2023 National Seaweed Symposium – Maine, US

National Seaweed Symposium

The first national Seaweed Symposium sponsored by 10 NOAA Sea Grant programs, brought together 120 seaweed stakeholders representing current and prospective farmers, regulators, federal agencies, processors, researchers, culinary professionals and non-profit groups from across the country. The group gathered to share information and better understand the current status, emerging needs and challenges, and realistic opportunities of the nascent domestic seaweed industry.

Attendees heard an update of the status of seaweed farming in 10 states and a summary of a national needs assessment survey conducted a few weeks prior.

Symposium attendees then divided up into Work Groups, with representation from each of the seaweed stakeholder sectors, to tackle previously identified challenges. These included: market opportunities, regulations, post-harvest opportunities and production systems. For more information on what was discussed, please refer to the Work Group section of the website.

For more information about highlights from the National Seaweed Symposium, please read the following article.