Kelp The Vote! Jim McDermott

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Hi, I’m Jeremiah Murphy. This is Mariculture Minute with another edition of Kelp the Vote! We’re learning where Alaska candidates stand on Ocean farming.

On November 3rd, Alaskans will choose their representative in the U.S. House. The current incumbent Republican Nick Begich has three challengers on the ballot. One of those candidates is Libertarian Jim McDermott from Fairbanks. McDermott was kind enough to respond to Mariculture Minute’s brief survey on ocean farming.

Here’s what I asked:

1) If elected, would you do anything to promote kelp production in Alaska?

2) Would you support a statewide program to monitor coastal waters for paralytic shellfish poisoning blooms?

3) What’s your favorite shellfish or seaweed dish?

4) Can you shuck an oyster?

Jim McDermott answers my questions in the e-mail below, which I will now read:

Hi Jeremiah

As a former director of the Small Business Development Center, Boots-to-Business, and SCORE counselor I am a huge supporter of Alaskan small business owners throughout Alaska. I will be an activist for your small business venture. I will work tirelessly to help Alaskan small businesses regardless of the small business type of legal venture. As a federal politician I will work with Alaskans and the State of Alaska to ensure the potential robust harvesting of our Alaskan resources. Oh, I enjoy scallops but I ended up with 4 stitches on my hand last week trimming branches and therefore I will leave shucking to the experts (lol). Peace.

Jim McDermott, M.S.

Candidate for U.S. House

Fairbanks, Alaska

OUch four stitches–I hope that heals in time for election day. McDermott seems to be focussing on wanting to help ocean farmers as small business owners. While, not getting too deep into the details of mariculture, I can see McDermott’s strategy for wooing the ocean farmer voter. Running a business and making it successful is a challenge for kelp and oyster farming. From developing a business plan that shows how you can make a profit from figuring out all your expenses–boats, employees, farm gear, oyster spat, seeded lines for your kelp. And you have to figure out how to find a market your kelp and oysters–who’s going to buy them? That’s all on top of getting in the water and doing farm stuff. Kelp farmers, oyster farmers, scallop farmers–they got a lot to think about. So, I can see the advantage of a politician trying to appeal to Alaska ocean farmers by having a solid understanding of how to run a small business.McDermott mentions being a SCORE counselor and I had no idea what SCORE was–Service Corps of Retired Executives–it actually sounds like a really cool organization. They counsel new small business owners for free. And the counselors are all volunteers. I’ll put a link in the shell notes. I’ll also link to the Small Business Development Center and Boots to Business program, McDermott mentions.

I’ll also put some links to business plan stuff for both kelp and oyster farming at kelpshow dot com. There’s business plan advice from Connecticut Sea Grant, Alaska SeaGrant, Greenwave, Cool Blue Futures. I think some of them even have worksheets.

And since McDermott brought it up–even though he didn’t injure his hand shucking oysters–I’ll throw in some links about oyster shucking injuries. Again, that’s all at kelpshow dot com. I also have a link to an interview with McDermott for a little more context.

Thanks for listening to Mariculture Minute, you’re source for Alaska Mariculture politics! We’ve heard from a few of the candidates on the ballot now. You can find us on all the podcast places, on Instagram at kelpshow and at kelpshow dot com.THE SHELL NOTES!

Boots to Business - Small Business Administration

Alaska Small Business Development Center

SCORE Alaska | Be The Change 907

https://alaskamariculturecluster.org/announcements/new-alaska-oyster-growers-manual-published/

https://kpedd.org/wp-content/uploads/Kelp-Farming-Guide-w-Annex-5.8-MR.FINAL_.pdf

Business Planning | National Seaweed Hub | A Collaborative Partnership Funded by the National Sea Grant Program | University of Connecticut

Holding Fast: Kelp Farms Seek Broader Market Base - Alaska Business Magazine

Call House members ‘representatives.’ Not ‘congressmen’ or ‘congresswomen.’

Jim McDermott, a Libertarian from Fairbanks, makes top four for Alaska’s U.S. House race

The prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in the hands of fishermen working as oyster shuckers - PubMed

Free Safe Operating Procedure (Oyster Shucking) Template

The Oyster Shucking Mishap That Left Andrew Zimmern Scarred - Tasting Table