Jaiden Grinnell Bosick - who fishes commercially in Alaska -, is one of the two daughters of Kurt Grinnell, an advocate of aquaculture as a solution for tribal food security, sovereignty, and economic opportunity.
Photo: Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation.
The Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation (KGASF) has named Jaiden Grinnell Bosick as its new President. After the appointment, Bosick will not only lead the 12-person Board of Directors but will also continue to head KGASF's Scholarship Selection Committee, a role she has held since the organization was founded.
The KGASF is a non-profit organization created in 2022 to carry out the legacy of the late Kurt Grinnell, a Native American leader of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Washington State, who passed away in 2021.
A strong advocate of Tribal food security and sovereignty, Grinnell recognized that aquaculture - whether shellfish, finfish, or plants such as algae - was a necessity if the Tribes of the Pacific Northwest were to continue to harvest seafood in their usual and accustomed areas, as guaranteed under Federal Treaties.
"We are pleased that Jaiden has accepted this vital leadership role," said former Board President, John Dentler. "Jaiden embodies the commitment to educational opportunities for Indigenous communities that was such an important part of Kurt Grinnell’s vision," he added.
For her part, Bosick - one of Kurt Grinnell’s two daughters, who fishes commercially in Alaska -, said she welcomes the opportunity to guide the organization at a critical time when food sovereignty and food security have become issues of vital importance to Tribes and First Nations.
"I am honored that the Board has entrusted me with the responsibility of assisting members of Indigenous communities who seek to further their education in natural resources, fisheries, and aquaculture," Jaiden Grinnell Bosick said.
The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe is not just involved in aquaculture in Washington State but is one of its biggest advocates. Last December, it took legal action against the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for banning net-pen aquaculture in Puget Sound, an action joined later by the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) on behalf of its members.
Moreover, the Tribe is also a partner with Cooke, as the Canadian aquaculture company noted in announcing it was giving up the fight after a year-long court battle with the Wahington DNR seeking reinstatement of its leases at the Rich Passage and Hope Island rainbow trout farms in Puget Sound.
"Cooke continues to work with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and pursuing projects that allow the Tribe to provide for its people and that foster sustainable seafood production on the Olympic Peninsula," the company then stated. However, this project to farm steelhead trout is also in jeopardy because of DNR's decisions.
The Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation provides financial assistance to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students in the United States and Canada who wish to pursue careers related to aquaculture and natural resources. Since its inception in 2022, it has awarded seven scholarships to Tribal and First Nations students, totalling USD 50,000, and this year will again accept applications between May 15 and October 15.
To date, grant recipients have come from diverse Indigenous communities, including federally recognized Tribes in the U.S. and Canadian First Nations in Ontario, Canada, Michigan, Alaska, California, and Washington State.
"My father would be proud, not only of these scholars, but also of our Foundation’s efforts and accomplishments," noted the newly named President of the Board. The KGASF used the release of the appointment to also announce that three new members have joined the Board of Directors.
They are Matt Deines, CEO of First Federal Bank, headquartered in Port Angeles, Washington; M. Scarlett Tudor, Ph.D., Education and Outreach Coordinator at the University of Maine in Orono; and Teri King, Regional Aquaculture Coordinator for Oregon and Washington, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in Washington State.
They join a Board that includes well-known names in the aquaculture industry such as NWAA Executive Director Jeanne McKnight, Blue Ocean Mariculture CEO Dick Jones, or, last year's appointees, Wally Stevens, former CEO and current President of the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA), and Cyr Couturier, Chair of the Master of Science in Aquaculture program at Memorial University in St. John's, NL (Canada), among others.
