Alaska Sea Grant Program

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Alaska Sea Grant program to host inaugural Alaska Shellfish and Seaweed Festival on May 17-20

The Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program is pleased to announce the inaugural Alaska Shellfish and Seaweed Festival, taking place virtually on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook from coastal communities around the state. Leading up to the event and during the week of the festival, if you order seafood products from participating businesses, you’ll receive a special gift package that includes recipe cards, a shucking knife, and other mariculture related goodies.

Hosted by the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, the Alaska Shellfish and Seaweed Festival celebrates and raises awareness of the sustainably grown and harvested seafood products available right here in Alaska. Mariculture is an emerging industry in Alaska, and this festival provides an opportunity to learn about what it’s like to run an oyster or seaweed farm, where to find quality shellfish and seaweed products in your communities, and interesting and delicious ways to cook Alaska’s fresh, locally grown mariculture foods.

The Alaska Shellfish and Seaweed Festival is free and open to the public. Registrants will receive a reminder email with online participation information and the schedule of events.

Click this link to register for free now

Alaska Sea Grant Shellfish and Seaweed Growers Project

Is your business interested in participating in this event or being added to our Alaska-grown shellfish and seaweed directory? Please contact Hannah Wilson at hannah.wilson@alaska.edu.

The event kicks off with an introduction to mariculture from Melissa Good, Alaska Sea Grant’s mariculture specialist. Lexa Meyer, Alaska Sea Grant’s seafood workforce development coordinator and Alaska Mariculture Manager at Blue Evolution, will give an overview of seaweed farming. James Greeley, operations manager and oyster farmer at Tommaso Shellfish, will share information about oyster farming. 

The second and third days of the event will feature video tours of Alaska oyster and seaweed farms, and live online cooking demonstrations. Festival attendees can watch from the comfort of their own homes to learn how Alaska grown oysters and kelp are grown, harvested, and transformed into delicious entrees and condiments. 

The final day of the event will feature discussions about the market for shellfish and seaweed, the future of mariculture in Alaska, and how communities and individuals can get involved. Marine aquaculture creates jobs, supports resilient working waterfronts and coastal communities, and provides new international trade opportunities. As global demand for seafood continues to grow, mariculture offers an economically beneficial and environmentally sustainable complement to Alaska’s wild fisheries.

Preliminary schedule

Subject to change, all times Alaska.

Monday, May 17, 6–7:30pm

  • Introduction to Mariculture with Melissa Good, Alaska Sea Grant
  • Seaweed Farming 101 with Lexa Meyer, Blue Evolution
  • Oyster Farming 101 with James Greeley, Tommaso Shellfish

Tuesday, May 18, 6–8pm

  • Oyster Farm tour, video presentation
  • Seaweed Farm tour, video presentation
  • Bivalve identification game and seaweed quiz
  • Meet an Alaska shellfish farmer, video presentation

Wednesday, May 19, 6–8pm

  • Live oyster and kelp recipe cooking demo with Chef Austin Green
  • How to shuck an oyster video
  • How to pickle kelp with Gayla Pedersen
  • Blue Evolution cooking videos

Thursday, May 20, 6–8pm

  • Traditional Alutiiq seaweed uses presentation with Gayla Pedersen
  • Environmental change and the future of mariculture presentation
  • How aquaculture benefits coastal communities presentation

Check back for updates as we finalize the schedule.

Participating Businesses

Buy mariculture products from these participating Alaskan businesses the week of the festival to get some free swag* including an oyster-shucking knife with your purchase:

*Please confirm with individual businesses upon ordering. Check back for additions to this list.

Oysters:

Shikat Bay Oysters — nation-wide shipping

Tommaso Shellfish — nation-wide shipping

Fish from Trish — nation-wide shipping

Haines Packing Company — pick-up in Haines

Alaska Shellfish Farms — pick-up in Homer, nation-wide shipping

59 North Ocean Specialties — 907.252.5698, clamgulchseafoods@gmail.com (Kenai Peninsula Deliveries)

Island Seafoods — pick-up in Kodiak

Seaweed Products:

Foraged & Found — nation-wide shipping

Beer:

49th State Brewing Company — oyster stout available at Anchorage taproom

Kodiak Island Brewing Company — kelp beer available at Kodiak taproom

Baleen Brewing — beers to pair with oyster and kelp dishes, available at Ketchikan taproom

Grace Ridge Brewing — oyster stout available in Homer taproom and for curbside pickup

Restaurants and Food Carts Serving Oyster and Seaweed-focused menu items:

Million Recipes — dishes featuring oysters and seaweed in Kodiak

Find more great Alaskan businesses selling oyster and seaweed products in our Alaska Mariculture Directory.

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Alaska Sea Grant to offer a seaweed farm start-up training program on Feb. 2

Alaska Sea Grant and partners are excited to announce the 2021 Seaweed Farm Start-up Training Program to be held for Alaska residents interested in starting their own seaweed farm in Alaska.

In 2020, this program was held in Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Sitka as part of Phase 2 of the Alaska Mariculture Initiative. In February of 2021, this program will be held again for a new cohort of participants, and will be conducted online via Zoom due to COVID-19 health and safety mandates. This virtual format will allow more participants to access the training program, from 48 participants in 2020 to potentially more than 100 in 2021. Registration for the training program will be completed in two parts:

  1. All interested Alaska residents are invited to register for a free two-hour webinar to be held from 4-6 p.m. on Feb. 2. Registration closes Feb. 1.
  2. Webinar attendees will then be eligible to register for a series of in-depth, virtual, technical, multi-day workshops over one week, beginning on Feb. 22. Each session will be 2–3 hours.

The goal of this program is to provide the tools and training necessary for Alaskans to start their own seaweed farm. The program is targeted towards commercial fishermen, Alaska Natives, and fishing communities. The program will be completed in four sections:

  1. online webinar on Feb. 2
  2. series of virtual technical multi-day workshops over one-week beginning on Feb. 22
  3. one-on-one mentoring for high-performing participants
  4. potential in-person hands-on field training in Spring/Summer 2021 (COVID-19 permitting).

Participants will be required to attend the Feb. 2 webinar in order to register for the series of technical workshops. Although there is no expected cap on the number of participants for the webinar, participation for the series of technical multi-day workshops is expected to be capped at 150 participants. Registration will be first-come first-serve for eligible participants. Registration for the series of technical multi-day workshops will be open from Feb. 3 to Feb. 10. Materials, final workshop dates/times, and workshop information will be distributed to registered participants prior to both the webinar and technical workshops.

Topics covered will include identification of seaweed species, lifecycles of seaweed, the hatchery process, site evaluation, use of 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. Information and instruction will be provided by GreenWave, Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Blue Evolution, OceansAlaska, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation Inc., Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, seaweed farmers, and others.

Register now to learn more about what it takes to become a seaweed farmer in Alaska. Please visit the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation website for more information about the training program. To register online, click this link. For more details, contact Melissa Good of Alaska Sea Grant at melissa.good@alaska.edu.

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Alaska Sea Grant hosts program, COVID-19 Economic Relief for Alaska’s Small Seafood Businesses

The Alaska Sea Grant program will host a free online program, COVID-19 Economic Relief for Alaska’s Small Seafood Businesses, from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 24.

The CARES Act was created to provide economic relief to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In this webinar, we will cover provisions for small businesses through the Small Business Administration (SBA) and local unemployment offices, CARES Act tax provisions, and economic relief through the State of Alaska. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A.

Alaska Sea Grant is a trusted source of information and assistance for Alaska fishermen and seafood businesses, through the FishBiz Project. Join us for a presentation and discussion on Zoom with our experts from around the state. Free online registration is required at this link.

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Alaska Sea Grant program offers online class on direct marketing of seafood

The Alaska Sea Grant program will offer an online class, Introduction to Starting and Operating a Seafood Direct Marketing Business, from 5:30-8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6 via distance delivery. The class costs $125.

This introductory course presents content on the development and management of a successful seafood direct marketing business from inception to operation. The practical application of business planning, obtaining financing, permitting, feasibility analysis, marketing, and operational aspects of a seafood direct marketing business will be introduced.

The course will be delivered primarily by lectures and in-class discussions, supported by four homework assignments that are individualized to assist you in developing an action plan for your business.

At the end of the course, the student will understand and be able to use the appropriate managerial and decision-making tools that are needed to start and run a seafood direct marketing business.

Note: The course is designed for commercial fishermen with little or no experience in direct marketing, who want to onboard or custom process and direct market their catch in various ways. The course will be taught in five sessions: Oct. 23, Oct. 25, Oct. 30, Nov. 1, and Nov. 6, from 5:30-8 p.m.

To register, click this link. To see a course syllabus, click this link and scroll to the bottom. For more information, contact Quentin Fong at 907-486-1516 or qsfong@alaska.edu.

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Seaweed expert Dolly Garza to give presentation April 27 at UAS Sitka Campus

Dolly Garza, Ph.D., will give a presentation on common edible seaweeds and intertidal beach foods at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, in Room 229 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus.

Garza, the author of Common Edible Seaweeds in the Gulf of Alaska, is a retired professor with the Alaska Sea Grant program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A Haida-Tlingít, Garza was born in Ketchikan, where she grew up harvesting seaweed and other intertidal beach foods. She taught seaweed workshops across Alaska during her tenure with the Alaska Sea Grant program, and now lives in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, where she is a textile artist, basket weaver and raven’s tail weaver.

The presentation is sponsored by the UAS Sitka Campus, Sitka Sound Science Center, and National Park Service. A few samples to try will be available after the talk. For more information, email Kitty LaBounty at kllabounty@alaska.edu.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Alaska Sea Grant to host online specialty food business class series

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and Alaska Sea Grant program are teaming up to offer a four-session online-only class on how to start and operate a specialty food business. The four classes are from 6-8:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, May 15-18, and the classes will cost $50 for all four sessions. To register, go to http://bit.ly/SpecialtyFoodBusiness.

This course outlines the development and management of a successful specialty food business from inception to operation. Participants will learn about the practical application of business planning, obtaining
financing, permitting, feasibility analysis and marketing along with the operational aspects of a specialty food business.

This course will be delivered primarily by lectures, with four homework assignments that are individualized to help you develop an action plan for your business. At the end of this course, the student will understand and use the appropriate managerial and decision-making tools that are needed to start and run a specialty food business.

The course is available statewide from any computer with a reliable connection. We will be using Zoom to deliver class content. Students must have access to a video camera, speakers and microphone to actively participate. To learn more about the system requirements for Zoom, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-Requirements-for-PC-and-Mac.

For more information, contact Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at (907) 523-3280, Ext. 1, or sarah.lewis@alaska.edu, or Quentin Fong of the Alaska Sea Grant program at (907) 486-1516 or qsfong@alaska.edu.

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• UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Alaska Sea Grant team up to offer online course on the specialty food business

Specialty food business March 2016

Are you interested in starting a specialty food business? The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the UAF Alaska Sea Grant program are teaming up to offer a five-class online course about how to start a specialty foods course in March.

The class is only available online and it will be from 5:30-8 p.m. on March 1, 3, 8, 10 and 15. You must attend all five classes during the times they are offered. The course costs $50 and is limited to the first 25 who register from around the state. More details about the class and its technology requirements can be found here. The instructors will be Quentin Fong of the Alaska Sea Grant program and Kate Idzorek of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

This course is intended for individuals interested in starting and operating a specialty food business to sell foods under the DEC Cottage Foods Exemption, a temporary DEC permit, DEC-permitted food production businesses to sell wholesale in Alaska or DEC-permitted Mobile Food Units (food trucks). This course is NOT intended for individuals starting or operating a restaurant or starting an interstate or international wholesale food business. It is for people who want to make specialty food products, such as jams and jellies, handmade chocolates, salsa, pickled fish, or operate a food truck. Many specialty food products are perfect for selling at the Sitka Farmers Market.

To register online, go to http://bit.ly/ces-workshops. For more information, contact Kate Idzorek of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 1-907-474-5391 (Fairbanks number).

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• UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Alaska Sea Grant team up to offer online course on the specialty food business

Specialty food business

Are you interested in starting a specialty food business? The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the UAF Alaska Sea Grant program are teaming up to offer a five-class online course about how to start a specialty foods course in October.

The class is only available online and it will be from 5:30-8 p.m. on Oct. 5, 7, 12, 14, and 19. You must attend all five classes during the times they are offered. The course costs $50 and is limited to the first 25 who register from around the state. More details about the class and its technology requirements can be found here. The instructors will be Quentin Fong of the Alaska Sea Grant program and Kate Idzorek of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

This course is intended for individuals interested in starting and operating a specialty food business to sell foods under the DEC Cottage Foods Exemption, a temporary DEC permit, DEC-permitted food production businesses to sell wholesale in Alaska or DEC-permitted Mobile Food Units (food trucks). This course is NOT intended for individuals starting or operating a restaurant or starting an interstate or international wholesale food business. It is for people who want to make specialty food products, such as jams and jellies, handmade chocolates, salsa, pickled fish, or operate a food truck. Many specialty food products are perfect for selling at the Sitka Farmers Market.

To register online, go to http://bit.ly/ces-workshops. For more information, contact Kate Idzorek of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 1-907-474-5391 (Fairbanks number).

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• UAF Cooperative Extension Service to host class on starting and operating a specialty food business

Specialty Foods Workshop Feb. 2015

SpecialtyFoodBusinessHave you ever wanted to sell your homemade breads, jams and jellies, syrups, smoked salmon, or other specialty food product? Sitka will be one of the host locations this February for a five-session distance-delivery class on starting and operating a specialty food business.

The class, which is hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, takes place from 5:30-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Feb. 3, 5, 10, 12, and 17, at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, Room 110. Besides Sitka, the class also will be available by videoconference in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Kodiak. There is a class fee of $50.

Students will learn about business plans and marketing, financing and accounting, permitting and feasibility assessments, promoting and pricing your products, and ways to enter the market, such as farmers markets, food trucks, wholesaling, and supermarkets. The instructors are seafood marketing specialist Quentin S.W. Fong of the Alaska Marine Advisory Program, and Kate Idzorek of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, plus several special guests.

To learn more about the class and to register, click this link or contact Kate Idzorek at (907) 474-5391 or the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at (877) 520-5211.