NOAA Fisheries reached a major milestone in the Alaska Aquaculture Opportunity Area (AOA) identification process this year with the release of the preliminary results of the marine spatial planning study in April 2025. This new step to the process significantly increased public and tribal input through sharing draft spatial modeling results, and 97 draft AOA options in Alaska.
We received 39 comments (4 oral, 35 written), which allowed NOAA Fisheries, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and the State of Alaska to gather and consider new information, and make improvements before finalizing results. NCCOS used this information in developing the Alaska Atlas, which is anticipated for release in the coming months.
This is a major step in NOAA’s effort to advance aquaculture by identifying AOAs as directed by Executive Order, “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” (May 7, 2020). This was a collaborative effort between NOAA Fisheries, NOAA’s NCCOS, and the State of Alaska.
This presentation highlights the process of identifying AOAs in Alaska state waters, and the new step on gathering public feedback on the preliminary results of the spatial analysis and Draft AOA Options.