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Third and Final Round of Mariculture Equipment Program Awards Announced

March 31, 2026

Lead Entities: Chugach Regional Resources Commission, Grow Ketchikan, Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, Mariculture Innovation Center, OceansAlaska, Prince William Sound Economic Development District

Grant Component: Equipment & Technology

The Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) has announced the third and final round of awards under its Mariculture Equipment Program. This round allocates $3 million and brings the program’s total investment to over $8 million awarded to 13 entities across the state.

The AMC grant funds strategic equipment purchases to scale and improve hatchery, nursery, and processing operations statewide — helping producers reduce costs, increase capacity, improve seed quality, and bring seaweed and shellfish products to market. The first two rounds, announced in July 2024 and July 2025, allocated over $5.2 million to 15 projects that are currently underway.

Round Three Projects

OceansAlaska (Ketchikan) – $417,552

OceansAlaska will modernize its hatchery and nursery system to strengthen kelp and oyster seed supply and quality in Southeast Alaska. Key purchases include three bioreactors for consistent feed availability, plus a seed shaker, walk-in cooler, heat pump, and supplies. The Oceans Alaska floating facility is a working hatchery supplying area farmers but equally supports workforce development through trainings and partnerships with University of Alaska Southeast and Alaska Sea Grant.

OceansAlaska (Ketchikan) – $93,800

In prior rounds, the AMC has invested $284,300 in containerized oyster handling and processing equipment to support the new Alaska Oyster Cooperative processing facility in Naukati Bay.  In Round III, OceansAlaska will add a restroom trailer to the operation to meet Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation regulations and support farmers and crew year-round, with potential for future on-site sales and tours.

Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (Homer) – $183,662

Building on its Round II award, KPEDD will complete its mariculture processing investments with a forklift, dehydrator, and walk-in cooler. In partnership with Kachemak Kelp Hub and Salmon Sisters Holdings Co., these additions will increase the scale and efficiency of processing bulk kelp into a variety of primary and value-added products, including a kelp biostimulant.

Prince William Sound Economic Development District (Cordova) – $329,750

PWSEDD (in partnership with ten partners) will add to their kelp processing line and dryer in in Cordova by purchasing 16 pieces of equipment. The equipment will enable conversion of liquid by-products into valuable ingredients through spray drying, among other efforts needed to produce a wide range of value-added kelp products and support local kelp farmers with access to markets.

Chugach Regional Resources Commission (Anchorage) – $244,200

CRRC will expand the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute’s kelp gametophyte production infrastructure through purchase of a gametophyte module, direct seeding machine, seaweed bioreactors, and other equipment. The equipment builds on CRRC’s innovative R&D projects funded through the AMC grant project advancing gametophyte-based seeding – a promising avenue to develop lower cost and higher quality kelp seed for Alaska farmers.

Mariculture Innovation Center (Juneau) – $800,000

The newly formed Mariculture Innovation Center (MIC) will build a containerized kelp processing facility — with blancher, dryer, shredder, and other functionality — alongside a commercial-scale modular kelp hatchery to meet regional seed demand. This Juneau-based project is supported by a variety of entities including Sea Quester Farms, Goldbelt Incorporated, Koru & Kelp, Barnacle Foods, Blue Dot Kitchen, Marine Biologics, and Ostrea Marine.

Grow Ketchikan (Ketchikan) – $951,226

Grow Ketchikan will establish a mariculture innovation hub in Ketchikan to serve as a central facility for Southern Southeast Alaska’s emerging industry. Equipment purchases will include kelp seed production and oyster hatchery equipment (tanks, microalgae cultures, filters, and sterilizers), plus gametophyte seedbank tools such as incubators and cell imagers.

Funded under the Equipment & Technology grant component, these projects represent a commitment to strengthening Alaska’s economy through seaweed and shellfish farming and constitute an investment in the state’s future and communities that will continue far beyond the life of the grant.

 

Background

Southeast Conference (SEC) is the federally designated Economic Development District (EDD) for Southeast Alaska, as well as the state designated Alaska Regional Development Organization. SEC’s mission is to undertake and support activities that promote strong economies, sustainable communities, and a healthy environment in Southeast Alaska.

In September 2022, Southeast Conference was awarded a $49 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant to catalyze a viable and sustainable mariculture industry in Alaska, supporting the production of shellfish and seaweed, for the long-term benefit of the state’s economy, environment, and communities.

SEC leads the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) grant coalition, which includes members of Alaska’s mariculture industry, tribal organizations, regulatory agencies, university system, regional EDDs, trade organizations, and others. A Governance Body, composed of AMC coalition leaders and Tribal executives from each of the project regions, guides the grant’s work and equity metrics.

The AMC has complementary grant components designed to break down barriers and develop Alaska’s mariculture industry. The Overarching Narrative explains how the grant components work together to grow the industry in an equitable and responsible manner. The full project period for the AMC BBBRC project is October 1, 2022 to September 30th, 2026.