NOAA Fisheries and NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science recently released a new report with stakeholder input that was gathered across multiple workshops during the spring of 2026 in Anchorage, Juneau, and Kodiak, Alaska, U.S.A.
The report, titled the "Gulf of Alaska Aquaculture Atlas Rollout and Webtool Planning Workshop Series," asked industry professionals, including growers, Tribal representatives, researchers, state and federal agency staff, nonprofit organizations, fishermen, and community members, about the ways science-based planning and permitting tools will aid sustainable practices as the government rolls out Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in the state.
More than 100 participants offered input, and NOAA said in a release that an interactive webtool is now being constructed. On this webtool, individuals will be able to better understand Alaska AOA identification processes, how NOAA's digital resources can support aquaculture, and an avenue for providing feedback. NOAA added that the webtool is expected to be released by the end of 2026 and will house datasets, interactive maps, planning and permitting resources, and user-friendly industry reports.
"The workshop report is an important milestone in NOAA's ongoing effort to develop science-based planning resources for Alaska aquaculture," NOAA said in the release. "It provides another way to engage in the planning process for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. These are defined geographic areas that may be environmentally, socially, and economically appropriate to support multiple commercial aquaculture operations."
According to the report, NOAA Fisheries released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to begin preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) through 2028 for developing Alaska's AOA Process and Aquaculture Explorer Tool Development. Current AOA options being considered remain preliminary and can continue to evolve with new data, analysis, and public input.
