Kodiak Seafood And Marine Science Center Annual Report July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020

The Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center (KSMSC) is a regional marine research and education center that serves as Alaska’s only workforce development and applied research center focused on the seafood processing and fishing industries, as designated by the Alaska State Legislature in 1983. KSMSC is a unique facility with classrooms, laboratories, a test kitchen and a pilot seafood processing plant from which the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) conducts research and provides technical assistance, workforce training and education to improve Alaska’s seafood industry. The facility is located in the island community of Kodiak, Alaska, in proximity to one of the largest and most profitable fishing ports in the state. KSMSC serves statewide fishery and seafood industries and benefits Kodiak Island communities. Kodiak is the fourth largest seafood port in the nation and has a large resident seafood processing and fishing workforce, with plants operating 11 months a year. Kodiak Island also has smaller outlying villages with strong subsistence and commercial economies based on marine resources and whose residents use the services at KSMSC. Personnel working at KSMSC in FY2020 included four faculty members (three Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory and one Fisheries) and three staff within the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) and one within the UAF Cooperative Extension Service (4-H coordinator). Graduate students and visiting University of Alaska faculty also use the center, as do collaborating partners. The Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center is a hub of applied research, training, and technical assistance. KSMSC works year-round to develop better methods to harvest, preserve, process, and package Alaska’s rich ocean bounty.