Human capital is one of the Alaska mariculture industry's main advantages, due to the high proportion of people who are used to living and working on the coast.
Farmers, as well as the individuals working on processing, product and market development, R&D, and sales are the cornerstone of the local sector and the landscape, offering a promising future.
- Age of principal farmer
- Majority between 30 - 45
- Time as a farmer
- On average 12 - 15 years
- Generation as farmer
- 1st
- Type of labor
- Family, friends, and seasonal workers
- Part of farmers association
- ~50%
- Gender
- Most are males with ~50% females as co-founders/staff members
- Staff
- On average 2 permanent staff, and 2 - 5 seasonal workers
- Indigenous
- ~30%
- Other income sources
- ~50% commercial fishing in summer season
- External support
- R&D project grants, subsidies for equipment
We have some of the best people in the world for what we're doing out here. We have the most knowledgeable people from the industry, and with the local native people, you're taking years and years of traditional and ecological knowledge and putting it into play.
Meet the farmers
Anthony Lindoff is the co-founder and manager of Kaawu Oyster in Hoonah, Burnt Point established in 2015. He is also a member of the Tlingit tribe, and a shareholder in the Huna Totem Corporation.
Chunk Kelly is the nursey technician and maintenance manager at OceansAlaska, a nonprofit founded by Alaskans to promote aquaculture in Southeast Alaska. Located on George Inlet near Ketchikan, it supports shellfish and mariculture growth by supplying commercial seed.
Eric Wyatt is the co-founder of Blue Starr Oyster Co and established the farm back in 2004.
Co-founder and co-owner Greg Bates and his wife Weatherly Bates run Alaska Shellfish Farm in Halibut Cove, which is the largest producer of Pacific oysters in the state.
Bob Koenitzer moved from Ohio to Ketchikan in 1982 seeking outdoor adventure and is the captain at Icy Strait Whale Adventures as well as part of the Tlingit people
Jeff Hetrick is the director of Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute, in Seward, which is a tribally managed research facility and a key subsidiary of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, with the goal to preserve natural resources and to offer opportunities for the native peoples of Southcentral Alaska.
Tommaso Shellfish is a family-owned oyster farm by life partners James Greeley & Katie Bode in the cold waters of Sea Otter Sound near Prince of Wales Island. It was founded by James over 10 years ago with a focus on hand-harvesting Pacific oysters.
Sean Crosby is the manager of Kachemak Shellfish Americulture Association and Kachemak Shellfish Growers. Next to his work at the association, Sean is running his own oyster farm and hatchery.
Thomas James is the shellfish lead at Seagrove Oysters. He was born in Ketchikan, but grew up in Texas. He manages approximately 27 acres located in the waters of Doyle Bay.
Environment, industry, and market-oriented R&D Native Alaskan-owned facility
Case study Alutiiq Pride Marine InstituteSpecies: 10 species of shellfish, 8 species of seaweed, and red sea cucumber
Capacity: N/A
A tribally managed marine research facility located in Seward, Alaska, serves as a major subsidiary of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, a tribal consortium established for the purposes of management and advocacy in the preservation of natural resources and livelihood opportunities for the native peoples of Southcentral Alaska.
Mariculture is the logical fit for our tribes and communities as they live in coastal areas, own vessels, and possess the maritime skills to work on the water. Part of our purpose is to provide economic development for our people, and so we're really hoping that the local mariculture industry offers that opportunity for our communities.
Innovations & approach
Different tank types and sizes in a modular system with the ability to isolate each one in terms of biosecurity, temperature, and salinity according to the species' preferences and ongoing experiments.
Inside the Alutiiq Pride Marine Insitute
Microalgae labs that cultivate different tropical species selected for aquaculture, keeping stocks cultured for redundancies and continuous harvest for daily use.
Algae production underpins the shellfish farming sector.
Examining the right economic and marketing strategy for kelp processing. Looking at the financial cost of getting the biomass into the form the buyers are looking for.
Jeff Hetrick
The institute helps to provide jobs in local communities.
Notable features
- Works on industry and market oriented R&D. The facility is conducting numerous experiments on many different shellfish and seaweed species to tackle real industry hurdles such as enhanced spawning, closing life cycles, feeding, changing ocean conditions, optimizing growing conditions, and reproduction rates.
- Works with communities to establish kelp farms and provide them with seeds, training, and technical support across the supply chain to enable local jobs, food security, and financial opportunities.
- Includes an ocean acidification laboratory, which studies potential acidification effects and mitigation strategies. Undertakes sampling and monitoring programs (for local communities and beyond) with the unique capacity to measure ocean acidification at a very high level, as well as in-house marine organisms stocks at the stage that they're most susceptible to it, to conduct trials on how they might be affected.