Mariculture in the News
NOAA Fisheries Denies Petition to List Bull Kelp
NOAA Fisheries has announced a negative 90-day finding on a petition to list the bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat concurrent with the listing. In denying the...
Pingree Celebrates World Oceans Day with Introduction of Bipartisan Bill to Support Aquaculture Farmers and Harvesters
The Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems, Livelihoods, and Local Seafood (SHELLS) Act will create a program office for aquaculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote blue carbon ecosystems, protect food security, and bolster shellfish harvesters and...
AQUAA Act reintroduced in US Senate
U.S. lawmakers are making yet another attempt to pass the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act, a bill that would establish national standards for offshore aquaculture and streamline development.
NOAA Fisheries Selects Alaska to Begin Aquaculture Opportunity Area Identification
An Aquaculture Opportunity Area is a defined geographic area that NOAA has determined to be environmentally, socially, and economically appropriate to support multiple commercial aquaculture operations. NOAA also evaluates these areas through both spatial analysis and...
As mariculture in Alaska grows, industry leaders look abroad for inspiration
It is seen as a bright spot in a troubled coastal economy, but seaweed cultivation must overcome many obstacles before it can become big business in Alaska.
Recordings and recap of the 2nd Alaska Mariculture Conference
The second annual Mariculture Conference of Alaska was held in Juneau, Alaska, on February 15–17, 2022. The conference was an opportunity for farmers, researchers, and professionals in mariculture-related industries and agencies to present and discuss a range of...
Threatened listing proposed for sunflower sea star after population devastated by wasting disease
Federal regulators announced that they are proposing a threatened listing for the sunflower sea star, a creature that has been killed off in much of its Pacific habitat by disease.
Seaweed farming inspires high hopes in Alaska for economic and environmental benefits
It is seen as a bright spot in a troubled coastal economy, but seaweed cultivation must overcome many obstacles before it can become big business in Alaska.
Rep. Jared Huffman, Rep. Mary Peltola introduce bill in US Congress to support seaweed farming
Representative Peltola joins Representative Huffman (CA) to introduce the Coastal Seaweed Farm Act, which requires preparation of a study evaluating the benefits and impacts of coastal seaweed farming and creates the Indigenous Seaweed Farming Fund.
Kelp help: Study shows clean-water benefits of kelp
Kelp grows naturally throughout Alaska’s waterways and is also grown and harvested by an expanding commercial seaweed industry. New research shows kelp has ecological benefits by absorbing pollution in the water.