News

Alaska plans to grow its mariculture industry with a focus on oysters and seaweed, but there are obstacles to overcome. While oyster farming is responsible for $1.6 million of mariculture revenue in Alaska, more than three-quarters of the $2 million total, the focus of a Pacific Marine Expo mariculture panel hosted by Dan Lesh, deputy director of the Southeast Conference (SEC), was solidly on seaweed. “We want to go from $2 million to $200 million in mariculture sales,” says Lesh.

For the second year in a row, a coalition of mariculture interests has hired the McKinley Research Group and the Pacific Shellfish Institute to compile data and research about the state of Alaska’s mariculture industry.

Alaska’s mariculture industry continues to grow, even though it is in its infancy compared to other states. Alaska’s shellfish farms reported just under $1.5 million in sales of oysters and mussels in 2024 and $48,713 in aquatic plant sales, according to figures collected by Emily Gettis, a representative of the state Department of Natural Resources.

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF), a Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.-based nonprofit, announced it will sponsor a new round of research and development projects with funding from the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC).

A recent GreenWave report finds North America's kelp sector has the infrastructure to scale – but less than 35 percent of approved farming area is actually in use.

Seaweed is a billion-dollar industry in Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines alone, but it’s a tough one to access because of farms’ remote locations.

Australia’s scientists are reshaping the seaweed family tree using field expertise, DNA analysis and living algae to drive new advances in conservation, restoration and bioprospecting.