Scotland mariculture exchange to benefit domestic production

Alaska Sea Grant, in partnership with Connecticut Sea Grant, sponsored an opportunity for two mariculture business owners from Alaska and two from Connecticut to learn more about the seaweed industry in Scotland. The trip focused on understanding the state of the seaweed industry generally, and cultivation and processing processes and technology in particular, in the United Kingdom.

U.S. industry participants included representatives from Barnacle Foods and Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute/Alaska Mariculture Cluster Liaison program in Alaska, and The Crop Project and Stonington Kelp Company in Connecticut.

“Our primary goal for this trip was to gain insights into Scotland’s seaweed farming techniques and advanced post-harvest processing methods and technology,” said Missy Good, mariculture specialist with Alaska Sea Grant. “It was interesting to see the similarities between the seaweed industries in the United States and Scotland, especially the collaborative atmosphere between industry and academia. This shared spirit of cooperation is key to driving innovation and sustainability in both regions.”

A major factor limiting growth for the commercial seaweed industry in the U.S. is post-harvest processing capacity. Trip participants toured Scottish farms and facilities over seven days to learn their tested and successful operations.

Following the trip, Alaska Sea Grant hosted a recorded webinar for the participants to share what they learned with those involved in the U.S. mariculture industry.

Alaska Sea Grant and Connecticut Sea Grant secured funding for the knowledge exchange from an Aquaculture Technologies and Education Travel Grants provided by NOAA through the National Sea Grant Office. “A major focus of Alaska Sea Grant and Sea Grant programs generally is to support the sustainable growth of coastal industries through technical assistance,” said Good. “This is a great example of that in the mariculture arena.”