NOAA Fisheries Alaska (Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center) has continued coordinated efforts to prioritize projects and actions to support the growing Alaska aquaculture industry.
We achieved a number of notable accomplishments this year in our Aquaculture Program despite the continued challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. This presentation provides a summary of the accomplishments for each of our identified priority areas.
Marine aquaculture—also referred to in Alaska as mariculture—helps support Alaska’s blue economy, contributing to sustainable seafood, and local economies. Seaweed and shellfish aquaculture have been shown to provide ecosystem benefits including creating habitat for mobile fish and invertebrates species. Aquaculture also establishes economic opportunities by creating jobs, supporting eco-tourism, and other pathways.
We developed the Joint Aquaculture Action Plan to strategically align the work being done by both the regional office and science center, help accomplish the goals of NOAA Fisheries Marine Aquaculture Strategic Plan, and meet industry and management needs identified in the Alaska Mariculture Development Plan.
Alaskan aquaculture has room to grow, and efforts are underway to promote and expand this sustainable industry. This presentation will highlight a variety of projects and actions undertaken by the Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center in 2022 to advance our Joint Alaska Aquaculture Action Plan along the following focal areas:
As Alaska’s nascent marine aquaculture industry continues to grow, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center will play an increasing role in the management, policy, and research that helps build this sustainable food source. Implementing our Aquaculture Action Plan and Aquaculture Research Strategic Plan helps our agency prioritize efforts based on our agency’s strengths and management and industry needs, focusing our efforts to best serve Alaska.