Re-printed courtesy of KETCHIKAN DAILY NEWS
September 17, 2011

KETCHIKAN (KDN) — Ketchikan-based OceansAlaska is slated to receive
a $99,000 federal grant for training participants in Alaska’s coastal
shellfish mariculture industry.

The grant was announced Wednesday by Jim Nordlund, Alaska state director
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency.

“The USDA Rural Development funds provided today will ultimately
proved incentives and encourage the launch of similar small businesses
to expand and cultivate the nascent shellfish industry in Southeast Alaska,”
Nordlund said in a prepared statement.

OceansAlaska General Manager David Mitchel said the grant will
“greatly enhance” the nonprofit organization’s ability to train new entrants,
and to spur more private investment to join and grow the shellfish mariculture
industry.

“There are other ongoing and successful models for training prospective
farmers in the mariculture industry, and we hope to coordinate and expand
those programs,” Mitchel said. “This funding will provide best practices
for species care, industry-specific business and biological training,
and permitting process assistance that will alow people to expand or begin
new successful businesses.”

The grant announcement is the most recent development for
OceansAlaska, which this past week also saw the arrival of its new floating
mariculture research, training and development facility that’s expected to
be installed soon at the organization’s site near Mile 9 South Tongass Highway.