenges to mariculture industry caused by COVID-19 pandemic (5/4/2020) - 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. …