Overview

The Research & Development component of the Alaska Mariculture Cluster grant supports:

• Product development R&D leading to new markets for Alaska seaweed and oysters,
• Research into mariculture farm site suitability and operational efficiencies,
• Reduction of operational costs at seaweed nurseries, and
• Sharing of knowledge and experiences between industry participants.

This component supports numerous applied research projects while leveraging resources at other entities through Joint Innovation Projects (JIP), an annual mariculture conference, and research into carbon capture possibilities.

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game will document the degree of adaptive genetic variation within commercially grown seaweed species and populations in Alaska waters in order to inform Alaska’s current regulatory structure.

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation will be analyzing seaweed tissue for chemistry and nutritional profiles as well as overseeing joint innovation projects to accelerate the development of applied technologies. AFDF will also be responsible for organizing and sponsoring an annual mariculture conference each year of the grant period and continuing efforts to de-risk investments in aquatic farming.