Overview
The Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) is investing in strategic equipment upgrades to support hatchery, nursery, and processing capacity across Alaska’s growing mariculture industry. The AMC grant allocates a total of $7.2 million for equipment purchases and $378,000 for supplies over three competitive funding rounds, the first two of which were announced in July 2024 and July 2025. Roughly a third of the equipment funding is awarded in each round, which helps ensure an equitable distribution of funds.
- Safely and cost-effectively handle and process seaweed and shellfish into products with strong market demand.
- Reduce operating costs, increase production capacity, and improve seed quality.
- Add capacity where needed to address any regional seed supply gaps, such as through the purchase of new oyster floating upweller systems (FLUPSYs), seaweed nurseries, or other similar equipment.
- Coordinate efforts and address regional and subregional solutions collaboratively.
Click on the toggles below to learn more about each award.
Meet Round One Awardees
Region: Kenai
Location: Seward
Award: $479,000
The Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) received funding to modernize the shellfish and seaweed hatchery at Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute. The award supports major upgrades to algae-culture and hatchery systems, including bioreactors, electronic particle counters, sterilization and culture equipment, chillers, and specialized systems for gametophyte banks and juvenile rearing. These improvements will significantly increase seed production capacity, improve survival rates, and reduce operational bottlenecks for shellfish and kelp farmers statewide.
Pictured Above: Electronic Particle Counter; Dual Algae Bioreactor; Gametophyte/Sporophyte Bioreactor
Region: Kenai
Location: Kachemak Bay
Award: $450,000
The Kachemak Shellfish Mariculture Association received funding to purchase a Floating Upwelling System (FLUPSY). This FLUPSY will increase the viability of seed stock by providing a grow out location in a protected and controlled environment that (1) minimizes predation and fouling of grow-out equipment, (2) facilitates acclimation of seed stock to open water farming locations throughout Southcentral Alaska, (3) allows for Southcentral Alaska grow-out requirements from farmers to be individualized and prioritized (size of seed, time of delivery, large batch seed orders, etc.), (4) allows for controlled testing and commercial viability of other approved shellfish species to take place, and (5) allows for increased productivity of the grow-out phase through centralization, economies of scale, ease of access to work location and proximity to work-force.
Region: Kodiak
Location: Larsen Bay
Award: $300,000
AMC equipment program funding was used to purchase a FLUPSY for the Larsen Bay Tribal Council. This FLUPSY will help with the oyster growing process and is estimated to improve survival rates among farmed oysters. FLUPSYs can also help provide warm and protected environments to encourage oyster growth, as well as ensure oysters have access to algae-rich water. This equipment should help produce strong, fast-growing seed that improves farm productivity and reliability.
Region: Prince William Sound
Location: Simpson Bay and Port Etches
Award: $157,000
To increase in-state processing capacity, Native Conservancy received funding for an At Sea Floater Processor. To build this processor, Native Conservancy will house small-scale, modular, and mobile seaweed processing equipment within conjoined Conex shipping containers outfitted with power and climate control. AMC funding covered a blast freezer, an electric forklift, a shredder, and packaging supplies, essential components of the At Sea Floater Processor. This equipment will allow seaweed processing to occur locally, lowering costs, simplifying supply chains, and strengthening Alaska’s mariculture industry.
Pictured Above: Horizontal Shredder; Electric Forklift; Blast Freezer
Region: Prince William Sound
Location: Chenega
Award: $80,000
AMC funding covered the purchase of a FLUPSY for Chenega Regional Development Group (CRDG). The purchase of this FLUPSY was a crucial milestone for CRDG to achieve their vision for oyster farming, as nurseries are the starting points for developing replicable means and methods for growing oysters. The FLUPSY is an essential asset that supports significant economic benefits, particularly within Western Prince William Sound, the Native Village of Chenega, and its members. Moreover, the FLUPSY’s positive impact extends to the broader population around the Prince William Sound area in Alaska, presenting substantial economic opportunities and contributing to the region’s sustainable growth.
Region: Prince William Sound
Location: Cordova
Award: $510,000
Prince William Sound Economic Development District (PWSEDD)’s Mariculture Equipment award is increasing seaweed processing capacity and safety in Prince William Sound. The funding was used to support the purchase of a rotary drum, a shredder, a rinser/blancher, and associated conveyors for moving material into and out of processing machines. These primary pieces of equipment will be used to establish a pilot processing line and allow PWSEDD to fine tune stabilization and processing methods to develop products that cater to a range of market preferences.
Pictured Above: Rinser/Blancher; Rotary Drum; Horizontal Shredder
Region: Prince William Sound
Location: Cordova
Award: $67,500
Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC) received funding to assist with nursery expansion for the PWSSC Mariculture Hatchery. AMC’s award primarily covered an insulated environmental chamber and a forklift, in addition to electrical, filtration, piping, and nursery supplies. This equipment is crucial for overcoming problems encountered by the PWSSC during previous growing seasons and will allow for more effective and efficient mariculture operations in Prince William Sound.
Region: Southeast
Location: Little Naukati Bay
Award: $107,500
Led by a partnership between OceansAlaska and the Alaska Oyster Cooperative, this funding was used to help develop vessel offloading and shellfish processing/shipping capability in Naukati Bay on Prince of Wales. With new equipment including shipping containers, insulation, a forklift, and a refrigeration unit, these purchases will increase the efficiency (and decrease energy costs) of its member oyster farmer’s operations by offering mechanized vessel offloading, product sorting, product packing, and product cooling. This equipment will help bring processing activities to an on-land base with electrical connection, decreasing fuel usage and providing for expansion opportunities. Additionally, the location of shellfish processing on the Prince of Wales road system will allow for wider employment opportunities on the island.
Region: Southeast
Location: Ketchikan
Award: $159,000
OceansAlaska received funding to improve the functionality and capabilities of a floating hatchery/nursery in Ketchikan. This award builds on an existing foundation of hatchery/nursery equipment and will help will new innovations, green technology, and labor efficiency. The equipment, which includes a heat pump, larval tanks, a generator, a rotary seawater filter, and plastic totes, is important to enable the continuation of mariculture workshops, hands-on learning, and production of seed and juveniles, and should reduce energy use by at least 75%. It will also add resiliency to operations for shore power outages.
Meet Round Two Awardees
Region: Southeast
Location: Klawock
Award: $49,684
A new 20-foot refrigerated connex will be installed at Klawock Airport to strengthen the Prince of Wales Island oyster supply chain. This new refrigerator unit fills a critical gap in safely and efficiently staging and shipping live shellfish, especially in the face of weather delays and other last minute shipping challenges. The project is a partnership between Alaska Seaplanes and Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) and is strongly supported by various stakeholders and oyster farmers. It will help lower costs as well as improve the quality of oysters delivered to distant markets – and comes at a time with many local oyster farmers are investing in capacity increases and other supply chain investments.
Pictured Above: Refrigerated Reefer Connex
Region: Kenai
Location: Seward
Award: $70,000
CRRC, a tribal consortium based on the Kenai Peninsula, received funding to upgrade seed production infrastructure at its Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute. AMC funds will support a kelp nursery filtration system and a new heat pump to more efficiently meet space and water heating needs. These investments are foundational to improving seed consistency and regional nursery capacity in support of mariculture across Southcentral Alaska and beyond.
Region: Kenai
Location: Homer
Award: $49,380
To meet growing processing needs, KPEDD will purchase a screw press and auger conveyor for the Kachemak Kelp Hub which operates out of the Salmon Sisters facility on the Homer spit. The equipment will increase throughput, improve quality, and enable the production of value-added products such as biostimulants to benefit regional seaweed farms.
Pictured Above: Screw Press and Auger Conveyer
Region: Southeast
Location: Metlakatla
Award: $300,000
Native Conservancy received funding to deploy a containerized kelp nursery in Metlakatla and microscopes for quality control across its nursery network. This builds on the success of the Cordova-based Community Kelp Seed Nursery and supports Native Conservancy’s broader vision for a distributed, Native-led mariculture infrastructure model across Alaska.
Pictured Above: Stereo Microscope; Inverted Microscope; Compound Microscope
Region: Southeast
Location: Naukati Bay
Award: $186,800
OceansAlaska’s equipment award will support further development of Alaska Oyster Cooperative’s centralized oyster processing hub in Naukati Bay on Prince of Wales Island. AMC funding will provide essential equipment such as an oyster grader, ice machine, and conveyors. The project will reduce processing costs, improve quality assurance, and help small farms efficiently meet growing demand while also creating local jobs and expanding value-added production. 
Pictured Above: Oyster Grader; Ice Machine; Roller Conveyor
Region: Kodiak
Location: Kodiak
Award: $2,300,000
The Sun’aq Tribe is launching the KP³ (Kelp Primary Processing Platform), a modular system capable of producing stabilized kelp products for agriculture, food, and beauty markets. The platform, which was developed with support from Kodiak Ocean Growers, Koniag, and a variety of kelp buyers (including Macro Oceans among others), will be housed at the Tribe’s Wildsource facility and serve as a shared regional asset to advance economic opportunity, sustainability, and equity in Kodiak’s mariculture industry.
Pictured Above: Clean in Place Tank; Decanter
Pictured Above: Fluidized Bed Dryer; Main Reactor; Vacuum Evaporator
