2025 Seaweed Summit
This year’s summit theme, “From Niche to Noticed”, was a day to dive into the development of the value chain for our emerging seaweed sector.
Over 150 delegates converged on Nelson’s Rutherford Hotel to discover more about New Zealand and Australia’s emerging seaweed sector. ANZSA Chair Michael Lakeman opened by highlighting remarkable progress achieved to date. Between 2018 – 2024, the NZ government has invested $22 million in seaweed R&D, alongside $15 million in industry co-investment, delivering outcomes in biostimulants, health supplements, and processing infrastructure. We also see this momentum reflected in our growing audience, which has doubled since our first summit in 2022.
The day focused on the core topics of adaptation, differentiation, innovation and thriving. The programme included an exciting blend of speakers:
- across sectors – e.g Zespri – what can we learn from other export success stories?
- from international markets – what can we learn from other markets?
- local success and progress stories from many of our ANZSA members, including Greenwave Aotearoa, CH4 Global and AgriSea
- MPI, who provided updates on the Undaria review and regulatory developments
- Environmental and communities in action.
Student Prize Winners: Janet Reid of Otago University won the $1,500 Jill Bradley Memorial Award for her nanocellulose research. Kizzie Amoore, University of Auckland, was runner-up for her research on Undaria spoilage dynamics crucial for food safety. Arthur Sun presented clinical trials showing GLM Fucoidan improved insulin sensitivity in prediabetic patients.
New Zealand’s seaweed sector is moving from niche to noticed – ready to deliver as a cornerstone of New Zealand’s regenerative blue economy. Join us in our mission and become an ANZSA member to contribute to the development of this exciting industry.
