Mariculture and Seaweed Farming
Mariculture is a developing industry that provides multiple benefits to the people of Alaska: economic, environmental, and cultural. In Alaska, the term mariculture specifically refers to the cultivation of shellfish and aquatic plants, such as seaweed. The marine organisms cultivated can be made into food and other products.
Mariculture has great potential to provide economic diversification in Alaska, particularly in small rural communities.
This site is under construction and will be added to periodically.
See below for resources:
Alaska Mariculture Initiative
The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) and partners have held several Seaweed Farm Start-up Training Programs for Alaska residents interested in starting their own seaweed farm in Alaska.
Topics covered during the trainings include identification of seaweed species, lifecycles of seaweed, the hatchery process, site evaluation, how to use the Mariculture Map, farm gear and equipment, business plan development, farm loans available, state lease application process, gear deployment, seeding and harvesting techniques, quality handling and safety considerations.
https://www.afdf.org/projects/current-projects/alaska-mariculture-initiative/
Kelptastic Farms
Kelptastic was created with the help of many entities and seeks to keep the seaweed curious up to date on ocean happenings both locally and globally. Kelptastic has compiled a comprehensive set of resources to help a new farmer through the permitting steps, timeline, mooring options, farm design, fertile sori collection, biology, and the morphology of seaweed species.
Check out their website for more information.
Additional Resources:
Alaskan Mariculture - Opportunities for Hands-on and Online Learning
Alaska Mariculture Development Plan - March 2018
Alaska Mariculture Development Plan - In Brief
Alaska Shellfish Farm Size Feasibility Study
Seaweed Farming in Alaska - Sea Grant Alaska
Sea Grant network has established a National Seaweed Hub to serve as a science-based, non-advocate resource for the domestic seaweed and seaweed aquaculture industry.
OceansAlaska - Marine Science Center and Shellfish Hatchery
Greenwave - Global network of regenerative ocean farmers
NOAA Video on Kelp Farming