Seaweed aquaculture is an emerging industry in the United States. Several states are actively cultivating seaweed at the commercial or research/investigative scale, however, several significant barriers exist which prevent the expansion of this new industry to meet its potential. Although efforts to address these barriers are currently underway in individual states, progress is slow due to limited resources and no mechanism facilitating an exchange of information. A comprehensive and collaborative effort was necessary to move this emerging industry forward. With the support of federal funds in 2019, the National Seaweed Hub, a partnership of 10 Sea Grant programs and their diverse stakeholders, was established with the goal to support the successful growth and maturation of a domestic seaweed aquaculture industry through sharing of evidence-based, non-advocate information.
Diverse stakeholder-driven work groups were formed based on four common challenges identified through a national needs assessment conducted in early 2020: Market Opportunities, Post-harvest and Processing Infrastructure, Regulations, and Production Systems. Facilitated by Sea Grant Extension and National Sea Grant Law Center staff, work group participants are developing achievable strategies or work plans addressing barriers they determined to be priorities preventing the expansion of domestic seaweed aquaculture. An update of work group progress and work plan developments will be provided and made available on the Seaweed Hub’s website (www.seaweedhub.org) .