I just completed the Alaska Aquaculture semester here in Sitka and I wanted to talk to Aldo because he did it all. He drove the vans, managed tons of logistics, taught us boating skills and how to tie knots. He prepared farming gear for both shellfish and seaweed, taught us how to culture algae, made sure our wetsuits were the right size. He even got us ice cream. I wanted to hear more of Aldo’s experience in mariculture. We talk about FLUPSYs, how the smells of mariculture compare and more!

Vocab words!

* Down South - In Alaska “down south” refers to the lower 48 (all states beside Alaska and Hawaii).

* Finfish – Fish with fins (e.g., salmon, cod, halibut) as opposed to shellfish (aquatic animals with exoskeletons—like oysters, lobsters and abalone.

* FLUPSY (Floating Upweller System) – Not a Beatrix Potter character. A floating platform used in oyster nurseries to grow young shellfish using water flowing upwards.

* NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) – Opposition to development in one’s local area. George Carlin had a bit.

* Off the Road System – Communities only accessible by boat or plane (e.g., Sitka)

* On the Road System – Communities accessible by road to the rest of North America.

* Oyster Bags – Mesh bags used to hold and grow oysters in farms.

* Pseudofeces – Rejected food particles expelled by filter feeders like oysters.

LINKS!

Aquaculture & Alaska Programs

* Aquaculture Semester Alaska (highly recommended!)https://aquaculturesemester.alaska.edu/index.html

* Differences Between Fish Farms & Hatcheries (Tanana Chiefs)https://www.tananachiefs.org/the-differences-between-fish-farms-hatcheries/

* Political Economics of U.S. Marine Aquaculture (PDF)https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/bitstream/handle/11122/4167/2010_10-PoliticalEconomicsUSMarineAquaculture.pdf?sequence=1

Oysters & Shellfish Farming

Nursery / Gear / Methods

* Oyster Nursery (FLUPSY info)https://alaska.seaweedinsights.com/oysters/nursery

* Oyster Bags / Farming Methods (NOAA story)https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship/stories/shucking-my-way-to-exciting-innovations-my-internship-researching-new-methods-of-oyster-farming-in

* FLUPSY articlehttps://www.fukuina.com/articles/nov_dec97.htm

Environmental Impact & Ecosystem Services

* Oysters as a “Blue Food” climate solutionhttps://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/05/more-evidence-that-oysters-are-a-blue-food-win-for-climate-and-coastal-pollution/

* Sustainable Pacific Oyster Farming (NOAA)https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/sustainable-pacific-oyster-farming

* Oyster Filtration Calculatorhttps://oceanwealth.org/tools/oyster-calculator/

* Ecosystem Services – Filtrationhttps://oceanwealth.org/ecosystem-services/filtration/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

* Oysters & Eelgrass + Ocean Acidification (UW)https://fish.uw.edu/2018/07/oysters-and-eelgrass-help-each-other-out-under-increasing-carbon-dioxide-levels/

Scallops!

* Atlantic Sea Scallop Aquaculture Cost Study (University of Maine)https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2025/08/04/umaine-research-compares-most-cost-effective-methods-for-atlantic-sea-scallop-aquaculture/

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