The Farmers
Alaska Seaweed InsightsThe dedication, entrepreneurship, creativity, and hard work of members of Alaska's coastal communities is abundantly clear to anyone who has visited the state's mariculture farms and is essential to the success of the sector.
- Average age of principal farmer
- 30-45
- Average time as a farmer
- 5 years
- Generation of farmers
- Mainly first generation
- Type of labour
- Family, friends, seasonal workers
- Part of farmers' associations
- No
- Gender
- ~50% female founders and workforce
- Staff
- On average 2 permanent staff, and 2-5 seasonal workers
- Indigenous
- ~20%
- Other income sources
- Commercial fishing in summer season
- External support
- R&D projects/other 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.
Farmers in Alaska are spread out along the state's coastline, which makes it challenging for them to collaborate and share knowledge. However, the industry is characterized by a strong sense of community, where participants are willing to share their mistakes, challenges, and solutions. There is an understanding that success depends on working together.
Most farmers diversify their kelp farming activities by cultivating other aquatic species, such as oysters, or by commercial fishing during summer months. While some farms are beginning to hire more full-time employees, these positions are often seasonal.
Shaan Seet: planning a co-op on Prince of Wales Island
Shaan Seet is developing a plan to establish a co-operative mariculture processing facility for community-minded individuals.
Indigenous culture is strong in Southeast Alaska
Edward Douville, general manager of Shaan Seet
The planned site for a co-operative mariculture processing facility, near Craig, on Prince of Wales Island
"Our priority is not running the businesses; our priority is opening up land, money, and opportunities for our community so we can develop economically," reflects Edward Douville.
The organisation aims to support a local regenerative eco-tourism industry which aligns with Shaan Seet's mission and vision, for Craig - the largest settlement on Prince Edward Island - to become a mariculture hub for Southeast Alaska.
They hope the facility will provide logistical support and storage for mariculture businesses on the island and beyond.
Meet the farmers
Kristen Smith & Brianna Murphy, founders of Mothers of Millions (MoM), have combined their backgrounds in commercial fishing and environmentalism to run Alaska’s first mobile seaweed hatchery and processing facility, repurposing fishing equipment for off-season mariculture, and supporting seaweed farms in the region.
Alf Pryor is one of the pioneers of kelp farming in Alaska and the co-founder of Alaska Ocean Farms, a family-owned and operated kelp farming company in Kodiak, Alaska.
Evie Witten (pictured) and Katherine Carlino operate a seaweed farm in Halibut Cove and lead The Kachemak Kelp Hub, an Alaskan-run concept project looking at the twin challenges of both processing and marketing farm-grown kelp.
Lexa Meyer, co-founder of Alaska Ocean Farms, operates a modular kelp hatchery in Kodiak. Together with her partner Alf, they lease 100 acres for kelp farming and will be adding 40 acres for growing Pacific oysters in 2024.
Alex Lefarrier is the Supervisory Research Ecologist at NOAA's Kodiak Fisheries Research Center. This premier multi-agency marine research hub focuses on shellfish and groundfish assessment, providing critical data and educational outreach to the Kodiak community.
Darren Rudger has lived in Kodiak for 30 years. He has a rich seafood experience, working as a sales manager at Kodiak Wild Source, a 100% tribal-owned company of the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak, which specializes in high-quality, sustainably harvested Alaskan seafood and seaweed.
Owned and run by Jonny Antoni, with support from Tamsen Peeples (left) from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Kaitlyn Tolin (middle), Sea Quester Farms is dedicated to enhancing local food systems and native habitats by sustainably cultivating bull and sugar kelp.
Founded in Juneau by Lia Heifetz and Matthew Kern, Barnacle Foods is dedicated to creating kelp-based food products using sustainably harvested and farmed kelp from Southeast Alaskan waters.
Nick Mangini is one of the first fishermen to turn to seaweed farming. Operating Kiss Kelp Farm, he is dedicated to making aquaculture a vital part of the state's economy and committed to building a sustainable industry that supports renewable income for local fishers and the community.
Markos Scheer founded Seagrove Kelp Co in 2016 to expand mariculture development in Alaska. The company is vertically integrated and operates out of Doyle Bay. It handles seed production, grow-out, harvest, processing, and sales of several kelp species. He also grows large volumes of oysters.
Ruby Dombeck is the kelp supply chain specialist at Atlantic Sea Farms, which partners with fishing communities to cultivate kelp, aiming to support coastal communities affected by climate change.