September 4, 2018

New law boosts Alaska's growing mariculture industry

Small businesses in Alaska's mariculture industry will now have access to capital after Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed recently House Bill 76 into law, which now allows 40% of the Alaska Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund to be used for loans to help pay for shellfish and seaweed hatcheries or enhancement projects.

Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) sponsored House Bill 76 after learning that many of the small businesses in Alaska's mariculture industry were having trouble securing financing for improvement projects through private lending institutions.

Expanding the purview of the loan fund to include hatcheries will allow those invested in the mariculture industry to develop a stable supply of seed for resident marine plants and shellfish at no additional cost to the State of Alaska.

"Where private banks see too much risk I see too much potential to pass up," said Ortiz. "We have a growing mariculture industry in Alaska that is ready to thrive with some much-needed investment, and we have small businesses in the industry that want to expand. A lack of access to capital is holding back those ready to put in the hard work to ensure success. I believe we took a step forward in solving that problem today with House Bill 76 becoming law."

The Alaska Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund was created in 2012 with a $5 million investment, for the purpose of providing loans for the development of Alaskan-owned mariculture operations. To date, the Alaska Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund has made seven loans totalling $598,000.

To better accommodate the time-consuming nature of the mariculture industry and the long lag time from seed to a product that can be sold, HB 76 includes provisions allowing loan repayments to be deferred for up to six years for most loans and up to 11 years for the new hatchery loans authorised by the bill.

House Bill 76 passed the Alaska House of Representatives last year by a vote of 26-14. The Alaska State Senate unanimously passed the bill in May by a vote of 19-0. Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed HB 76 into law on Aug. 27 during a ceremony at the Hump Island Oyster Farm north of Ketchikan.