Juneau, AK - Whether you are catching 'em or eating 'em, there's a hidden world of science behind Alaska's sustainable fisheries, which produce more than half of all seafood caught in U.S. waters.
NOAA Fisheries - the government agency charged with sustainable management of U.S. fisheries-invites Juneau residents and their out-of-town guests to get an insider tour of one of NOAA's leading science facilities, the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, located north of Juneau at Lena Point.
TSMRI is the headquarters of the Auke Bay Laboratories, a division of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The 66,000 square foot facility is the largest fisheries research laboratory among NOAA laboratory operations which are also located in Newport, Oregon; Seattle, and in Alaska: Juneau, Kasitsna Bay, and Kodiak.
NOAA is offering free tours of TSMRI each weekday at 1 p.m., June through September, except for holidays. Each tour is limited to 12 people ages 16 and older. Participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Cameras are welcome.
Tours will begin and end in the downstairs aquarium area and will last about 55 minutes. Following the tour, there will be a short break, and then a 20-minute Science on a Sphere demonstration.
Alaska's fisheries are considered to be among the best-managed, most sustainable fisheries in the world, contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, and employing more people in the State of Alaska than any other private industry.
For more information, contact Ralph Steeves at (907) 789-6050.
