Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Announces $15.5M Revolutionary Seaweed Restoration & Cultivation Project

Press Release

November 27, 2025

(VANCOUVER, BC) – Today Canada’s Ocean Supercluster announced three new ocean innovation projects valued at $22.1 million, including the $15.5 million Enabling Scalable Seaweed Restoration & Cultivation Project led by Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds.

This project aims to revolutionize seaweed seeding technology through the development and commercialization of KelpSpat™. This breakthrough adhesive and automation system improves kelp seed survival rates by up to 400 per cent, enabling large-scale sustainable cultivation and seaforestation.

The project is led by Richmond, BC-based Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds, with 13 partners and collaborators across aquaculture, Indigenous communities, non-profits, and academia. Partners include Bamfield, BC-based Canadian Kelp Resources Ltd, Vancouver, BC-based Bioform Technologies Inc, Campbell River, BC-based Wei Wai Kum First Nation, and Vancouver, BC-based Inbada Holdings.

With a total project value of $15.5 million, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is investing $5.8 million, with the balance of funding coming from project partners.

The project includes trials at Indigenous-stewarded farms and explores commercialization pathways for food-grade seaweed, functional foods, performance ingredients, bioplastics feedstock, and regenerative ocean conservation. It supports rural communities, strengthens aquaculture, and contributes to global ocean health, while positioning Canada as a global leader in cold-water seaweed cultivation and exports. It also provides the opportunity to tap into the $1.3 billion global edible dried seaweed market, as well as related food system markets such as plant health and animal nutrition through agricultural programs – leveraging Canada’s cold-water advantage and growing expertise in sustainable seaweed farming. With projections that the global seaweed industry alone will reach $28 billion annually by 2050, there is substantial room for growth in this sector.

Through Ambition 2035 and together with Canada’s ocean community, we are bold in our ambition to grow Canada’s ocean economy 5X to $220 billion by 2035. Continued investment in the accelerated development and commercialization of globally relevant, made in Canada ocean solutions will help us realize this ambition. Read more about recommendations to help achieve this transformational growth opportunity outlined in Charting the Course to 5X Growth in Canada’s Ocean Economy and the projected benefits to Canada here.

-30-

Media Contacts
Nancy Andrews
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
nancy.andrews@oceansupercluster.ca

IBF5