The 2013 Census of Aquaculture was recently released by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The report provides value of sales for a variety of aquaculture products by type (e.g., mollusks) and species. Due to recent advances in the industry, Florida ranked fourth in the nation in sales value of molluscan shellfish products ($19.6 million), falling behind Washington ($149.3 million), Virginia ($41.5 million), and Connecticut ($28.3 million). However, Florida led the nation in number of shellfish farms reporting sales (132). Hard clams accounted for 95% ($18.7 million) of the Florida sales in 2013. This is the third national census of aquaculture. In 2005, clam sales of $10.7 million were reported by 154 Florida farms; while in 1998, 221 Florida farms reported $11.2 million in clam sales. The full report can be accessed here.
