INAUGURAL WORKSHOP OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIOECONOMY & MACROALGAE 

CENTER (IBMC) AT UC BERKELEY, May 2025

The University of California at Berkeley launched the International Bioeconomy & Macroalgae Center (IBMC) on May 1, 2025 on the campus with 2 days of presentations from some of the leading academic and business leaders working in the seaweed industry.

The workshop generated thoughtful dialogue around advancing the global seaweed industry. A shared consensus emerged around the need for a global network to tackle key challenges including bringing cultivation costs below $100 per dry metric tonne, creating stronger market demand and streamlining permitting processes, especially outside of Asia.

Co-Founder Mike Blakeley shared results from the “Lessons Learned: Marketing Seaweed Products in the U.S.” study conducted in 2024. Among the key points he raised to the audience was that product efficacy and performance outweigh a buyer's interest in sustainability while food consumers care deeply about the origin of the products, especially valuing local products. 

Photo (right): Alyssa Miky, Founder and CEO of Aquatheon

Seagreen Insights had a great turnout for its event during SF Climate Week 2025:
Seaweed as a Nature-Based Solution

Thank you so much to the speakers and our co-host 9Zero and to the +100 people who showed up to learn about seaweed as a nature-based solution.

In Photo Left to Right: Michael Blakeley, Founder of Seagreen Insights, and Host of SF Climate Week event; Sally Aaron, Marine Biologics; Geoff Chapin, Carbonwave; Julia Marsh, Sway; Kaira Wallace, Ocean Rainforest. Photo by Elaine Blakeley

Seaweed Solutions Event at 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub, March 2025


Alongside other ocean and seaweed champions, Seagreen Insights Co-Founder Mike Blakeley participated in an important event discussing the emergence of seaweed as an important natural resource that also is providing important economic opportunities for coastal communities across the U.S. The event was organized and hosted by the 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub in San Francisco, CA.

Jennifer Bushman of Fed by Blue kicked off the evening with an excerpt from the PBS film series “Hope in the Water.” The documentary showcases several fascinating individuals that are champions of the ocean and Blue Economy. 

One of those champions is Dune Lankard, President and Founder, of the Native Conservancy from Alaska, who is helping native Alaska communities seize new economic opportunities by farming seaweed. Mr. Lankard, also appearing in the documentary, was fresh off receiving a 2025 James Beard Impact Award.

Grace Collery of Greenwave rounded out the panel sharing the rich and valuable experience of supporting seaweed farmers in Maine and Alaska with everything from technology to marketplaces.


The group left the audience impressed and curious about the many use cases for seaweed, and a deep appreciation to the human side of this emerging sector.

Seagriculture USA, Ketchikan Alaska, September 2024


Seagreen Insights Co-Founder Mike Blakeley participated as a speaker at Seagriculture USA held in Ketchikan Alaska, September 11-12. Mike served on the panel “Marketing seaweeds and the seaweed industry” which also included Jenn Brown, Founder & CEO, Foraged & Found, USA, Lia Heifetz, Co-founder, Barnacle Foods, USA, Jeremy Woodrow, Executive Director, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, USA and Katie Silva, Research Project Manager, Food for Climate League, USA.

The panel covered several important topics touching on all points of the seaweed-to-consumer product value chain. The panelists agreed the US industry is at a critical juncture of trying to scale but without confirmed markets.

The audience peppered the panelists for insights into product development opportunities, funding resources, and what consumers are saying about seaweed products.

A full recap of Seagriculture USA, including analysis on the state of the Alaska farming sector, can be found on the “Publications” page.