Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) and partners, including Alaska Sea Grant, are excited to announce a new training program for people interested in starting a seaweed farm. The program will be held in Kodiak, Ketchikan and Sitka in February 2020. 
 
Applications are due by December 20, 2019.
 
The training is part of the Alaska Mariculture Initiative and is intended to provide tools and knowledge to anyone planning to farm seaweed commercially in Alaska. The program is targeted toward commercial fishermen, tribes, coastal residents and others. The program will consist of:

1. an online webinar
2. a 2-day in-person workshop
3. one-on-one mentoring for high-performing participants

Participants will be required to attend the webinar and one of the in-person workshops to be held in Kodiak, Ketchikan or Sitka. If the participant does not live in one of those communities, they will be responsible for paying all travel and lodging costs. Topics covered will include identification of seaweed species, lifecycles of seaweed, the hatchery process, site selection, use of the Alaska Ocean Observing System Mariculture Map, farm gear and equipment, business plan development, farm loans, state lease application process, gear deployment, seeding and harvesting techniques, quality handling, and safety considerations.

Information and instruction will be provided by GreenWave, Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Blue Evolution, OceansAlaska, AFDF and others. Materials and food during the workshops will be provided.

While the training is free for those selected for the program, participants will be expected to attend and complete work products in order to continue in the program. Space will be limited to ten participants per workshop, and six participants overall will be selected for one-on-one mentoring.

Apply online or download and fill out a PDF application, and email to Riley Smith.

Source: Alaska Sea Grant

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