Petersburg Pilot -

A statewide coalition of fisheries and economic development organizations, led by the Southeast Conference, has won a $49 million federal grant to help build up Alaska’s mariculture industry.

“This is a moon shot,” Robert Venables, executive director of the Southeast Conference, said of the challenges ahead and the potential rewards of growing the industry to raise and harvest shellfish and seaweed in larger commercial quantities.

“It’s a big deal,” said Wrangell’s Julie Decker, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, one of the coalition partners.

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