Alaska leaders remain wary of offshore aquaculture bill, despite seaweed interest

Alaska seafood leaders are wary that the state's budding mariculture industry could be negatively impacted by a looming bill in Congress that would establish a federal system for regulating and permitting offshore aquaculture farms in the United States.

Julie Decker, who heads the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF), said during an Alaska Mariculture Task Force meeting last week she was nervous about public perception surrounding the federal bill, which she said could bleed into perception surrounding Alaska's own aquaculture efforts.