Alaska Mariculture Research & Training Center

We're hiring for a Sustainable Southeast Partnership Regional Mariculture Catalyst! Apply: https://lnkd.in/gyZv_cbi Job Summary: The Sustainable Southeast Partnership Regional Mariculture Catalyst will provide technical and social support necessary for residents of Southeast Alaska to benefit from the development of the mariculture industry. The primary focus of the catalyst will be to 1) advocate for Mariculture industry development that prioritizes Alaska Native and rural community voices and upholds tribal sovereignty, 2) enable access to mariculture resources and technical assistance for Alaska Native and rural Alaska community residents, 3) collaborate with community and regional partners of the SSP to advance project initiatives in SSP communities across the region that harness the power of traditional knowledge and values, customary and subsistence lifeways, regenerative economics, and local food movements. Starting Salary: $70,000 - $78,500 Application Deadline: March 11, 2025 Anticipated Start Date: April 29, 2025 Full job description: https://lnkd.in/gyZv_cbi About Sustainable Southeast Partnership: Ecotrust is a member of the Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP), which is a collective impact network focused on sharing capacity in Southeast Alaska communities by creating projects that model triple-bottom-line approaches to sustainable development. SSP uses a two-tiered structure, working through Community Catalysts hosted by community-level entities (e.g., tribal government, city/borough, village corporations) and Regional Catalysts hosted at organizations with a regional footprint that bring capacity in one or more of SSP’s core strategies. #nonprofitjobs #mariculture #southeastalaska

Alaskan Seaweed. I had the privilege to explore that topic in length on a recent trip to Sitka for the Alaska Mariculture Conference followed by a real adventure in Kodiak. What an eye opening trip and I wanted to share some of my insights. (1) There are some amazing farmers (and prospective new farmers) spread all across the state (mostly southern part). The Mariculture Conference brought together seaweed and oyster farmers from across Alaska (Kodiak, Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, and the Southeast) to share ideas about the best methods for nurseries, seeding, harvesting, and processing. I've never seen such openness for collaboration. And amazing food. (2) This is a place of marine innovation. The big star of my trip was the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center - tucked into a forested property close to the Kodiak port. It housed one of the more sophisticated food product development pilot facilities I've ever toured: processing space, multiple chemistry labs, and even a test kitchen with organoleptic testing panels (!!) We are excited to explore future collaborative projects that can feature this amazing resource. (3) Alaskan people are very welcoming. I spent my late 20s living in Northern Vancouver Island. It is hard not to remember that time as I travelled around the smaller coastal towns of Alaska. (I also was incredibly lucky with the weather). Everyone was very knowledgeable of the people in their community and very kind to me - quick to share about their life or the fishing industry (which I asked about a lot) - and everyone knows how to fix something or who is the best person to call when something breaks. (4) The Alaska seaweed industry is still figuring out where to best serve. There is a huge potential in Alaska - passionate growers, pristine coastline, knowledge of marine product commerce (every town has dedicated fish plants and canneries and the utilities to service them), skilled workforce - but the best target for the biomass remains unclear. The state is large and discrete seaweed farms require real strategies to secure/process the biomass needed to service more global markets. This is where we at Marine Biologics are really focusing our efforts. Part of our work in Alaska for AFDF is to take complex 2024 seaweed tissue data collected from around the state and identify indicators of potential valuable biochemicals to support market developments in food, agriculture, cosmetics... but even then, there is still lots of room for development in the farming, processing, and supply infrastructure. Seed collection regulations remain strict, nursery space is limited, farm design/operation can be highly site specific, bulk processing remains largely undefined. What I definitely learnt from this trip is the people in Alaska are some of the best suited to tackle these challenges and have what it takes to build their seaweed into a global industry.