Florida’s shellfish aquaculture industry is expanding throughout the state and now includes more than 700 commercial leases among 10 coastal counties.

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At the end of 2019, there were 719 commercial leases in use among 336 producers, with 56% of leases producing hard clams, 16% producing oysters and 28% producing both hard clams and oysters.1 The shellfish industry reported farmgate sales of $15.5 million in 2018, a 31% increase over 2012, with clam sales contributing 92% of that value.2 Florida ranked third in the nation for total clam sales and sixth for sales of oysters in 2018. *