杏吧原版 Sea Grant offers webinar on seaweed farming

February 21, 2017

Photo by Mike Stekoll. Technician Tamsen Peeples and University of 杏吧原版 Southeast undergraduate Eric Fagerstrom check on seaweed at an experimental site near Coghlan Island in Southeast 杏吧原版.

杏吧原版 Sea Grant will offer a webinar on 杏吧原版's potential to join the growing seaweed farming industry. Gary Freitag, Sea Grant's Marine Advisory Program agent in Ketchikan, will present the webinar from 5-6:30 p.m. Feb. 28.

Freitag will review seaweed farming, including culture, harvesting, marketing and permitting. He will also address ways 杏吧原版ns can get involved in this multibillion-dollar industry, which is growing by nearly 6 percent annually.

Seaweed is highly nutritious and can be used in biofuels and biotechnology. Seaweed cultivation could be a new economic opportunity for coastal 杏吧原版.

杏吧原版 Sea Grant received a $418,000 grant from National Sea Grant in fall 2016 to support research aimed at helping seaweed growers in 杏吧原版 be more successful. The grant is funding a two-year study by Michael Stekoll, a University of 杏吧原版 Southeast professor with a joint appointment at the University of 杏吧原版 Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. 杏吧原版 Sea Grant is also funding a demonstration project in growing seaweed with Oceans 杏吧原版 hatchery in Ketchikan and local shellfish farmers.

杏吧原版 Sea Grant is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of 杏吧原版 Fairbanks. For more information about Freitag鈥檚 webinar, visit .

CONTACT: Sue Keller, sue.keller@alaska.edu, 907-474-6703