Alaska

It’s time to consider finfish farming in Alaska • Alaska Beacon

Published

1 year ago

September 18, 2024

It’s time to consider finfish farming in Alaska • Alaska Beacon

In the heat of debate over salmon farming, Alaska banned all finfish farming, except for a very narrow window for goldfish and other pet store varieties. As Alaska seeks ways to diversify its economy, it is time to rethink the overreach of the ban. Here’s a modest proposal that could result in small-scale, affordable enterprises utilizing existing renewable resources.

How fish farming can be no threat

Under our proposal, no saltwater farming would be allowed, and the amended law would specifically prohibit rearing of Pacific and Atlantic salmon in fresh water. These measures should remove the concerns raised by commercial fishermen and environmental groups during the debate over salmon farming.

Also prevented would be the farming of commercial species such as halibut and black cod in upland tanks.

While arctic char is a distant cousin of salmon, farmed and wild caught char does not compete in the markets for salmon. Most of Canada’s production of char is consumed in country. Iceland is the leading producer of char, which is consumed mostly in northern Europe.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program promotes farmed Arctic char as an environmentally sustainable best choice for consumers, stating: “Arctic char use only a moderate amount of marine resources for feed” and that they “are farmed in land-based, closed systems that minimize the risk of escape into the wild.”

The farming of freshwater finfish, such as arctic char, sheefish, rainbow trout and even tilapia, in upland tanks or enclosed lakes or ponds could provide jobs and increase food security without harming the environment or threatening wild stocks. Unlike the drive to expand oil and gas production and large-scale mining working with multinational corporations which reap most of the benefits, freshwater fish farming could appeal more to smaller Alaska-owned businesses.

Alaska clearly has an abundance of freshwater resources, and experience in Alaska’s premier state hatchery and a Whitehorse fish farm show that arctic char and sheefish prefer cool rearing waters. In addition, arctic char and sheefish can be raised in high densities without experiencing significant problems with disease.

Icy Waters near Whitehorse has farmed arctic char for about three decades and has found the preferred water temperature is below 12 C (53.6 F) and the fish could survive and feed in water temperatures as low as 1 C (33.8 F). Icy Waters also experimented with keeping char in a lake over winter and found that the fish could survive under winter ice without feeding until spring.

The experience of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s William Jack Hernandez Sportfish Hatchery in Anchorage in raising char is like Icy Waters. Both facilities have found char:

are calm and non-aggressive;
prefer densities of 50-70 kilograms per cubic meter (110-154 pounds per cubic meter of water) and can survive in densities of more than 200 pounds per cubic meter of water (these are much higher than salmon);
can survive high density rearing, prefer cool waters and experience very low rates of disease (no medications or chemical treatments are used at either facility); and
the species have high fecundity (4-5,000 eggs/female in Alaska and up to 10,000 eggs in older females held in Icy Waters).

While there is less experience with sheefish, the Hernandez hatchery shows the species also can survive high-density rearing, prefers cool waters and experiences low rates of disease.

Arctic char is an important commercial and subsistence species across Siberia, Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Scandinavia. Estimated global production of farmed char ranges between 6,000-10,000 tons. Recent online U.S. prices for char range from $17 to $28 per pound.

Char and sheefish appear to be particularly suitable for farming in northwestern Alaska waters. These are stocks that have long been a mainstay in the diets of Native residents in the areas hit so hard with the disappearance of salmon. The farms could provide revenues for the stocking of local streams and lakes, in addition to producing high-quality sources of protein.

Release of stocks will require production of triploid fish, which are considered functionally sterile.

All freshwater finfish farming will require a lot of work because farms will require hatchery status as access to wild stocks will be difficult and state agencies aren’t geared to help assist smaller-scale startups. Aquaculture enterprises throughout the world all require government support and encouragement to thrive.

Other species might have more obstacles than char and sheefish because most will require warmer rearing waters and may have more problems with disease, rainbow trout as an example.

Tilapia is a great partner for vertical aquaponics, or the growing of vegetables in water rather than soil. The combination of these two methods results in a mutually beneficial relationship where fish waste provides nutrients for the plants and the plants purify the water for the fish. The sale of tilapia could add an important source of revenue to the operation.

In the mid-1990s, a couple of young men approached an officer of the Alaskan Shellfish Growers Association and asked about Alaska’s ban on finfish farming as they had successfully raised tilapia in the basement of their Wasilla home. The officer told them changes in the law were unrealistic.

This may be the time to change the law, but it will require a lot of work in the deeply divided Legislature.

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Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

7 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

19 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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