Alaska SeaGrant officials are working on a tester for paralytic shellfish poisoning, an illness that can cause tingling in the lips, tongue, fingers and toes and eventual breathing problems. Officials say testing currently costs $125 per test and has a time delay, as samples need to be sent in to the state.
Food
Plankton population and the power of pink salmon
Although plankton might seem like an ecological afterthought, biological oceanographer Sonia Batten disagrees. She calls them the most important organisms in the ocean.
Craft distillers tap pure sugar cane for a southern rum renaissance
The South was once a hub for sugar plantations. Now, small rum-makers are turning away from molasses, culling fresh sugar cane itself to create smooth liquors with grassy, woody or floral flavors.
Preserving the history of Alaska’s canned seafood
A historian is researching the past of Alaska’s canneries and a Petersburg woman has volunteered her collection of canned salmon labels.
Researchers developing cheaper, faster monitoring method for paralytic shellfish poisoning
Researchers are developing a field test kit that would make it easier to monitor for paralytic shellfish poisoning. Project partners include NOAA researchers from the Lower 48 as well as community testers based on Kodiak Island and in the Alaska Peninsula.
Shrimp grown in tanks make a splash, coming to a market near you
The U.S. appetite for shrimp is often fed in unsavory ways, with seafood produced unsustainably, sometimes with slave labor. In New York’s Hudson Valley, an indoor aqua farm is raising an alternative.