From May 10–15, 2026, Southeast Conference (SEC) participated in the South Korea Seaweed Industry Learning Trip, an immersive study tour organized by WWF-US in partnership with Professor Jang K. Kim of Incheon National University. The trip brought together 20 participants from across the global seaweed investment, research, and industry community to observe firsthand the depth, scale, and structure of South Korea’s mature seaweed sector.

For SEC and the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC), the trip offered a rare opportunity to benchmark Alaska’s emerging kelp and shellfish industries against a world-leading model. Korea produces seaweed at a scale ($1.5 billion in sales, $260 million of which is from kelp) and quality that is difficult to fully appreciate from afar — and seeing it in person was both humbling and motivating.

Watch the presentation at the July 2026 AMC Governance Body Meeting:

 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.