UAS Applied Fisheries

Harvest day! This sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) was grown in our lab and outplanted in November by our Alaska Aquaculture semester students. It grew so well next to the rearing salmon at the Sitka Sound Science Center!

Some pics from our Fisheries Management Techniques Lab a few weeks ago…

Beautiful weather and eager students make for a great 3 days out in the field!

A few shots from this year’s Alaska Aquaculture Lab.

What a wonderful way to end the semester…

As part of the OceansAlaska oyster hatchery training workshop, attendees hopped on a boat to visit the Hump Island Oyster Farm, just outside of Ketchikan in Clover Passage.

Thank you so much to Jacinda and the entire Hump Island crew for transporting us to/from the farm and providing a wonderful tour. We had a blast!

Another amazing Oyster Hatchery Training workshop at the OceansAlaska barge in the books!

We joined an incredible group of farmers, students, researchers, and oyster enthusiasts for a jam-packed 3-days of oyster hatchery experiential learning, a collaboration between OceansAlaska, Alaska SeaGrant, and UAS Applied Fisheries.

Thank you to all who made this workshop possible, including all of the attendees, Alaska SeaGrant, OceansAlaska, our hatchery expert Provan Crump, and of course Chunk and Bryan who maintain the OceansAlaska barge.

Amazing opportunity offered through the AK On Board Project team!!

We still have a few spots available for our Springtime Lab Intensives: Alaska Aquaculture (April 28-30) and Fisheries Techniques (May 1-3).

Don’t miss these amazing opportunities to gain hands-on experience and practice applying scientific and maritime skills in the field.

Please visit our website to register or reach out to instructors with any questions about the courses.

Huge thanks to Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute for showing us around the facility on a beautiful WINDY day.

We had a blast learning about the many research projects and operations underway at Alutiiq Pride, including oyster seed cultivation, kelp seed cultivation, hydroponic farming, ocean acidification monitoring and so much more!

Thank you for all you do. We are grateful to be in collaboration with the institute and tribal communities of Southcentral Alaska.

…

Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute, a division of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, is a tribally managed marine research facility located in Seward, AK. Learn more about this amazing facility and ways to get involved by visiting alutiiqprideeak.org.

Spots still available for our 3-day aquaculture lab… sign up now!!

University of Alaska Southeast / University of Alaska Southeast Sitka / UAS Applied Fisheries is hosting a 3 day aquaculture intensive April 28-30th !! 🦪🌿

Contact Angie Bowers ([email protected]) for more information!

The UAS Applied Fisheries Mariculture team, along with three recent graduates of the Alaska Aquaculture Semester Intensive program, had a wonderful time at the 3rd Annual Mariculture Conference of Alaska, hosted in Anchorage, AK.

A truly inspirational experience, we were honored to share knowledge and findings with fellow mariculture enthusiasts and to learn about groundbreaking research and advancements happening throughout the state. This is a very exciting time to be involved in mariculture in Alaska and we hope to share our excitement with our students and communities near or far.

Discover Your Potential (DYP) Dive edition!

Our local middle schoolers had a blast as they dove right in to learning about basic underwater SCUBA techniques. Led by instructor Joel Markis, along with Haleigh Damron, Scott Simmons, and this year’s Dive Semester student cohort, middle schoolers learned how to don and operate their gear and feel comfortable navigating underwater.

Our sugar kelp is growing!!!

Having been in the water for about two months now, our seeded kelp lines are in place and sugar kelp is growing beautifully.

This kelp farm is located in Sitka Sound, adjacent to the Sitka Sound Science Center’s salmon net pens, and used as a teaching tool for our Alaska Aquaculture semester students.

If you’d like to learn more about how to get involved with mariculture at UAS Sitka, check out our Alaska Aquaculture semester program offered every Fall (link below), as well as numerous other aquaculture-centered courses offered throughout the year.

aquaculturesemester.alaska.edu

Join us for an exclusive 4-day course offering happening this March!

Under the supervision and mentorship of instructors Shannon Atkinson PhD and Lauren Wild PhD, BIOL 193: Skeleton Articulation features hands-on learning from a real humpback whale specimen that washed ashore in Sitka Sound during this time last year.

This is a learning experience you will not want to miss.

If you are not interested in taking the college credit course but would still like to be involved, contact Lauren Wild to learn about how to participate in the whale rearticulation process.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (907) 738-5315

Our Spring 2024 Dive Semester is in full swing!!

We are grateful to have an awesome group of students eager to learn and experience Sitka underwater.

As the pictures showcase, Magic Island was looking rather magical on Monday, 2/5/24.

Applications for Fall 2024 are open now!!!

Visit our website www.aquaculturesemester.alaska.edu for more information and how to apply!

There is still time to secure your spot in one of our online fisheries courses!

Here are a few highlighted courses offered this Spring semester 2024.

Contact student advisor, Katie Sill at [email protected] for registration guidance and questions.

Introducing an AMAZING kelp farming internship opportunity for this summer 2024, based out of Juneau, Alaska!!

Reach out to Sea Quester Farms today if you’re interested in joining their awesome team.

The Applied Fisheries team at UAS Sitka wishes everyone a joyful and prosperous year!

We are approaching the start of Spring Semester 2024 and are excited to welcome and meet new students very soon.

If you’d like to study with us this Spring, spots for a variety of Fisheries-related courses, in-person and online, are still available!

Visit www.uas.alaska.edu/career_ed/fisheries/ for more information or contact student advisor Katie Sill at [email protected] for registration assistance and questions.

Attention!!!

We are offering a suite of online fisheries courses this Spring Semester 2024 (starting January 16)!

All classes are asynchronous, or “learn at your own pace,” with instructor guidance.

Some classes are also offered via iPad, which is a great option if you do not have a reliable internet source or a personal computer.

Register now to secure your spot by visiting our website at www.uas.alaska.edu/apply/steps/.

Contact our student advisor, Katie Sill, for assistance or any questions you may have.
Email: [email protected]

Kick off the new year with us and sign up today!

Looking to obtain your Captain’s license?
UAS has got you covered.

Visit the Ketchikan website (www.ketch.alaska.edu) for more information or register now by calling the number(s) on the posting.

See you on the water!

Futures Connect 2023!!

Conversations were vibrant and outlooks optimistic during this year’s Futures Connect Event, a networking event generously funded by Aquaculture Science Knowledge (ASK) and organized by the Sitka Sound Science Center.

Representatives from aquaculture, mariculture, and fisheries-related platforms offered their time to connect with students and share various educational and employment opportunities.

We are truly thrilled with the outcome of this event.. thank you to all who offered time or resources to make Futures Connect a success.

Exclusive lab offering!

Join the Applied Fisheries department at UAS Sitka for a 3-day Aquaculture Intensive course this Spring, led by Professor Bowers.
Highlighted topics include salmon enhancement, shellfish and seaw**d cultivation, and sustainable ocean farming.

Reach out to Angie Bowers for more information at [email protected].

Sign up now as spots fill up quick!!

Interested in sustainable ocean farming in Alaska?

Enroll now for FT123: Into to Mariculture!

This in-person or online course is offered Spring semester 2024, taught by instructor Angela Bowers.

Contact advisor Katie Sill ([email protected]) for more info and next steps.

Special Guest, Dr. Dolly Garza, came to visit us last week!

Dr. Dolly Garza is a former Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent, focused on spreading knowledge of seaw**d identification, sustainable harvesting practices and traditional use of natural resources by Alaska native cultures. She is a professor emerita of University of Alaska Fairbanks and continues teaching sustainable harvesting of seaw**ds on Haida Gwaii.

During her time here in Sitka, Dolly accompanied our Alaska Aquaculture Semester students on a night-time intertidal seaw**d harvest at Magic Island. The following day, we feasted on our harvest, as Dolly shared her favorite seaw**d preparation and cooking methods with the class. Some of these seaw**d dishes included kelp salsa, fucus (pop w**d) stir fry, kelp hummus, and more!

We are so grateful to Dolly for curating this special experience for our students. Háw'aa Dolly (thank you!).

Please check out Dolly's book Common Edible Seaw**ds in the Gulf of Alaska, if you are interested in learning more about seaw**d harvesting and utilization in Alaska.

Cleaning a whale skull is no small task!

With the help of a forklift, a custom-built boiling tank (thank you UAS welding!), and multiple hands on deck, this baby humpback whale skull was boiled for approximately two hours, as part of the cleaning process.

After a successful transfer back out of the tub, the skull was scrubbed clean thanks to Stacy Golden’s Sitka high school marine biology class.
Quite the spa treatment!

Want to get involved too? Join our next Boil-a-thon on December 9th!
To sign up or find more information, contact Stacy Golden at (907) 752-0673 or check the Sitka Whale Rearticulation page.

Employment Opportunities – Valdez Fisheries Development Association VFDA was formed to raise, propagate, and market fish and fish products, and to develop renewable fisheries resources for the benefit of sports fishermen, commercial fishermen, fish processors, tourists, and all businesses dependent upon the fishing industry in Alaska.