AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, in collaboration with Cal State Northridge’s Institute for Sustainability and The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, announced a series of webinars focused on aquaculture, called “Blue + Green 2021.”

Pre-registration for the events is required. The link to sign up is: https://altasea-project-blue.org/blue-green-2021/.

The inaugural series will comprise four, one-hour webinars, scheduled on each Thursday of May, and will convene experts from the aquaculture and sustainability fields, including experts from various top colleges and research institutions across the world. The goal of the series is to shine a spotlight on the emerging aquaculture sector in the blue economy.

Aquaculture, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is “the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other organisms in all types of water environments.” One of AltaSea’s tenants, Pacific6, holds the permit for the first offshore aquaculture facility in U.S. Federal waters.”

“An important part of our sustainable future is regenerative aquaculture. Convening the top experts in the field will provide an amazing opportunity to drive awareness for the field of regenerative aquaculture, which will be an instrumental piece of the growing blue economy as well as preserving our ecosystem,” said AltaSea CEO Tim McOsker.

AltaSea is at the forefront of the increasingly crucial blue economy, which is the sustainable use of ocean resources to provide economic growth through good-paying jobs focused on the preservation of the ocean ecosystem. According to a report that AltaSea coauthored with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) in 2020, the blue economy is projected to produce more than 126,000 jobs, paying a combined $37.7 billion in wages by 2023.

According to CSUN co-collaborators Janet Kübler (Marine Biologist, Professor of Biology) and Natale Zappia (Director of the Institute for Sustainability), “aquaculture and the supporting technologies bring together all the key ingredients – future growth opportunities that support our coastal ecosystems, the economy, jobs, and our communities. This series will help reimagine partnerships between business, government, universities, and communities through regenerative ocean research for exploration and equity-based economic development.”

Michael Kelly, Executive Director, The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, adds: “By 2025, the entrepreneur and author Gunter Paul estimates, the oceanic Blue Economy could create 100 million new jobs worldwide based on hundreds of innovations, as well as empower people and sustain communities. L.A. is perfectly positioned to be a global leader in these nascent Blue Economy sectors and this webinar will provide a great opportunity for leaders to share their insights with Angelenos on what comes next and how one can prepare themselves for a career that will ultimately serve and even save our planet.”

The series is being sponsored by AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, Beneficial State Bank, The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, and CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability.

The webinars include:

Thursday, May 6: What is Regenerative Aquaculture?

Panelists:

Janet E. Kübler, Ph.D., Biology Department at CSUN, Founder of the California Seaweed Festival
Finian Makepeace, Co-founder, Policy Director, & Lead Educator, Kiss the Ground
Charles Yarish, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut
Moderator: Val Zavala, multi-Emmy award-winning journalist

Thursday, May 13: Aquaculture and LA

Panelists:

Paul Dobbins, Senior Director of Impact Investing and Ecosystem Services, World Wildlife Foundation
Diane Kim, Ph.D., Co-founder & CEO, Holdfast Aquaculture
Ferris Kawar, Sustainability Project Manager, Santa Monica College
Moderator: Michael H. Kelly, Executive Director, The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs

Thursday, May 20: Policy and Politics

Panelists:

Mark Gold, D. Env., Associate Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability, UCLA; Executive Director, Ocean Protection Council; Deputy Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy, California Natural Resources Agency
Michael H. Kelly, Executive Director, The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs
Sandra Whitehouse, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor, Ocean Conservancy
Moderator: Wendy Greuel, former Los Angeles City Controller

Thursday, May 27: Aquaculture and the Future

Panelists:

Professor Brian Beale, Cooperating Professor of Marine Ecology, Research Director of Downeast Institute, University of Maine
Thierry Chopin, Ph.D., Professor of Marine Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada
Peter Bryant, Senior Program Officer, Walton Personal Philanthropy Group and The Builders Initiative
Moderator: Val Zavala.

Editor’s note: Full bios of panelists and moderators can be found [here].

About California State University, Northridge, Institute for Sustainability

Founded in 2008, the Institute for Sustainability works with stakeholders across campus to integrate sustainability into all aspects of the university from operations and infrastructure to outreach, education, and research. The Institute serves all the colleges of the university, working to increase interdisciplinary and cross-functional communication, education, and research on sustainability.

About The Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs

The L.A. Coalition brings together leaders from business, labor, academia, and nonprofits to advance initiatives that generate economic growth, create quality jobs and a skilled workforce, and improve the region’s overall quality of life.

About AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles

AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, located on 35 acres at North America’s leading seaport by both container volume and cargo value, is dedicated to accelerating scientific collaboration, advancing an emerging blue economy through business innovation and job creation, and inspiring the next generation, all for a more sustainable, just, and equitable world.

For more information on AltaSea, visit https://altasea.org.