In 2025, biostimulants expanded rapidly as a market for Alaska seaweed, and the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) is responding by funding the development, testing, and marketing of kelp-based products across the state. Biostimulants help plants grow not by directly supplying nutrients, but rather by improving nutrient absorption, root growth, stress tolerance, and yield. As the demand for eco-friendly agricultural inputs grows, Alaska’s kelp farmers and innovators are well-positioned to supply a thriving market while supporting resilient coastal economies.

AMC launched the Kelp Agricultural Product Development Program to explore new ways to utilize Alaskan kelp to enhance soil health, increase crop resilience, and unlock sustainable commercial opportunities for seaweed farming in Alaska. This program awarded funding to Pacific Kelp Company (PKC), GreenWave, and Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) to strengthen Alaska’s mariculture industry and help develop and test effective kelp-based biostimulants. In their second year, these three projects are helping to further AMC’s goal of product development research leading to new markets for Alaska seaweed.

Recently, AMC awarded PKC an additional $40,000 to conduct comparative testing of the three Alaska kelp-based biostimulants developed through the program. The trials will evaluate product performance on the same crops and benchmark results against conventional non-kelp biostimulant products, helping identify opportunities for agricultural use of Alaska-grown kelp. This funding builds on AMC’s initial award, which helped PKC to hone its biostimulant, established collaborations with Cornell University and Washington State University, and prepared the company to expand market availability. In other exciting consumer news, PKC’s biostimulant, KelpEdge^TM, is now available for purchase on Amazon.

GreenWave has been working to support various kelp farms around the state with bull kelp production and test a bull kelp biostimulant. GreenWave partnered with AgMetrics to complete a strawberry drought study, which is in progress and will provide important insights into the efficacy of this biostimulant. Additionally, GreenWave worked with a variety of processing entities to optimize their technology and ensure efficient operations strategies and helped each entity prepare for the 2026 harvest. GreenWave also received additional AMC funding to support the purchase of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), enabling participating seaweed farmers to process and store greater volumes of kelp-derived biostimulant products.

Finally, CRRC has completed their project, Liquid Kelp Biostimulant Product Refinement and Field & Market Testing. Building on the initial work by Regeneration North, Kachemak Kelp Hub, and CRRC, this project worked to further the development of Sea to Sprout. At the end of the project, CRRC and its partners completed mung bean field trials and partnered with farmers in Fairbanks, Palmer, and Soldotna to conduct trials on potatoes, grains, tomatoes, and leafy greens. CRRC created a label for Sea to Sprout, which is now available for purchase online and in stores; additionally, the team is anticipating processing 30,000lbs of kelp for biostimulant production in summer 2026. The project will continue through a separate AMC feasibility study.

You can learn more about each of these projects and read detailed project reports on the AMC website. The Kelp Agricultural Product Development Program is helping to further Research & Development in the state and contribute to broader agricultural sustainability efforts by providing natural, nutrient-rich alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.

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 Alaska Mariculture Cluster is October 1, 2022 to September 38, 2026, though some projects may be extended up until May 28, 2027.