The Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center (KSMSC) is a unique facility including classrooms, laboratories, a test kitchen and a pilot seafood processing plant that enables the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) to provide a statewide program of research, technical assistance, workforce training and education. KSMSC is Alaska’s only workforce development and applied research center focused on the seafood processing/fishing industry, as designated by the Alaska State Legislature in 1983. KSMSC also serves the Kodiak Island communities as a regional marine research and education center.
UAF personnel working at KSMSC currently consist of four UAF faculty members (three Marine Advisory and one Fisheries) and three staff members all within the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS). In addition, the UAF Cooperative Extension Service’s 4-H coordinator works at KSMSC. Graduate students and visiting UAF faculty use the Center and a number of community groups make use of the space for meetings during the year.
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. Statewide, the waters off Alaska produce over 60% of the nation’s seafood valued at $5.6B and the seafood industry is the state’s largest private employer with over 50,000 jobs. Kodiak Island also has a number of smaller outlying villages that have a strong subsistence economy based on marine resources, whose residents work with the faculty at KSMSC.
The Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center is a hub of applied research, training and technical assistance serving a statewide seafood industry audience. It supports food safety in Alaska and is recognized as a food process authority by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Take a look back at KSMSC’s accomplishments in their annual report.
UA Workforce Development News 