Project Reports

Florida hard clam aquaculture takes place primarily in three geographic regions: the Big Bend along the Gulf of Mexico coast, southwest Florida, and the Indian River Lagoon on the east central coast. The project team worked with 10 certified clam seed producers located across the state, who operate hatchery and nursery facilities. Selection of commercial operations was based on willingness to participate, commitment to assist in sampling protocols, location (to capture geographic diversity), source water (well versus surface, Atlantic versus Gulf), and scale of operation (to capture operational diversity). Project personnel met individually with industry partners at their operations to develop a sampling schedule tailored to their location, business plan, production schedule, and observations of problematic periods. Each operation was assigned a code to maintain anonymity.