Last month, the first Kelp Farm Operations: Training of the Trainers workshop was held at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Sciences Center. This comprehensive training builds on kelp mariculture workshops held by Alaska Sea Grant over several years and provides participants with the knowledge and tools to help new and prospective farmers in their communities.

Each participant was provided wit the materials needed to conduct training, including a powerpoint slide-deck, reference material, tools to test potential farming sites and a model farm array.

“We put a lot of effort into creating a teaching kit that will help speed up the process of getting hands-on training to communities looking to start mariculture businesses,” said Melissa Good, Alaska Sea Grant mariculture specialist. “This is a big state, and it’s an efficient way to help grow the industry.”

Mariculture professionals came from Kodiak, Cordova, Sitka, Anchorage and Ouzinkie to learn teaching methods to use in their communities, as well as to learn from each other.

“For this workshop in particular, we hoped for strong group discussion and engagement, and this group exceeded my wishes,” said Arron Jones, Alaska Sea Grant mariculture technician and workshop organizer. “Each person brought their unique background and knowledge, which provided an opportunity to share knowledge and put teaching skills into practice.”

The workshop also provided an opportunity to strengthen the support network for a relatively new industry in the state, according to Jones. “As these statewide partnerships, collaborations and connections continue to grow, so will the Alaskan mariculture industry.”

Funding for the training was provided by the Alaska Mariculture Cluster, the model farm arrays were built by Joe Hok of Nautical Marine, and Nick Mangini, of Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference and Kodiak Island Sustainable Seaweed, provided expertise and his kelp farm for sessions on water quality monitoring and farm maintenance.

To find out about upcoming mariculture training, please visit the Alaska Sea Grant events page, the Alaska Mariculture Research and Training Center website, or contact Melissa Good at melissa.good@alaska.edu.

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.