The Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) has contracted Kelson Marine, an ocean engineering firm, to provide free technical assistance to prospective and existing mariculture farmers across Alaska. Funded through AMC’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) component project, these services will help farmers and investors evaluate site conditions, right-size farm designs, and make more informed decisions.

Kelson Marine has developed a robust set of environmental modeling tools and datasets covering Alaska’s coastal waters through AMC’s De-Risking Investment and Site Suitability project. This new contract will put those resources directly into the hands of farmers through individualized consultations tailored to their operations. Kelson Marine will offer two levels of technical assistance:

• Initial Farm Site Characterization: Consultations of up to six hours examining physical site conditions (including currents, tides, wind, and waves) and/or biogeochemical characteristics (such as water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a, and other environmental factors) relevant to mariculture production.
• In-Depth Site Selection and Farm Engineering: More extensive consultations to evaluate farm structures and infrastructure requirements or compare potential farm sites based on operational considerations, production costs, equipment needs, and other factors influencing farm development.

By helping farmers better understand the relationship between environmental conditions, farm design, operational risks, and capital needs, these services aim to improve business planning and financing readiness. The technical analysis can also support farmers in identifying opportunities to reduce costs and make more informed investment decisions.

To qualify for an initial consultation, interested farmers also participate in an AMC RLF webinar or consultation. More extensive engineering and site-selection assistance is available to farmers actively working towards an RLF loan application, subject to approval by Southeast Conference.

Kelson Marine will also host a virtual workshop introducing its technical resources and will participate in the 2027 Mariculture Conference of Alaska to demonstrate how farmers can use environmental data and modeling tools to inform their operations.

Kelson Marine’s services complement the free business planning and financial assistance already available through Spruce Root, GreenWave, and Seamark. Together, these offerings expand the technical and financial resources available to Alaska’s mariculture businesses, helping farmers strengthen their operations and prepare for future investment.

Interested in Kelson Marine’s Technical Assistance Services?

Contact Southeast Conference at stephane@seconference.org to learn more about eligibility and available consultations.