Alaska Mariculture Research & Training Center

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

Grab your favorite briny bites at an even lower price!

We are hanging on to the summer days for as long as we can over here.

This Saturday, September 12th from 4-7pm, come join us at Hump Island. Slurp some oysters, sip on some ch*****ne, and toast the end of yet another wonderful season.

Get em' while the gettin’s good!

As always, feel free to shoot us a message with any questions. See you Saturday!

09/11/2026

Oyster farms don’t alter sea otter fodder 🦦

To you and I, farmed oysters are a delicacy. But for sea otters, oyster farms may not be a big deal.

That’s one finding of a team of scientists led by Brenda Konar, a marine researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and including Alaska Sea Grant-supported UAF graduate student Riley O’Neil. The researchers partnered with shellfish growers to study how their farms might impact the seafloor of Kachemak Bay, which is a breeding ground for sea otter prey like sea stars, crab, and clams. 🦀

“We wanted to determine if the prey was similar underneath a farm versus other places,” Konar said. “Are farms good places to hang out because there is a lot of food, or better food?” 🤔

The project is part of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium (MarReCon), a long-term program funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council to understand broad ecosystem interactions with mariculture farms. It builds on previous Alaska Sea Grant-funded research by Konar, which found that sea otters that forage on the seafloor in the vicinity of oyster farms share similar feeding habits as those distant from the farms. These findings led researchers to a followup question: do oyster farms change the communities of animals living beneath them? 🦪

"We're looking at how oyster farms may influence the benthic environment, specifically the communities of kelp and invertebrates that live there," said O’Neil. "The oysters, or even the organisms growing on the gear, produce organic material that falls to the seafloor. That could provide extra food for sea otter prey. But if too much accumulates it can also reduce oxygen in the sediments and make it harder for many bottom-dwelling organisms to survive." 🌊

Read the full research highlight on our website 🔗 linked below. alaskaseagrant.org > News

🔗: https://alaskaseagrant.org/2026/09/oyster-farms-dont-alter-sea-otter-fodder/

09/09/2026

For the past year and a half, the Farmer Knowledge Exchange Grant program, led by Alaska Sea Grant and funded by Alaska Mariculture Cluster, has allowed farmers from all over the state to take their farming knowledge to new heights. ✈️

Whether these farmers were traveling 3,000+ miles to the east coast or an easy two hour flight across the state, the exchange of ideas and expertise will benefit Alaska’s mariculture industry for years to come. 🧡

Trip reports and photos are available on the Alaska Mariculture Cluster website 🔗 linked below.

🔗: https://alaskamariculturecluster.org/farmer-knowledge-exchange/

09/08/2026

Urchin ranchers

09/08/2026

Kelp Hatchery Update 🌱

Our gametophytes (or baby kelp) have now spent about 2–3 weeks in the hatchery, and early growth is looking promising. Recent microscope checks show healthy development across all species, with young kelp growing right on schedule.
While these plants may still be microscopic, growth tends to accelerate quickly from here. Over the coming weeks, these tiny kelp will continue developing before they are transferred to ocean farms this fall.
Stay tuned for more hatchery updates as we get closer to outplanting season!

09/08/2026

09/08/2026

08/31/2026

A Moment of Science: Roombas of the sea !! 🌊

Are urchin appetites enough to scrub oyster cages clean?? 🧼

As part of the Mariculture Research & Restoration Consortium (Mar ReCon) project and Alaska EPSCoR, University of Alaska Fairbanks Professor and EPSCoR director, Brenda Konar, and postdoc, Carter Johnson, are working with oyster farmers in Juneau, Kodiak, and Kachemak Bay to test if green sea urchins can be used to remove unwanted growth (a.k.a. “biofouling”) from oyster cages while simultaneously developing marketable uni. 🤔

After deploying urchins in cages at five Alaska oyster farms in the early summer, Konar and Johnson are routinely monitoring progress over the next few months. Preliminary results show that after eight weeks, there is a noticeable difference in the abundance of algae and mussel growth on the oysters. 🦪

Thanks for sharing your work with us, Brenda and Carter! 🧡