By Jessica Shepherd

Homer Independent Press

Southcentral Alaska’s coastal waters, clean and high in nutrients that upwell during fall storms and wash down from glacial-fed streams, create the ideal environment for a mariculture industry that markets shellfish and seaweed products. Couple that with the infrastructure and expertise of our seafood workers, and you have a nascent industry poised for growth. 

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center held a listening session to engage the public in an ongoing five-year project, funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Designed to address the needs of the growing mariculture industry for three spill-affected sites — Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay and Kodiak Island — the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium (Mariculture ReCon) is evaluating the economic development potential of the mariculture industry within the state while quantifying the potential for habitat restoration and enhancement as a result of commercial shellfish and seaweed production. 

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, tasked with restoring coastal areas impacted by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill with funding from the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement, provided a grant for collaborative research  between the Prince William Sound Science Center, Alaska Sea Grant, the Native Village of Eyak, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, and nine seaweed and shellfish farms. Now in its third year, the research and monitoring project will, ideally, be extended for an additional five years.

Wednesday’s deep cold didn’t dissuade a few dozen curious Homerites from exploring the information tables and sampling fresh oysters. Graduate students from the University of Alaska Southeast were on hand to explain different aspects of the grant.

Recent master’s degree graduate Muriel Ditterich demonstrated how seeded kelp — tiny sporophytes on a thin seed line — are raised in a hatchery for about six weeks before being introduced to a farm in November. They grow all winter due to high nutrient turnover from winter storms, and by April they are ready to harvest. In Alaska’s rich environment, kelp can grow at a rate of more than a foot per day. 

The study also will evaluate how mariculture may reduce ocean acidification at the local level, as seaweed absorbs carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and oysters pull dissolved CO2 from seawater to build their shells. Additionally, the study is examining how kelp forests and shellfish farms influence epibenthic (sea floor) fish, interactions with marine birds and mammals, and corresponding mitigation strategies.  

The owners of two local mariculture farms were on hand to discuss their trade. Jakolof Bay Oyster Company, owned by Margo and Frank Reveil, has been in business since 2012. Margo explained that she, Frank and their son Logan harvest oysters from “Alaska’s cold, glacier-fed waters [which] produce consistently sweet, firm oysters, year-round,” with oysters requiring two to four years to cultivate. 

When asked what limitations they face, Margo stated, “We need more oyster eaters.” 

She added that eating oysters doesn’t need to be limited to eating them at restaurants. Anyone can shuck an oyster, and there are many ways to prepare them. 

As for growing seaweed, Margo observed that “growing oysters is easy compared to kelp,” which needs much more processing and is best sold as a value-added crop, such as kelp salsa and hot sauce. 

Weatherly Bates, who, with her husband Greg, owns Alaska Shellfish Farms, grows and sells Glacier Point Oysters, mussels and now seaweed. In the business since 2007, Bates shared her enthusiasm for growing kelp. 

“Kachemak Bay is amazingly rich in kelp,” she said.

 In fact, Alaska has more than 500 species of kelp, including the better known bull kelp, sugar kelp and split kelp,  each with distinct flavor and texture.

Thumbing through photos on her phone, Weatherly held up images of colorful blades of wet, shining kelp growing on a rope. 

“This is red ribbon. Red ribbon is super dominant on our farm,” she said. She added that kelp grows rapidly in Kachemak Bay. “We can grow 10 pounds per foot here. Growers have a hard time with even getting a half a pound a foot” in the Lower 48, she said. 

She explained that kelp self-seeds. 

“You don’t need to put out new lines. It’s just growing on the existing lines.” 

She added that growing kelp and shellfish together “creates a polyculture instead of a monoculture. We’re all about diversity. All these varieties. I think it’s a lot better ecosystem.”