September 16, 2022

Alaska receives US$49 million grant for aquaculture development

The Build Back Better programme funded by the American Rescue Plan has provided a US$49 million grant to Alaska state, US, to develop the state's aquaculture sector, Fish Information & Services reported.

Southeast Alaska, specifically Kodiak and Prince William Sound, is where the majority of Alaska's aquaculture industry is found. The Kenai Peninsula also saw some operations. Alaska Public Media reports that a lot of businesses specialise in growing algae and shellfish.

According to Tim Dillon, the project's local coordinator, the mariculture cluster is soliciting feedback from Alaskan entrepreneurs to determine where funding is most needed.

The cluster has identified eight different projects, including a US$15.9 million equipment and technology plan for mariculture and a US$9.3 million funded revolving loan fund.

Dillon expressed satisfaction over the US$9.3 million invested in workforce development.

US President Joe Biden said that a crucial element of the project was workforce creation. The grants from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge will lead to the creation of jobs close to where people currently reside.

Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, said the grants, which total US$1 billion in funding for 21 projects, are the Department of Commerce's largest investment in a single community. She said the mariculture project was one out of the 529 applications the department received.

-      Fish Information and Services