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Pacific Marine Expo’s Friday sessions kick off at 10:30 with a Coast Guard presentation on the Arctic Shield program out of Anchorage.

Find all Expo Education Sessions at the Main Stage in the Alaska Hall

At 11:25, the founders of Rugged Seas and Net Your Problem join Ashley Williams of Grundéns to talk about gear recycling and efforts to reduce plastic waste from entering the stream. Sit in session with Nikki and Taylor Strout, Nicole Baker Loke, and Williams with host Jessica Hathaway, National Fisherman editor in chief.

The future of Alaska’s kelp and seafood industries is central to the mission of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. Executive Director Julie Decker hosts two AFDF sessions on Friday at Expo.

The first — Connecting Alaska Seaweed with New Markets — will dive into a report created by McKinley Research Group to study the prices, demand and markets that are a match for the species, product forms and cost structures of Alaska kelp. The session starts at 1 p.m.

Got whales? A slate of Highliners and industry juggernauts will discuss marine mammal and gear interactions, changing research and regulations, and emerging tech solutions on both coasts, starting at 1:50.

Mike Conroy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Kristan Porter of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Dick Ogg of the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group will represent industry’s efforts to effect changes to avoid whale entanglements in commercial gear. Dan Watson of SafetyNet Technologies and Alex Stubbs of CodCoil Slinky Pots will represent the manufacturing side of gear tech and the results of fishermen-led ingenuity in the industry.

The Alaska Symphony of Seafood session at 2:45 will not only announce winners of this year’s competition but also set the stage for future competitions with resources and guidelines for product development.

Find all Expo Education Sessions at the Main Stage in the Alaska Hall

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