NOAA Fisheries' Alaska Regional Office recently released its 2026 Alaska Aquaculture Accomplishments Report, highlighting the successes the state's aquaculture sector has experienced this year and ongoing projects supporting the industry.
One of the larger focuses for the year, the report highlighted, has been on identifying and advancing Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA) across the state. NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science published the AOA Alaska Atlas in February, and that process includes a public comment period. It's now better supported through a digital tool that allows users to provide comments for future AOAs in a more accessible and reachable way.
Other projects NOAA has implemented this year included staff from the Alaska Regional Office visiting local farms and aquaculture facilities in the towns of Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Craig. This helped the organization understand farm operations, equipment and research needs, and which goals to prioritize on a state and federal level. It also allowed farmers to directly communicate with NOAA and express those needs.
Additionally, NOAA funding allowed companies to train young professionals.
"NOAA Alaska Marine Education and Training Mini-Grant funding allowed Salty Lady Seafood Company in Juneau to train two recruits in shellfish farm management in 2025 and 2026," NOAA said in a release. "Trainees gained hands-on experience in farm operations and shellfish processing while participating in community outreach and collaborative research with NOAA Fisheries and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Research included monitoring harmful algal blooms and evaluating biofouling reduction methods."
Another organization that worked closely with NOAA this year was the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which researched challenges and opportunities for Alaska's shellfish and seaweed farmers.
"Pacific oyster research included work to examine regional differences in oyster growth and survival and investigate shell-boring polychaetes," NOAA said. "We also evaluated approaches for improving oyster seed and production through field testing, hatchery research, and farmer collaboration. Researchers also investigated the use of kelp farm infrastructure by nearshore fish and invertebrate populations and the effects of food availability and temperature on oyster spat."
