Implementation Plan, 2006–2008
The following is an abbreviated version of our implementation plan; the full text of the implementation plan [PDF, 164 KB] is available in PDF format for download or viewing.
If you would like a printed copy of this implementation plan, our strategic plan, or our project directory, please contact us at seagrant.bookstore@alaska.edu.
Contents
- Introduction
- National Sea Grant and ASG Themes
- Addressing Strategic Goals 2006-2008
- National Relevance of Implementation Plan
Introduction
Alaska has an incredibly broad scope of ecosystems and habitats, with a corresponding array of conservation and use issues that we could address with adequate resources. However, the reality of limited resources dictates that we expend our efforts in the most effective and efficient way possible. With that in mind, and armed with input from constituents around the state, we worked with our Alaska Sea Grant (ASG) Advisory Committee to narrow the focus of our program from eleven National Sea Grant themes to five themes that are most relevant to Alaska. Those themes, with their objectives and strategies, form the structure of our strategic plan. The strategic plan provides the foundation for all of our research, education, and extension activities, which are described in this implementation plan.
Our research portfolio for 2006–2008 is composed of projects that are interdisciplinary and address one or more of our five strategic themes. Each research project includes an outreach component to ensure that results get conveyed to people who can put them to use. The research and outreach described in this implementation plan are results-oriented and aim for explicit measurable outcomes, which we will periodically evaluate.
For a more comprehensive description of how we developed our program strategy, please see our 2004–2010 strategic plan.
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National Sea Grant and ASG Themes
The 30 state and territorial Sea Grant programs work cooperatively with the National Sea Grant College Program to establish broad themes for Sea Grant's research, education, and outreach. The national Sea Grant agenda is organized into eleven themes and three national priority areas. All of the national themes apply to Alaska—some more than others. We analyzed each theme and narrowed Alaska's primary focus to five national themes that are most relevant to our state. They are:
- Coastal Communities and Economies
- Ecosystems and Habitats
- Fisheries
- Marine and Aquatic Science Literacy
- Seafood Science and Technology
Addressing Alaska Sea Grant Strategic Goals 2006-2008
ASG Theme One: Coastal Communities and Economies
Goal
Increase the ability of residents of coastal communities to understand and adjust to short- and long-term changes in marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resource use and availability, as well as the environmental conditions that can affect the well-being of Alaskans. Foster environmentally sensitive development of industries that rely on Alaska's marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources.
Objective #1
Support economic diversity and self-sufficiency in Alaska's coastal communities by providing education and training that helps local residents develop coastal enterprises, such as shellfish aquaculture, seafood processing, tourism, and other industries, and gain employment at local resource management agencies.
Research Actions
- A
Global Analysis of Salmon Prices: How Low Can They Go? [R/32-03]
Researchers will estimate how low Alaska salmon prices might need to drop to stay competitive, and what industry reorganizations might need to occur to raise product prices or lower production costs to remain economically viable. - Improving
Yields of Pacific Oysters in Alaska [R/42-01]
Researchers will conduct growth experiments of genetically selected Pacific oysters, to develop fast-growing broodstock that can be used to produce seed to help the state's shellfish industry become more competitive and build economic capacity in coastal communities.
Education and Extension Actions
- Help coordinate the workshop, Sustainability
of the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) Salmon Fisheries, sponsored
by the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative.
- Organize the Alaska Crab Enhancement Workshop in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, harvest organizations, industry, and coastal communities, and organize and sponsor a public seminar in conjunction with the ComFish commercial fishing trade show in Kodiak, Alaska.
- Assist with organization of the Copper River Workshop No. 2, a meeting sponsored primarily by Ecotrust, with financial and staff support from ASG.
- Marine Advisory faculty conduct training in shellfish farm operations and business management, conduct market research, develop written manuals and Web-based information, host statewide conferences, and interface between growers, tribal groups, communities, and agency regulators.
- Publish Planning Seafood Cold Storage and a seafood freezing manual.
- Publish and distribute two Charter Log newsletters per year.
- Reprint Fishing for Octopus.
- Produce "Sea Grant Minute" radio spots to highlight current events and issues addressed by MAP.
Objective #1 Outcomes/Impacts
- People in coastal areas acquire a wider array of professional and vocational skills.
- Residents of coastal Alaska diversify their economic base through new business ventures.
- Residents of coastal Alaska have access to training and employment opportunities in the field of natural resource management.
- Rural Alaskans continue to enjoy a strong subsistence lifestyle.
Objective #2
Provide information and assistance to coastal communities to enable effective responses to coastal hazards and to help communities plan and design infrastructure for development of industries utilizing marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources in environmentally sensitive and culturally appropriate ways.
Funded Research Project
- Responses to Coastal Erosion in Alaska: A Guide for Coastal Residents, Businesses,
Resource Managers, Engineers, and Builders [A/75-02]
The researcher will prepare a comprehensive first-of-its-kind guide to nonstructural responses and constructed responses to coastal erosion. The guide will be published by Alaska Sea Grant, and will help coastal residents and businesses, coastal resource managers, designers, and constructors of coastal public and private works make wise planning decisions.
Education and Extension Actions
- Assess the state of knowledge about how to develop coastal areas with environmentally sensitive techniques and research.
- Reproduce the video, Ocean Fury: Tsunamis in Alaska.
- Produce an inventory of studies on coastal erosion control and engineering solutions.
Objective #2 Outcomes/Impacts
- The awareness of coastal communities is raised about coastal hazards.
- People and businesses in coastal areas are prepared to respond effectively to coastal hazards.
- Decision-makers are educated about coastal construction, development, and use techniques.
- Communities, decision-makers, and industry engage in forums to find ways to develop industries in environmentally and culturally compatible ways.
- Alaska industries are developing in an environmentally sensitive way in coastal areas.
Objective #3
Build capacity in Alaska's coastal communities by improving professional and vocational training opportunities, particularly with Alaska Natives and other rural Alaskans, in the seafood, tourism, shellfish aquaculture, and other industries.
Education and Extension Actions
- Marine Advisory faculty consult with industry to determine what job skills are needed.
- Revise, expand, and develop contacts for the list of institutes and facilities providing training in coastal and marine vocations, and publish it on the ASG Web site.
- Utilize a NOAA-funded initiative to encourage more Alaska Native students to pursue education and careers in marine-related sciences. This includes interviews, creation of an advisory team, and writing a scoping paper and proposal for further funding.
- Marine Advisory faculty will deliver workshops and training, in partnership with community groups, related to increasing value from an area’s natural resources, including seafood processing and marketing and shellfish farming.
- Encourage tourism and other coastal businesses by providing training, workshops, and public presentations related to business operations, developing markets, and success stories from other coastal sites.
Objective #3 Outcomes/Impacts
- Coastal Alaskans, particularly Alaska Natives and rural residents, have the training or technical information that enables them to pursue occupations in the seafood, tourism, shellfish farming, and other industries and enterprises in their home communities.
- Alaskans in rural coastal communities have the skills and access to education needed to pursue careers in fisheries, marine science, or natural resource management.
- Coastal Alaskans have access to the information they need to participate fully in natural resource–related decisions in their region.
ASG Theme Two: Ecosystems and Habitats
Goal
Maintain the ecosystem function of Alaska's important marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed habitats with a minimum of human-caused disruptions or negative impacts.
Objective #1
Conduct research, education, and extension to provide greater understanding among Alaskans and those making policy decisions regarding the role and function of habitat in marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed ecosystems.
Research Actions
- The Seasonal and Interannual Patterns of Larvaceans and Pteropods
in the Coastal Gulf of Alaska, and Their Relationship to Pink Salmon Survival [R/101-05]
Juvenile pink salmon appear to preferentially feed upon two understudied groups of marine zooplankton: larvaceans and thecosome pteropods. These species may be tied to salmon survival and returns. This project will provide the first detailed characterization of larvaceans and pteropods in the Gulf of Alaska, and their impact on pink salmon survival. - The Interannual Variability of Zooplankton within Prince William
Sound, Alaska: Assessment of the ZooScan System as a Tool for Optimizing Juvenile
Pink Salmon Release [R/101-06]
Researchers will assess two decades of data on zooplankton abundance to better understand the timing of specific zooplankton abundance in relation to juvenile salmon release from hatcheries. This project also will test ZooScan, a new digital imaging system designed to measure the abundance, biomass, and composition of major zooplankton groups. If successful, ZooScan systems could be used to monitor prey availability and improve the timing of juvenile salmon release by hatcheries. - Exposure of Wintering Sea Ducks to Disease Agents and Parasite Burdens
in Southwest Alaska [R/101-07]
Sea ducks in Unalaska Bay appear to be in poor physical condition and have been exposed to a variety of disease agents, possibly due to contaminated water. Researchers will assess sea duck health in Unalaska Bay, and within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge as a control, to determine rates of disease exposure. This study will aid in the management of Steller's eiders, a federally listed threatened species, and spur cooperative partnerships with community wastewater treatment and seafood processing facilities to address potential contaminant problems. - Multispecies Fisheries Models for Ecosystem Decision Support [R/31-14]
Most fisheries are managed as a single species without significant consideration to other affected species. This project continues development of models that incorporate multiple species into management decisions. In the new work, researchers will alter North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) harvest goals for each of five species in the Gulf of Alaska to evaluate alternative harvest strategies and test the viability of the model. - Analysis of the Collapse of the Kodiak Red King Crab Stock and Fishery [R/31-15]
Researchers will conduct a retrospective analysis of the Kodiak red king crab stock and fishery, including the natural and anthropogenic factors surrounding its rise, collapse, and failure to rebuild. This study is expected to broaden understanding of major changes that have occurred in the Gulf of Alaska marine ecosystem, and aid in planning red king crab stock enhancement efforts.
Education and Extension Actions
- Sponsor a forum for decision-makers to elicit their research needs.
- Publish Field Guide to Northeast Pacific Cephalopods, by Elaina Jorgensen.
- Publish Field Guide to Alaska Sharks and Skates, by Duane Stevenson, et al.
- Marine Advisory faculty will participate on marine-related boards and committees, including the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, National Marine Protected Areas Advisory Committee, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Coastal Resource Service areas, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Scientific Review Panel, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Public Advisory Council, Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council, and The Alaska Sea Otter and Steller Sea Lion Commission.
- Distribute information about invasive species, including identification and reporting procedures.
Objective #1 Outcomes/Impacts
- The level of knowledge of Alaskans and decision-makers about the role and function of habitat in ecosystems is increased.
- The level of knowledge of Alaskans about invasive species is increased.
- Concerns of coastal Alaskans are incorporated into resource agency and policy discussions.
- Alaskans and decision-makers are knowledgeable about restoring damaged ecosystems in marine, estuarine and coastal watershed environments.
Objective #2
Conduct outreach activities with coastal community members, tourists, recreational users, industry, and others to enhance the understanding of the value of healthy ecosystem function, negative human impacts on ecosystem function, and environmental emergencies.
Research Actions
- Ma-ku (Dead Beached Sea Mammal): An Alaska Natives' Field Guide to Stranding
Response [A/143-01]
Researchers will work with Alaska Native groups, scientists, and resource agencies to produce a culturally appropriate field guide to help Alaska Natives collect data and samples on stranded marine mammals. Such a culturally appropriate guide will empower Alaska Natives to contribute to the scientific management of marine mammals.
Education and Extension Actions
- Marine Advisory faculty will work with the Alaska Ocean Observing System to conduct workshops and other training to familiarize local residents with the design and use of ocean observing systems.
- Marine Advisory faculty will promote responsible wildlife viewing with a campaign that may include workshops, placards, publication of a handbook, an Alaska Seas & Coasts issue, and use of radio and video.
- Marine Advisory faculty will provide training in environmental monitoring via workshops and hands-on classes, in partnership with the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Education Services will publish and distribute A Responsible Harbor User's Handbook, by Valdez Port Director Alan Sorum.
- Marine Advisory faculty will broaden their involvement with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, facilitating transfer of marine mammal carcasses to educational institutions and/or using them for educational activities, such as public necropsies.
- Include a section in a new field guide, Guide to Marine Mammals and Turtles of Hawaii and the Eastern North Pacific, on avoiding damage to habitat of protected marine species, mitigation of marine debris entanglement, and reducing entanglement of sea turtles with fishing gear. The field guide will be produced cooperatively with Hawaii Sea Grant.
- Marine Advisory faculty will provide outreach on seabird deterrent gear for small-boat longliners.
Objective #2 Outcomes/Impacts
- Less harassment of marine wildlife occurs by visitors, charter boat operators, or tour companies, due to their use of responsible viewing guidelines.
- Deleterious human interactions with marine wildlife, such as shipping noise, entanglements, strandings, bycatch, oil spills, and other potential hazards, are reduced or mitigated.
- University resources and expertise are readily available and useful to coastal residents and others responding to environmental crises.
- Informed coastal residents develop and implement protocols to detect environmental anomalies and monitor or initiate responses.
ASG Theme Three: Fisheries
Goal #1
Develop management strategies that incorporate ecosystem approaches to fishery harvest balanced with conservation of Alaska's living resources from marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed environments.
Objective #1
Fund socioeconomic and biological research on ecosystem approaches to fishery harvests that are sustainable and that minimize impacts on ecosystem functioning.
Research Actions
- Acoustic Behavior of Salmon [R/21-01]
Acoustic technologies, such as side-scan sonar, are commonly used to assess salmon escapement within rivers too wide or muddy for direct visual counts. Researchers seek to better understand how fish behavior influences the acoustic signal. Results will help scientists produce more accurate assessments of salmon returns that will improve salmon management. - Outbreeding Depression in Pink Salmon: Effects of Hybridization between
Seasonally Distinct Subpopulations (Phase 2) [R/31-13]
Outbreeding depression (reduced survival due to fitness-related genetic traits) occurs in hybrids of genetically different salmon populations, but little is known about the scope or magnitude of these effects. Researchers will study hybrids of related populations of early and late run pink salmon to better understand the extent and effects of outbreeding depression. - A Global Analysis of Salmon Prices: How Low Can They Go? [R/32-03]
Researchers will estimate how low Alaska salmon prices might need to drop to stay competitive, and what industry reorganizations might need to occur to raise product prices or lower production costs to remain economically viable. - Economic Impacts of Alaska Fisheries [R/32-04]
Researchers will describe and explain the economic impacts and benefits of Alaska's sport, commercial, personal-use, and subsistence fisheries. The objective of this project is to provide Alaska policy-makers and citizens with a tool useful in helping to make public policy decisions.
Education and Extension Actions
- Sponsor an interdisciplinary workshop to develop indices of ecosystem performance.
- Publish a report on Russian salmon science, Ecological consequences of large-scale chum salmon production, translated by Kenneth Coyle, University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
Objective #1 Outcomes/Impacts
- Sustainable harvest of Alaska fisheries resources are balanced with conservation of marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources.
- Decision-makers have a better understanding and knowledge based on research, which they can use to improve ecosystem approaches to fisheries management.
Objective #2
Develop collaborative partnerships with NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Subsistence Management Program, North Pacific Fishery Management Council, nongovernmental organizations, and industry to help fund research, education, and extension on ecosystem approaches to sustainable fishery harvests balanced with resource conservation.
Education and Extension Actions
- Sponsor symposium of entities conducting research in Alaska's fisheries resources.
- Convene a meeting of outreach personnel from marine resource research and management organizations to learn what each group is doing, and forge collaborations on outreach.
- Coordinate a pre–Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium symposium workshop on ecosystem-based fisheries management.
- Coordinate the 24th Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, Resiliency of Gadid Stocks to Fishing and Climate Change.
- Coordinate the 25th Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, "Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management."
- Select topics for future Lowell Wakefield symposia and scientific meetings that are timely and important to the environment, resources, economy, and quality of life in Alaska and the North.
- Strengthen partnerships between Alaska Sea Grant and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and NOAA Fisheries, and develop new partnerships with other agencies for financial and resource support.
- Publish and distribute the proceedings book from the Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, Biology, Assessment, and Management of North Pacific Rockfishes.
- Publish and distribute the proceedings book from the Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, Sea Lions of the World: Conservation and Research in the 21st Century.
- Provide a local forum for researchers from various agencies to present their work to community residents.
Objective #2 Outcomes/Impacts
- Alaska Sea Grant resources are leveraged to produce research, information, and knowledge for decision-makers.
- Alaska fishery researchers in all organizations are more aware of the array of fisheries research, education, and extension conducted in Alaska.
- Researchers conduct research that is relevant to management decision-makers, and are better linked to decision-makers.
- Collaborations develop among researchers and outreach personnel in different fishery research and management organizations.
Objective #3
Build local capacity of rural residents to contribute to resource monitoring and data collection work.
Education and Extension Actions
- Institute an agency awareness program to let industry know about the trained human resources available.
- Marine Advisory faculty work with the statewide Marine Mammal Stranding Network to help the public and research organizations respond to strandings.
- Develop a credit-bearing fisheries technician short course curriculum to offer around the state.
Objective #3 Outcomes/Impacts
- Integration of traditional knowledge with Western science leads to a more robust understanding of natural systems.
Objective #4
Increase the credibility of fisheries research among fishermen by facilitating the participation of individual fishermen or groups in research design and implementation related to their industry or resource base.
Education and Extension Actions
- Consult with Sea Grant programs in other states to find out the benefits of involving fishermen in research design and execution, and how to engage participation by fishermen.
- Marine Advisory faculty coordinate with researchers to solicit participation of fishermen in research design and execution.
Objective #4 Outcomes/Impacts
- Credibility of research is increased because fishermen and others participate in the design and/or execution of research projects.
- A broader foundation is created for research efforts.
Goal #2
Enhance and improve the profitability and viability of Alaska's commercial fishermen and fishing communities.
Objective #1
Increase business planning and management skills among commercial fishermen.
Education and Extension Actions
- Publish a commercial fishing business forms booklet/software product in 2006.
- Deliver a statewide program through the Fisheries Business Assistance Project that includes electronic and hard-copy, user-friendly financial management tools; workshops and trainings on marketing, estate planning, options to enter a fishery, reducing costs through efficiencies, etc.; publications and fact sheets related to various financial and business questions; and development of a direct marketing starter kit.
Objective #1 Outcomes/Impacts
- Commercial fishermen operate their businesses more cost-effectively.
- More commercial fishermen's businesses remain viable.
- The number of fishermen utilizing good business practices increases.
Objective #2
Increase the capacity of coastal communities to support commercial fisheries, processors, and other related industries as a vital economic source in their community.
Education and Extension Actions
- Provide access to information about emerging fisheries using electronic and print media, as well as public presentations by fisheries researchers.
- Conduct Marine Advisory Program workshops on how to prosecute new fisheries.
- Continue seabird deterrent gear outreach. Marine Advisory Program agents Rice and Baker participate in Pacific Seabird Group meetings and present their research to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Objective #2 Outcomes/Impacts
- Net increase occurs in the value of a fishery, attributable to marketing.
- Little lag time occurs after a new fishery is opened before being fished.
- Economies are stronger and local prosperity increases.
- Local recognition increases of Alaska Sea Grant as a valuable partner for building capacity in local communities.
- Coastal communities in Alaska receive economic benefit from the fisheries in their region.
- Fishermen are able to participate in new fisheries as they develop.
- Users and regulators collaboratively address bycatch concerns.
Objective #3
Support innovation and entrepreneurship among fishermen seeking to improve their business through reducing operating costs or increasing the value of their catch.
Education and Extension Actions
- Conduct workshops on direct marketing.
- Marine Advisory faculty conduct workshops and distribute information to fishermen on fisheries business management and how to increase value of the catch.
Objective #3 Outcomes/Impacts
- Fishermen are utilizing innovative methods.
- Fishermen are more effective in harvest and utilization of fisheries resources.
- Ex-vessel product quality is increased.
Objective #4
Enhance the ability of individual fishermen, communities, and local advisory groups to understand, participate in, and respond to changes in the management of their fisheries.
Education and Extension Actions
- Distribute free bird-deterrent gear to small-boat longliners to reduce seabird bycatch and help avoid fishery restrictions.
- Sponsor the second "Managing Fisheries—Empowering Communities" conference, Alaska's Fishing Communities: Harvesting the Future, in September 2006.
- Marine Advisory faculty conduct workshops and distribute information on fisheries rationalization.
Objective #4 Outcomes/Impacts
- Fishermen have a greater understanding of all aspects of their fisheries.
- Fishermen have increased participation in fishery management.
- Fishermen are better equipped to successfully continue fishing after changes to fishery management.
- A broader representation of groups attends the Managing Fisheries—Empowering Communities conferences.
- Engagement in resource management decisions by rural residents is increased.
- Involvement in implementation of resource management decisions by rural residents is greater.
- Fishermen make a smooth transition to fisheries rationalization when applicable.
ASG Theme Four: Marine and Aquatic Science Literacy
Goal
Improve the decision-making capacity of Alaskans through increased knowledge of Alaska's marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources and understanding of management, utilization, and conservation issues.
Objective
Conduct formal and nonformal educational activities to equip people with the knowledge required to make sound decisions in the management, use, and conservation of Alaska's marine and aquatic resources, leading to a sense of stewardship, and with the knowledge required to work in marine-related careers or vocations.
Research Action
- Endangered
Species and Sea Duck Teaching Kits for Coastal Alaska Public School Districts [A/141-01]
Populations of 10 of the 15 known species of Alaska sea ducks have inexplicably declined, and biologists and waterfowl managers seek to understand the causes. To foster better public understanding of sea ducks and their coastal habitats, investigators in this project will develop and deliver K–8 curricula and teaching kits to 13 schools in western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
Education and Extension Actions
- Review information from the constituent survey done during the Alaska Sea Grant strategic plan scoping process to help determine information needs of constituents.
- Survey K–12 science teachers throughout the state to determine their educational resource and training needs.
- Communicate with Alaska Natural History Association, Alaska SeaLife Center, and other free-choice learning entities to determine their information needs.
- Publish and distribute two Alaska Seas & Coasts periodicals per year.
- Support the Marine Science Module of University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Summer Research Academy every year by providing at least one full scholarship and travel for a rural or Alaska Native student to attend camp.
- Support the Alaska regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl by providing funds for travel for some of the judges, organizers, and volunteers; art show competition prizes; cash awards to winning teams; official videographer; postage and mailing supplies for the research project coordinator; and Web support (maintain Web site, post all papers/projects, team photos, contest instructions, etc.).
- Coach or support a teacher-coach of a National Ocean Sciences Bowl high school team.
- Develop a Marine Education Resources Web site in 2006.
- Revitalize the Alaska Sea Week Curriculum Program in 2006–2009.
- Help fund and provide teaching materials each year for the Alaska 4-H Fisheries, Natural Resource and Youth Development Program, "Salmon in the Classroom" project.
- Collaborate with the Alaska Department of Education to carry out its proposed program for training teachers in how to develop marine resource teaching kits.
- Develop a teaching kit on sea ducks in 2007 for loan to teachers, schools, and other educators.
- Publish and distribute annual catalogs of Alaska Sea Grant publications and videos.
- As necessary, update and reprint Guide to Northeast Pacific Flatfishes, Guide to Marine Mammals of Alaska, Guide to Northeast Pacific Rockfishes, Field Guide to Bird Nests and Eggs of Alaska's Coastal Tundra, Surviving on Foods and Water of Alaska's Southern Shores, Alaska's Ocean Bounty placemat, and other educational publications and videos.
- Attend at least five community events and trade shows each year to learn the educational needs of constituents and disseminate educational materials.
- Produce and distribute six articles in 2006–2008 on marine issues being addressed by Alaska Sea Grant for leading marine trade and popular magazines, such as Pacific Fishing, Alaska magazine, Alaska Business Monthly, and Alaska Fisherman's Journal.
- Produce and distribute at least three one-page fact sheets each year that highlight Alaska Sea Grant work.
- Produce a minimum of 20 Arctic Science Journeys Radio stories each year, enhance them with reports compiled from interviews in the field with researchers, and include Alaska Native knowledge when appropriate.
- Work with educators and partners beginning in 2008 to create a comprehensive Web educational campaign on topics of statewide or regional interest and importance.
- Conduct and assist with marine science and Native culture camps.
- Conduct beach walks and necropsies of marine mammal carcasses when possible.
- Prepare and conduct classroom presentations on marine and aquatic topics.
- Complement Alaska Marine Safety Education Association; (AMSEA) activities by providing and coordinating AMSEA training and producing educational materials, and by a Marine Advisory faculty member serving on the AMSEA board.
- Present the Alaska Resource Issues Forum in video, in person, or on radio to examine topical and potentially controversial issues, and include Alaska Native knowledge when appropriate.
- Hold the Aleutian Life Forum conference annually in Unalaska to "celebrate and encourage the understanding of the diversity of life in the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea," in coordination with partners, including Alaska Native groups.
- Convey information gained from researchers to coastal communities to keep residents informed of research efforts.
Objective Outcomes/Impacts
- Alaskans' level of knowledge needed to make sound decisions is increased.
- Alaskans make better-informed decisions that result in healthier marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed ecosystems.
- Alaskans apply information provided by Alaska Sea Grant in a multitude of situations involving management, use, and conservation of Alaska's marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources.
- Alaskans become qualified to work in marine-related careers or vocations.
- High school students increase their understanding of marine issues and gain skills to use in college.
- K–8 students are aware of marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed ecosystems and the need to balance their use and conservation.
ASG Theme Five: Seafood Science and Technology
Goal
Increase the economic value and enhance the reputation of Alaska's fisheries and seafood resources.
Objective #1
Improve the product quality of seafood products.
Education and Extension Actions
- Maintain collaborations and coordination with Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).
- Support product development and quality control efforts of small processors through individual consultation and demonstration projects.
- Conduct workshops, including the "Just in Time" quality series for fishermen, direct marketers, and processing workers; "Nuts and Bolts of Seafood Processing"; and the development of "Improving Seafood Processing Operations" designed to assist processors in improving quality, safety, and efficiency. Teaching tools to be used in these courses include slide presentations and DVDs on best operating practices, and individual consultations with fishermen, coastal communities, and small processors on processing options, quality systems, and product development.
- Complete a statewide training DVD on salmon handling and quality, designed for gillnet and troll fishermen.
- Provide workshops and training in the Yukon and Kuskokwim regions on icing, bleeding, and using slush ice bags on skiffs.
Objective #1 Outcomes/Impacts
- Alaska seafood products gain a worldwide reputation for quality.
- Markets are expanded for Alaska seafood products.
- Increased prices for seafood products lead to increased profits for Alaska processors and fishermen.
Objective #2
Increase the net value of fisheries resources by developing progressive and innovative processing methods to reduce production costs.
Research Action
- Developing Microencapsulated Fish Oil Powder from Alaska Salmon Oil for
Nutraceutical Markets [R/54-02]
The value of Alaska salmon oil may be increased through purification and manufacture for use as oil powders for the human-grade food industry. Researchers will develop and evaluate salmon oil powders for shelf-life stability, sensory quality, nutritional properties, product acceptance, and market potential.
Education and Extension Actions
- Conduct a regional workshop in Southeast Alaska looking at potential ways to utilize salmon and other fish byproducts.
- Marine Advisory faculty establish collaborations among processors, fishermen, and coastal communities to create products and move production projects from the pilot to the development phase.
- Distribute information on processing plant energy and fresh water conservation.
- Provide Marine Advisory faculty consultations with processors on water and energy conservation.
Objective #2 Outcomes/Impacts
- Profits increase in processing sector.
- Consumption of energy and fresh water is reduced.
- Increased utilization of and reduction of processing waste.
- Small- to mid-sized processors are strengthened.
- Coastal economies are strengthened and expanded with more viable processing businesses.
Objective #3
Expand the variety of seafood products available to consumers and improve state, domestic, and international marketing.
Education and Extension Actions
- Provide consultations by Marine Advisory faculty with small seafood processors who are testing new products and developing new markets.
- Distribute information on how to tap the economic potential of underutilized species.
Objective #3 Outcomes/Impacts
- New value-added Alaska seafood products are produced.
- Use of underutilized species is increased.
- Excitement about and demand for Alaska seafood products is generated.
- Products are linked to and driven by market demand and consumer preferences.
Objective #4
Provide information to commercial fishermen on how to increase the value of their catch by improving quality, direct-marketing their own catch, or value-added processing.
Education and Extension Actions
- Distribute the books Care and Handling of Salmon: The Key to Quality, Recoveries and Yields from Pacific Fish and Shellfish, Care of Halibut Aboard the Fishing Vessel, Fishermen's Direct Marketing Manual, and other topical publications and videos.
- Conduct direct marketing workshops and presentations.
- Publish success stories of direct marketing.
- Produce quality and handling instructional DVD for salmon trollers and gillnetters.
- Hold seafood quality training workshops along the Yukon River.
- Marine Advisory faculty provide consultations with fishermen who want to increase quality or market their own fish.
Objective #4 Outcomes/Impacts
- Fishermen conduct direct marketing.
- Fishermen improve the quality of the catch delivered to processors and get higher prices.
- Fishermen focus on quality over quantity of their catch.
- A greater variety of marketable products is developed and profits increase.
- Fishermen spend less time on fishing grounds and more time in processing.
- Fishermen retain more value from their catch by processing some or all of it themselves before sale.
Objective #5
Assist fishermen, new processors, and coastal communities to determine how to enter the seafood industry or to improve the efficiency of their operations.
Education and Extension Actions
- Produce and distribute cold storage publications.
- Distribute energy efficiency pamphlets.
- Hold "Introduction to Seafood Processing" classes in Bristol Bay and other sites around the state.
- Conduct HACCP classes approximately six times a year around the state.
- Marine Advisory faculty consult with small processors on a regular basis related to quality and product development.
Objective #5 Outcomes/Impacts
- Fishermen's profitability is increased.
- Operating costs decrease for fishermen and new processors.
- Solutions are found to cold storage, transportation, and logistics problems.
- The number of new businesses increases.
- Some fishermen enter the seafood processing business.
Objective #6
Enhance the food safety of seafood products and help the seafood industry maintain stringent food safety standards.
Research Action
- Alaska Oyster Safety: Monitoring and Identification of Vibrio
parahaemolyticus [R/51-04]
In summer 2005, more than sixty Alaska tourists were stricken with food poisoning caused by consuming locally maricultured oysters containing pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Researchers will set up a V. parahaemolyticus monitoring/early warning system at mariculture farms in Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay, and Southeast Alaska. Researchers will study the cold water tolerance of the pathogen in an effort to find creative, cost-effective ways to prevent accumulation of the pathogen in oysters.
Education and Extension Actions
- Train fishermen and processors through "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" (HACCP) workshops, "Seafood Sanitation," "Better Process Control School," and "Introduction to Seafood Processing" in credit or noncredit classes offered upon request on a traveling, community-based schedule.
- Publish brochures and other publications, such as our Sea Gram series, to provide information on seafood safety associated with shellfish care, handling of sport-caught fish, etc.
- Publish and distribute book, Safety in Seafood Processing.
- Conduct usability trials of portable PSP test kits.
- Marine Advisory faculty participate in local, state, or national seafood quality and safety advisory groups and attend Pacific Fisheries Technologists meetings.
Objective #6 Outcomes/Impacts
- Consumer confidence in the safety of Alaska seafood is improved.
- The incidence of illnesses caused by consumption of Alaska seafood is reduced.
- Utilization of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) test kits is widespread.
- Small- and mid-sized processors receive fewer seafood safety citations.
Objective #7
Assist seafood processors and coastal communities in analyzing the options and potential for new technology, products, and efficiencies related to waste utilization management.
Education and Extension Actions
- Create a Web site and database on fish waste management options and economics to provide needed information.
- Distribute the Advances in Seafood Byproducts book.
- Conduct another conference on seafood byproduct utilization and produce proceedings book
- Sponsor a pilot project on seafood processing waste utilization in a Southeast Alaska community, if one can be identified.
- Sponsor a regional workshop to exchange information about new technology, products, and efficiencies related to waste utilization management.
Objective #7 Outcomes/Impacts
- Awareness is greater of the impact of waste management problem.
- Identifiable action steps are taken in operating techniques to reduce waste.
- Marketable products that utilize waste are developed.
- Seafood processors do not receive large fines from Environmental Protection Agency.
- Coastal communities increase the value of their fisheries by developing an economical use for seafood waste.
National Relevance of Implementation Plan
Geographically isolated from other states, Alaska often is rightly considered a unique region. Certainly it does not share the same kind and array of multistate relationships that link other Sea Grant programs on a geographic, and often topical, basis.
However, in both aesthetic and economic terms, the enormity and national and international importance of Alaska's marine resources transcend the state's vast boundaries. And considering the trans-boundary nature of the North Pacific and Arctic ocean resources and the attendant utilization, conservation, and man-agement issues, these facts dictate that much of our work has regional, national, and international implica-tions and utility.
The National Sea Grant College Program has identified eleven major thematic areas that address critical marine, Great Lakes, and coastal issues in the United States. Alaska Sea Grant's decision to adopt and pursue five national themes as our own ensures that our efforts have national relevance.
Good examples of Alaska Sea Grant's work in our five themes that may be applied elsewhere in the United States includes:
- Finding new and better approaches for managing sustainable marine fisheries on an ecosystem scale.
- Improving ways to forecast and mitigate the effects of shore erosion and tsunamis, and educating the public in ways to protect their lives and property.
- Developing ways to help coastal communities adjust to economic decline and other pressures, and develop strategies to revitalize traditional coastal industries and create new ones.
- Increasing scientifically derived knowledge about the mechanisms that influence environmental change in marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed ecosystems.
- Creating innovative techniques that can be applied nationwide for educating people of all ages and walks of life about marine, estuarine, and coastal watersheds and the need to be good stewards of those resources.
- Developing new products from the bounty of the sea, improving the quality of seafood, and reducing the waste of protein from the nation's seas.
- Working with indigenous populations to incorporate their traditional knowledge and participation in scientific inquiry and resource management.
