A classroom science project in Alaska could help alleviate a reported decrease in a traditionally significant type of seaweed while also introducing students and native communities to commercial aquaculture.
K'aach,' also called dulse, an important food source for thousands of years for the Tlingit and Haida tribes, has been adversely affected by climate change, pollution and over-harvesting, according tribal members. This concern led a teacher in an Alaskan Native community, to ask the Alaska Regional Aquaculture Program (ARAP) to come up with a way to grow dulse in a classroom, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports.
"At the request of Justina Hotch, an educator in the Alaska Native community of Klukwan, NOAA’s Alaska Regional Aquaculture Program developed a small-scale tumble culture and curriculum to grow Ḵ’aach’ in a K-12 classroom in Klukwan," the report states. "Curriculum and materials were also shared with 3rd and 4th graders in Juneau."
ARAP developed the project using materials available at a hardware store, and the tumble cultures were built at the the Alaska Fisheries Science Center Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, NOAA reports. The project was funded by an International Call for Aquaculture Funds Diversity and Inclusion grant, one of several NOAA awards to promote sustainable aquaculture, according to the report.
The project replicates the ideal marine environment for dulse to thrive in nutrient-enriched artificial seawater, allowing the seaweed to be grown far from the ocean, according to the report. "Students are responsible for the care and near-daily maintenance of the tanks which includes adding nutrients, changing the water, cleaning tanks and charting growth," NOAA reports.
In addition to creating a classroom project for students to grow seaweed, the program also seeks to share the knowledge with Native Alaskan communities and associations with the goal of developing commercial aquaculture, NOAA states.
"Increasing diversity and inclusion in aquaculture strengthens traditional methods of cultivating marine life for food, while also teaching the care and handling of the seaweed," NOAA states in the report. "Including traditional ecological knowledge and practices bolsters the success of these projects while providing leadership within the community."
“A number of traditionally important seaweeds in Southeast Alaska have become harder to find, whether it's from changes in ocean conditions or other factors,” Alicia Bishop, Alaska Regional Aquaculture Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries, said in the report. “Land-based culture methods provide an alternative and bringing these methods into the classroom helps excite kids about the possibilities of seaweed aquaculture in our state.”
