ALASKA'S NEW FRONTIER!  PRESENTING THE FIRST AQUACULTURE STRATEGIC SCIENCE PLAN FOR NOAA FISHERIES ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

The cold and nutrient rich waterways of Alaska are ideally suited for the development of shellfish and algae aquaculture. While the industry is currently small (approximately 82 permitted and 24 permit pending farms; current value approximately $1.5 million), the goal is to grow to a $100 million industry in ten years. With such rapid growth comes the potential for both positive and negative impacts to wild populations, other fisheries, subsistence intertidal and subtidal harvest, marine mammals, and other uses of the coastal zone.

The potential for interactions of farms with protected species, Essential Fish Habitat, and other fisheries (e.g. salmon, halibut, crab, geoduck, sea cucumber), and the potential for future expansion into federal waters, all warrant involvement from the National Marine Fisheries Service, and specifically the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). To guide AFSC research efforts, a working group of federal researchers was formed to create a strategic science plan to guide the next 5 years of aquaculture research efforts. The strategic plan focuses on seaweed (kelp and red algae), shellfish (Pacific oysters, pinto abalone, king crab), and other invertebrates (sea cucumber).

Research priorities outlined in the strategic plan include:

• Promote sustainable industry growth through monitoring and improved understanding of ecosystem interactions
• Promote economically and socially sustainable growth by expanding the portfolio of species grown in Alaska, focusing on endemic species and multitrophic aquaculture, and building oyster hatchery production through strategic partnerships and selective breeding of Alaska optimized strains
• Enhance the resiliency of aquaculture to climate change through improved understanding of the potential for macroalgae to locally mitigate ocean acidification and sequester carbon, and further modeling efforts to identify future aquaculture locations in Alaska under various climate change scenarios
• Advance outreach and education
• Identify areas with optimal growing conditions for common aquaculture species while protecting Essential Fish Habitat, protected species and other coastal economic and social activities

In order to accomplish the triple bottom line of sustainable aquaculture - environmental, economic, and social sustainability – communication and collaboration across diverse partnerships will be critical. This presentation will provide an overview of the strategic plan to encourage engagement in Alaska from the broader aquaculture and research community.