Alaska’s extensive coastline offers significant potential for seaweed aquaculture, but sustainable growth depends on understanding the location and condition of wild kelp beds used for broodstock sourcing. For seaweed farming in state waters, Alaska state genetic guidelines—commonly called the “50-50 Rule”—are a key factor in planning and permitting. The guidelines recommend that spores from at least 50 unrelated wild kelp plants be collected for use as broodstock and outplanted to a farm no more than 50 kilometers from the site of collection. This project mapped wild kelp beds across key regions of the state to support Alaska seaweed farmers in meeting the 50-50 Rule and to inform the development of the Alaska Aquaculture Atlas and NOAA’s Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) identification process. The project combined two components: 1) collation of the best available existing data sources on the locations of wild kelp beds and 2) a participatory mapping process using a GIS platform SeaSketch, through which participants were asked to map known wild kelp beds. Together, these approaches were used to develop a single updated spatial data layer depicting the locations of wild seaweed beds within or adjacent to AOA study areas. Eleven participants contributed to the mapping process across the AOA study areas. In total, 140 beds were mapped, covering approximately 60 km². In general, bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima), and ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata) appear to be broadly distributed across all the AOA study regions