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Southeast Conference Fall Mariculture Travel
December 22, 2025
Lead Entities: Southeast Conference
Grant Component: Grant Administration
This fall, Southeast Conference (SEC) represented the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) at a variety of state and regional industry events, working to spotlight AMC’s people, projects, and impacts. These events spanned the country, taking SEC to states and cities on both coasts. SEC’s presence at these events allowed for greater collaboration between SEC staff and AMC stakeholders, taking advantage of in person connections and cultivating engaging conversations about the mariculture industry in Alaska. Each workshop, public-facing education session, and industry meeting also provided valuable opportunities for staff to educate the public about AMC’s work.
California Seaweed Festival | Los Angeles, California | October 9th-11th
In early October, Southeast Conference staff traveled to San Pedro, California, to participate in the California Seaweed Festival. Two full days of seaweed and kelp-filled networking, knowledge development, and public outreach, the festival offered a chance for representatives from Alaska’s mariculture industry to expand their reach and demonstrate all that the state has to offer.
Seed Banking of Alaska Kelps | Hosted by Kelp Ark
The SEC team joined the very first event of the festival: a three-hour hands-on workshop that taught participants how kelp progresses from growing in the wild to harvest-ready. Called Ocean to Ocean: a Kelp’s Journey in Seaweed Farming, the workshop was taught by Michael Marty-Rivera, the Seedbank Collection Curator at Kelp Ark. Marty-Rivera is one of the project leads of a Kelp Seed Quality Improvement project, funded by AMC’s Research and Development component project. Through their project, Marty-Rivera and Dr. Sergey Nuzhdin are developing a gametophyte bank for Alaska kelps and building single cell origin gametophyte cultures for sugar, ribbon, and bull kelps. The Kelp Ark team will then sequence the cultures to gain insight into Alaska’s kelp population structure, with the intent to provide alternative solutions to some of the challenges presented by Alaska’s 50-50 rule.
Pictured Above: Michael Marty-Rivera leads a tour of Kelp Ark’s facilities in San Pedro; SEC’s Project Coordinator Stephane Granato at the Kelp Ark workshop
Seaweed Festival: Urban Ocean Ecosystems
The Seaweed Speakeasy and main exhibition of the festival provided ample opportunity for visitors to learn about AMC’s work and regional seaweed innovation. The main event of the festival was a full-day exhibition at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, with vendors, food and cooking demonstrations, and educational programming, following a Seaweed Speakeasy full of seaweed product tasting (pictured right). The AMC setup at both events received hundreds of interested visitors including researchers, potential kelp farmers, and industry representatives. SEC spoke broadly about the grant and AMC’s work and informed visitors about specific grant component projects, funded research, and product development in the works. Throughout the weekend, edible seaweed products on display featured Alaskan kelp products, showcasing the potential of Alaska’s mariculture industry.
One Ocean Week | Seattle, Washington | October 22nd-27th
Later in October, the SEC team traveled to Seattle to participate in One Ocean Week. Hosted by Washington Maritime Blue, One Ocean Week brings together researchers, policymakers, educators, community members, and industries to collaborate on ocean strategies and solutions. The event included an Innovation Showcase, where AMC presented about grant activities and achievements, connected with stakeholders, and educated visitors on Alaska’s mariculture industry.
Ocean Cluster Leadership Roundtable | Hosted by AKWA-DC & Upwell Collaborative
This roundtable was convened to advance a national framework for developing and sustaining U.S. ocean clusters, which is an effort highly relevant to AMC. Participants discussed how clusters can diversify funding models, blend philanthropic and investment capital, and pursue derisking programs and infrastructure projects suited to ocean-sector realities, where venture-scale returns are uncommon. A major takeaway was the need for standardized impact metrics — such as job creation, private investment leveraged, and business growth — to demonstrate ROI and attract enduring public-private-philanthropic support. The roundtable also emphasized policy reforms to elevate mariculture to parity with terrestrial agriculture, address regulatory hurdles, and expand workforce and innovation infrastructure. For AMC, these insights underscore the importance of shared advocacy, cross-cluster collaboration, and building financial and organizational structures that can sustain Alaska’s mariculture industry well beyond initial federal funding.
Roundtable to Identify Shared Challenges and Opportunities for Synergy across the Greater Pacific Northwest Seaweed Farming Industry | Hosted by Maritime Blue & Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation
Hosted by Willow Battista from Maritime Blue and Alex Huller from Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF), this roundtable brought together farmers, researchers, product developers, and support organizations to discuss challenges to sustaining mariculture viability in the region. The conversation emphasized coordination and collaboration across sub-regions, with representatives from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California working together to identify shared challenges and brainstorm solutions. The conversation was productive and the strong Alaskan presence in the room emphasized the importance of the state to the future of the mariculture industry.
Alaska Symphony of Seafood | Hosted by AFDF
Every year, the Alaska Symphony of Seafood celebrates and showcases new products made with Alaskan seafood products. The event is hosted by AFDF, an AMC subaward recipient currently leading the Joint Innovation Projects, the Seaweed Tissue Analysis projects, the De-Risking Investments & Site Suitability Program, and the Green Energy in Mariculture project. The Symphony was a productive and lively industry event that allowed guests to taste each of the contestants and culminated in an awards ceremony. AMC’s presence was seen through the event’s participants, competitors, and judges: Katie Goldberg, co-founder of Tastemaker Comms, served as a judge for the event. Tastemaker is leading the AMC Marketing Program, which is working to develop a brand identity as well as media and promotional assets for Alaska’s mariculture industry.
In an exciting moment for mariculture, Kachemak Kelp’s Selkie Soak won the Alaska Symphony of Seafood’s 2025 “Beyond the Plate” award. Presented by SEC’s Project Manager Charlie Herrington, the award emphasized the importance of innovation within the mariculture industry and highlighted the role that kelp can play in the development of Alaskan seafood products.
Pictured above: Charlie Herrington with Kathryn Carovano and Lily Westphal (Kachemak Kelp) at the Alaska Symphony of Seafood
Seaweed Biostimulants Roundtable | Washington, DC | October 23rd to 24th
SEC participated in the Seaweed Biostimulants Roundtable, a two-day convening co-hosted by The Nature Conservancy, the World Bank Group, and Hatch Blue. Hatch Blue, a global aquaculture industry expert firm, previously worked with AMC to develop the Alaska Mariculture Insights, an open-source platform offering essential benchmarks, insights and industry data aimed at showcasing Alaska’s mariculture industry through all stages of the supply chain. The October roundtable brought together leaders across the global seaweed, agriculture, and biostimulant sectors to brainstorm ideas for, discuss barriers to, and envision a shared future in one of the most promising near-term markets for farmed seaweed. SEC staff heard insights on industry opportunities and shared updates on AMC’s Kelp Agricultural Product Development projects, making a valuable contribution to the event and returning to Alaska with up-to-date knowledge of the seaweed biostimulant industry’s future direction.
Pacific Marine Expo | Seattle, WA | November 20th to 22nd
In November, SEC staff traveled to Pacific Marine Expo (PME), the largest commercial marine trade show on the West Coast. SEC’s third trip to the annual event marked the increasing presence of mariculture in the lager marine industry. This year SEC programmed a mariculture educational panel on the main stage. The panel, Cultivating Change: Community-Led Mariculture in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, was moderated by SEC’s Deputy Director, Dan Lesh, and featured Joe Hok from Nautical Marine AK, Nick Mangini from Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, and Matt Obee from Cascadia Seaweed. Panelists shared case studies, discussed industry challenges, and highlighted collaborative efforts shaping the future of seaweed farming in Alaska. In addition to the panel, SEC employees participated in the trade show, where they were able to showcase AMC’s programs, discuss the grant’s impact and reach, and connect with maritime industry professionals. It was a valuable opportunity to meet with regional partners, educate the larger marine industry about AMC activities, and funnel sales opportunities.
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.
