With funding from the Alaska Mariculture Cluster, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) has announced a first cohort of applied research and development projects for the Joint Innovations Project (JIP) program. These joint projects form strategic private sector partnerships and are designed to accelerate innovation, address barriers to growth, and stand up Alaska’s emerging mariculture industry.

The cohort, totaling over $1.27 million in funding, is comprised of hatcheries, nurseries, aquatic farmers, and processors. Each of the JIP projects will fall under one of the following categories:

• Innovations in seaweed farming
• Innovations in processing (oysters or seaweed)
• Innovations in mooring system technology, design and/or deployment
• Boosting oyster growth at nurseries or farms
• Shellfish enhancement
• De-risking farming through site suitability analysis and/or monitoring

The funded projects and lead entities are:

• Cost-effective Primary Stabilization for Transportation of Alaska Kelp to Market by Atlantic Sea Farms
• Evaluating and Sharing Methods to Efficiently Dry Kelp for Rural Communities by Barnacle Foods
• Primary Stabilization of Seaweed Through Drying Technique by Blue Evolution
• Evaluate Marketability and Production Protocols for Kelp Based Wine and Spirits by Float Camp
• Kelp Stabilization for Rural Communities: Designing for Decentralized Processing by GreenWave
• Pilot Scale Forced-air Drying and Milling of Farmed Kelp by Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute
• Testing Four Approaches to Small-Scale Primary Seaweed Stabilization & Matching Methods to Markets by Saltwater Inc. & Generation North
• Bull Kelp Buoyancy Assessment by Native Village of Eyak
• Evaluating Infrastructure and Seeding Methods for Scalable Bull Kelp Cultivation by SeaQuester Farms
• Helical Anchor Performance Analysis by Holdfast Robotics & Seagrove Kelp
• Design & Planning for an Optimized Intermodal Freight Container-based Shellfish Setting and Pre-nursery Seed Boosting System by OceansAlaska
• Optimizing the tumble culture method to improve Pacific Oyster quality, and reduce labor for shellfish farms in Southeast Alaska by Ostrea Engineering
• Developing improved seed of the Pacific oyster for the Southeast Alaska regions by Pacific Hybreed
• Evaluating subsistence shellfish beaches for future enhancement projects by Chugach Regional Resources Commission & Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute
• Hatchery cultivation of the Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula) by Chugach Regional Resources Commission & Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute

The selected JIP proposals will be funded for a timeline of up to 18-month projects. Start dates must be between July 1st and December 31st, 2023. Proposals may only request funding up to $100,000. Findings and dates will be compiled into reports and distributed to the public, ensuring insights are available to current or future industry participants.

About AFDF

Since 1978, the AFDF has broadly represented the Alaska seafood industry (harvesters, processors, and support service businesses) in the areas of research and development. Since 2014, AFDF has spearheaded the Alaska Mariculture Initiative, an effort to expedite the development of growing shellfish and seaweed in Alaska.

AFDF is a part of the AMC coalition and one of the subaward recipients. As part of its subaward, AFDF oversees a portion of the Research and Development component, and in particular, the Joint Innovation Projects.

Background

Southeast Conference (SEC) is the federally designated Economic Development District (EDD) for Southeast Alaska, as well as the state designated Alaska Regional Development Organization. SEC’s mission is to undertake and support activities that promote strong economies, sustainable communities, and a healthy environment in Southeast Alaska.

In September 2022, Southeast Conference was awarded a $49 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant to catalyze a viable and sustainable mariculture industry in Alaska, supporting the production of shellfish and seaweed, for the long-term benefit of the state’s economy, environment, and communities.

SEC leads the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) grant coalition, which includes members of Alaska’s mariculture industry, tribal organizations, regulatory agencies, university system, regional EDDs, trade organizations, and others. A Governance Body, composed of AMC coalition leaders and Tribal executives from each of the project regions, guides the grant’s work and equity metrics.

The AMC has complementary grant components designed to break down barriers and develop Alaska’s mariculture industry.  The Overarching Narrative explains how the grant components work together to grow the industry in an equitable and responsible manner. The full project period for the AMC BBBRC project is October 1, 2022 to September 30th, 2026.