The Alaska Mariculture Alliance (AMA) is hosting a webinar with Ecotrust to update stakeholders and industry members on their ongoing evaluation of the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) grant program. The webinar, which will be on November 20, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm AKST, will feature AMA, SEC, and Ecotrust staff members.

Awarded $255,000 through a competitive request for proposals (RFP), Ecotrust is the AMC grant evaluator responsible for designing and implementing a framework to measure the effectiveness, equity, and long-term impact of the grant. Their work includes developing clear metrics and evaluation tools that assess outcomes across AMC’s grant component projects. Ecotrust is also leading a participatory evaluation process that gathers input directly from Alaska’s mariculture community, including Tribal leaders, rural residents, farmers, and industry partners. This engagement occurs through one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and surveys to ensure that local voices and lived experiences inform how the program’s success is measured.

Ecotrust collaborated with Southeast Conference to develop the AMC’s Theory of Change, a framework that visually maps how targeted investments are expected to lead to industry-wide outcomes such as increased capacity, collaboration, and equitable growth. This partnership helps the AMC adaptively manage its programs and demonstrate progress toward building a resilient and inclusive mariculture sector in Alaska.

This webinar is a valuable opportunity to hear directly from Ecotrust team members and better understand AMC’s progress, successes, and future directions. More information can be found on AMA’s website.

UPDATE

To watch the November 21, 2025 webinar, click below.

About the AMC Marketing Program

Funded through the AMC’s Market Development grant component, the Alaska Mariculture Alliance (AMA) and Southeast Conference (SEC) have launched a robust marketing program to increase awareness, demand, and long-term market opportunities for Alaska’s growing mariculture industry. The AMC Marketing Program is being advanced by Tastemaker Comms in partnership with Rising Tide Communications – two experienced firms with extensive backgrounds in seafood marketing, brand development, and campaign execution.

About the Alaska Mariculture Cluster

In September 2022, Southeast Conference was awarded a $49 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to stimulate private investment and grow Alaska’s mariculture industry to $100 million in sales in 10 years.  The Alaska Mariculture Cluster grant involves a large coalition of state agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and others working together over a five year period ending May 2027.