• Hard Clam Culture
  
• Ornamental Species
  
• REDstart
  

Hard Clam Culture
     Hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) culture has become a priority of Florida Sea Grant's investment in aquaculture research and extension. Florida Sea Grant aquaculture specialists were instrumental in obtaining sanctions to allow hard clam growers to qualify for USDA crop insurance — the first eligibility of its kind for marine aquaculture in the United States.
     As well, adequate seed availability has been a major hindrance to the development of the industry in the southeastern U.S. particularly when critical shortages have occurred. Florida Sea Grant researchers have developed hard clam remote setting technology, adapting from the Pacific Northwest molluscan shellfish industry experience to suit Florida clam farmers. Remote setting will allow southeast nursery operators and growers to become less dependent upon traditional seed sources. See report
     Recently, aquaculture specialists have also developed a user-friendly Microsoft Excel program to help commercial hard clam growers with day-to-day business management decisions, periodic loan application information requirements, and the documentation of changes in inventory that may be needed for crop insurance. The software lets growers track clams from the original seed purchase, through nursery/grow-out planting, to final harvest. It also helps account for operating expenses and capital purchases. Plus, a map feature maintains an up-to-date picture of the location of nursery and grow-out bags on the lease site.

Ornamental Species
     In Florida, marine aquarium species are primarily collected from the wild (about $4 million annually) while farm-level sales of freshwater ornamental fish and aquatic plants oreached $64 million in 2001. Florida Sea Grant's goal is to increase the culture of marine ornamentals to generate economic activity in Florida while protecting wild-caught stocks.
     Florida Sea Grant was the lead sponsor and organizer of the international conference on marine ornamental species, Marine Ornamentals 2001: Collection, Culture & Conservation. Building on the first conference organized by Hawaii Sea Grant, 19 sponsors including nine Sea Grant programs, joined to create a program that attracted 336 participants from 23 countries. Program evaluations showed that 67% of the attendees would attend a subsequent conference and 91% indicated that the conference should be continued as is or expanded.
     Iowa State Press has recently published a book containing the scientific papers from the conference. The book is titled Marine Ornamental Species: Collection, Culture, and Conservation, and is co-authored by Florida Sea Grant director James Cato and Christopher L. Brown, director of the marine biology program at Florida International University.

REDstart
     Aquaculture also plays a role in the enhancement of Florida's sport fishery. Florida Sea Grant marine agents from Charlotte and Lee counties have initiated REDstart, a fishery-stocking program made up of biologists, sport fishermen, and local volunteers concerned with the sustainability of the local redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) fishery in the Charlotte Harbor watershed. The project aims to provide genetically compatible, grown-out redfish for stocking the Charlotte Harbor watershed by raising fingerlings to a size where they will have a much higher rate of survival once released into the wild.
     REDstart is housed in aquaculture facilities on Sanibel Island. Thus far, 1200 redfish fingerlings have been delivered from state-run hatcheries and will be grown out to a length of 8-10 inches in the 14,000-gallon tank pictured. These fish will be tagged by research scientists, and when recaptured by sport fishermen, will provide valuable data about redfish range, wild populations, regional growth rates and survivability. It will be a unique study sample since each fish will have a known age, size and locality when released.
     To date, REDstart volunteers have logged more than 4,200 hours on the project, a wage value of over $40,200. Most of the funding for the project has been derived through fishing tournaments, grants and in-kind contributions from supporters including the Lee County Parks and Recreation/ Tourist Development Council, the Sanibel Fishing Club, the Island Water Association, and the Lee County Electric Co-Op.

Visit the official REDstart homepage

Marine Aquaculture at Florida Sea Grant at a Glance (pdf)